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Jun 03
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California Unification Rally Draws 3,000 to State Capitol

By General Posts

On May 21,2023, over 3,000 motorcyclists gathered at the California State Capitol in Sacramento to talk biker’s rights, and to send a message to the state legislature that a change in how California deals with issues important to riders is needed. Speakers from the Modified Motorcycle Association (MMA) of California, ABATE of California, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), the National Council of Clubs (NCOC) and other groups took to the podium to stress the importance of all riders – as well as other consumer advocates including those in the automotive industry – coming together to present a unified front. Rally organizer and MRF State Representative ‘Chappy’ Patrick Carver and his team of volunteers did yeoman’s work in organizing the event. Chappy is also the President and lobbyist for the MMA of California and works closely with the MRF on legislative issues being addressed in Congress. Numerous long-time California activists, including ABATE lobbyists Jim Lombardo and Bobby T, ABATE officers David ‘D-Man’ Seiler, Chuck Pedersen, and MMA/ABATE Liaison Dave Battles were on hand as well.

For California riders, a major concern continues to be the issue of being unfairly profiled by law enforcement. Following a concerted, years-long effort by motorcycle clubs from around the country, the NCOC, the MRF, state motorcyclists’ rights organizations and thousands of independent riders, anti-profiling resolutions have now been passed in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives with bi-partisan support. On a local level, five states have passed standalone anti-profiling laws. California and other states are working to have similar legislation enacted.

Other topics of discussion at the rally included protecting the rights of consumers to repair their machines, the unrealistic rush to outlaw internal combustion engines in favor of electric vehicles, ongoing issues associated with unregulated self-driving autonomous vehicles, and the appropriate labeling and availability of E10 or lower petroleum fuels.

MRF Executive Director Mark Buckner addressed the rally, emphasizing the importance of the challenges and opportunities facing riders today. Buckner discussed MRF’s recent Bikers Inside the Beltway lobbying campaign in Washington, D.C., highlighting the issues discussed with members of Congress and their staff. Those issues included ongoing efforts to end unfair profiling; H.R. 906, the Repair Act, seeking to stop manufacturers from limiting the ability of consumers and independent shops to repair products; H.R, 1435, the Preserving Choices in Vehicle Purchases Act, seeking to amend the Clean Air Act to prevent a ban on internal combustion engines; ensuring that Congress and executive branch agencies including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provide appropriate oversight regarding self-driving vehicles; ensuring that consumers will continue to be able to purchase E10 and lower ethanol fuels at a reasonable price; and building strong, bi-partisan motorcycle caucuses made up of motorcycle-friendly legislators in Washington, D.C.

Overall, the California Unification Rally was a resounding success, with unity and opportunity the messages of the day.

About Motorcycle Riders Foundation: The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) provides leadership at the federal level for states’ motorcyclists’ rights organizations as well as motorcycle clubs and individual riders. Visit http://mrf.org/

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Nov 23
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Mid-South M.I.L.E. 2021

By General Posts

Bikers gathered in Dallas, Texas for the 29th annual Mid-South M.I.L.E. event

from Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF)

Like the Midwest’s Heartland STEAM event, the Mid-South M.I.L.E. brings together bikers from neighboring states to discuss legislative priorities, share ideas and build relationships.

CLICK HERE To Read this Event Coverage on Bikernet.com

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Oct 12
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BANNED : Chainsaws, Golf Carts, Lawn Mowers & More

By General Posts

from https://mrf.org/

Chainsaws, Golf Carts, Lawn Mowers… What’s Next?

Over the weekend, California Governor Gavin Newson signed a bill into law banning the sale of all off-road, gas-powered engines, including generators, lawn equipment, pressure washers, chainsaws, weed trimmers, and even golf carts. Under the new law, these machines must be zero-emissions, meaning they will have to be either battery-powered or plug-in.

This law is particularly concerning because of the status California holds within the national economy. The population and market size that California commands often forces manufacturers to react by changing products nationwide, to conform to California standards. Additionally, states with like-minded legislatures often follow with similar laws and regulations of their own.

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) is concerned that this action by California, will begin a cascading effect that will eventually result in the demise of the internal combustion engine and the fuel supply tied to it. During the legislative agenda setting meeting, held at the 2021 Meeting of the Minds, in Atlanta, Georgia this very issue was debated. Working with our state partners, the MRF is currently evaluating how best to address these concerns.

The final 2022 MRF Legislative Agenda will be made public in an upcoming American Biker Journal.

To read more on the bill click here.

About Motorcycle Riders Foundation: The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) provides leadership at the federal level for states’ motorcyclists’ rights organizations as well as motorcycle clubs and individual riders. Visit the Website https://mrf.org/

Jun 15
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David Chipman Back in Senate Judiciary Committee This Thursday

By General Posts

This Thursday, June 17th, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on David Chipman’s nomination for ATF Director. If approved, his nomination would then be sent to the full U.S. Senate for a final confirmation vote. During Chipman’s nomination hearing on May 26th, he admitted that he supports not only a ban on commonly owned firearms, but thinks we should have more restrictive gun control than the European Union! We are asking that you please contact your Senators and urge them to oppose David Chipman as ATF Director by clicking the red button below.

CLICK TO CONTACT YOUR SENATORS

As if Chipman’s history as a gun control advocate and his desire to ban the most commonly owned firearms in this country wasn’t bad enough, he also has a strong disregard for the facts surrounding “Assault Weapons”. Since the 1994 “Clinton Assault Weapons Ban”, there have been numerous government-run studies proving these bans to be ineffective, but these facts don’t seem to matter to Chipman, as he has repeatedly demonstrated.

If you have already sent your Senators an email, please take some time to give them a call as well. You can call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224- 3121 and they can connect you with your Senator’s office, or you can look up your Senator’s information on this chart.

NRA-ILA Grassroots Programs & Campaign Field Operations
http://www.nrailafrontlines.com/

May 11
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May 10th – Your Weekly Biker Bulletin from Inside the Beltway

By General Posts

Keith Ball illustration – designed to bring less expensive, light vehicle, two tiered additional lanes to congested areas

Capitol Hill Update

Full Court Press

This week the MRF team in Washington met with 24 congressional offices to discuss motorcycle priorities with an emphasis on H. Res 255, the anti-motorcycle profiling resolution. The strategy to get this resolution passed is simple; we need to get as many co-sponsors added to the resolution as possible. A large number of co-sponsors demonstrates support for the resolution and helps let Congressional leaders know that there is broad political support for passing the resolution.

Last year, the House version of this resolution had 39 cosponsors. This year our goal is to get that number above 60. Since the resolution was introduced six weeks ago, we have garnered 22 cosponsors including seven that were added just this week. The letters sent by MRF members and our meetings on Capitol Hill are helping build momentum, but we need to keep the pressure up. The DC team will continue to meet with congressional offices and Bikers Inside the Beltway is a great opportunity for motorcyclists to educate lawmakers about this issue.

We are casting a wide net hoping to gain support from a variety of different states. Our meetings this week were with members of Congress from 21 different states. Currently, Illinois is leading the way with five co-sponsors on the resolution. We will keep you updated on our meetings and the growth of our co-sponsor list.

Transportation Priorities

Late last week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee asked its members to submit a list of surface transportation priorities. This list will help guide the committee in building an agenda for hearings and legislation in the coming months. Congressman Troy Balderson (R-Ohio) submitted this request to the committee: “Direct NHTSA to reevaluate the federal definition of a motorcycle (the current definition of a motorcycle includes autocycles).”

Congressman Balderson was first elected to Congress in August of 2018 to fill a vacancy created by a retirement. He won reelection three months later and is now serving his first full term in Congress. The Congressman is a motorcycle rider and recently joined the House Motorcycle Caucus. He has shown a desire to learn more about legislative issues motorcyclists face and with his position on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hopes to play a leading role in advocating for the motorcycle community. We are excited about our new ally and advocate and look forward to working on a variety of issues with him.

Apr 06
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Weekly Biker Bulletin from Inside the Beltway April 5th 2019

By General Posts
RIDING FREE FROM DC

Your Motorcycle Riders Foundation team in Washington, D.C. is pleased to provide our members with the latest information and updates on issues that impact the freedom and safety of American street motorcyclists. Count on your MRF to keep you informed about a range of matters that are critical to the advancement of motorcycling and its associated lifestyle. Published weekly when the U.S. Congress is in session.

Capitol Hill Update

Ground Game
Last week the MRF issued a call to action regarding H. Res 255 the Motorcycle profiling bill introduced by Congressmen Walberg (MI), Burgess (TX), Peterson (MN) and Pocan (WI). Since last week, MRF members have sent over 2,000 letters to their lawmakers. The resolution started with four cosponsors, and a week later we have doubled that number to eight cosponsors.

A great example of how reaching out to your lawmaker can lead to results comes to us from the motorcycle community in New York. Congressman Lee Zeldin of New York received the most letters of any member of Congress. His office received over 100 letters asking him to cosponsor H. Res 255. And wouldn’t you know it, Congressman Zeldin jumped on as a cosponsor within days of receiving those letters.

However, all members of Congress are not as receptive to their constituents as Congressman Zeldin. However, one thing is for certain, if a Member of Congress doesn’t know a bill or resolution exists, they will not be a co-sponsor.

Cosponsors by State
Illinois – 1
Michigan – 1
Minnesota – 1
Missouri – 1
New York – 1
Texas – 1
Washington – 1
Wisconsin – 1

States who have sent the Most letters

  1. New York
  2. Texas
  3. Louisiana
  4. South Dakota
  5. Wisconsin
  6. Pennsylvania
  7. Arizona
  8. Minnesota
  9. Michigan
  10. California

DC Game
While we ask our members to contact their lawmakers, we in D.C. have been hitting the pavement to meet with lawmakers about motorcycle issues. Below are brief summaries of some meetings we had this week:

Congressman Walberg (MI) – We met with Congressman Walberg to personally thank him for introducing the profiling resolution. He is excited about our membership’s enthusiasm and support for the resolution and said he would work on driving co-sponsors.

Congressman Rodney Davis (IL) – Congressman Davis is the Ranking Member of the Transportation Subcommittee on Highways. He was VERY aware of our concerns regarding autonomous vehicles and the safety issues surrounding the ability to read and react to motorcycles. The Congressman mentioned that in congressional hearings he would be willing to ask regulators about these concerns. He also said that in his sophomore year of college he was forced to sell his motorcycle to buy books but that he remains a fan of the motorcycle community. Congressman Davis joined the profiling resolution as a co-sponsor this week.

Congressman Ken Buck (CO) – Congressman Buck said that ABATE of Colorado has been very vocal in his district and he was happy to co-sponsor last year’s profiling resolution. He will again consider co-sponsoring this year’s version. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee which has jurisdiction over the resolution, Congressman Buck signing on would be an important win for the resolution.

MRF Events

Register for Bikers Inside the Beltway
As we approach May 21st and Bikers Inside the Beltway 2019, we are encouraging you to go online to www.mrf.org/events and register for the event so we can start planning for the event.  If you signed up after last week’s update, we thank you for committing to joining us in Washington, D.C. for lobby day.  If you are still on the fence, you can go check out the flyer or contact us if you have questions about the event.

Meeting of the Minds 2019
Meeting of the Minds 2019 registration is now live on the event page. ABATE of Minnesota will be hosting the event in Bloomington on September 19th-22nd. You can register and order an event t-shirt in advance of the conference.  As a member of the MRF, you will receive a discounted registration rate for the event. To read more about the event and the hotel information, you can download the event flyer here.

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation Team in D.C.

Rocky & Tiffany
Mar 15
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RIDING FREE FROM DC: Your Weekly Biker Bulletin from Inside the Beltway

By General Posts

Your Motorcycle Riders Foundation team in Washington, D.C. is pleased to provide our members with the latest information and updates on issues that impact the freedom and safety of American street motorcyclists. Count on your MRF to keep you informed about a range of matters that are critical to the advancement of motorcycling and its associated lifestyle. Published weekly when the U.S. Congress is in session.

Capitol Hill Update

Republicans Pressing Democrats
With Democrats now the majority party in the House of Representatives, they control the committee chairmanships and thus control the agenda for each committee. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, who has jurisdiction over autonomous vehicle technology, is now chaired by Frank Pallone of New Jersey. This puts Republicans in a role they not been in since 2010, seeking the help of Democrats to tackle legislative priorities.

Republican Greg Walden of Oregon, the previous chairman and now ranking member as well as Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers of Washington and Bob Latta of Ohio sent Chairman Pallone a letter regarding the need for Congress to act on autonomous vehicles legislation.

“We write to urge the Energy and Commerce Committee to take up bipartisan self-driving vehicle legislation. Last Congress this Committee worked across party lines to draft H.R. 3388, the Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research in Vehicle Evolution Act (SELF DRIVE Act). The SELF DRIVE Act was an example of this Committee at its very best: working together, across the aisle, to develop legislation that will advance lifesaving technology. As a result of our deliberative, transparent, and bipartisan process, the Committee voted unanimously, 54 yeas and 0 nays, to report the SELF-DRIVE Act to the House floor where it again passed unanimously. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to act on the bill,” Walden, Latta, and Rodgers wrote.

The MRF has and continues to educate members about the safety concerns for motorcyclists and autonomous vehicles. We believe that any bill dealing with autonomous vehicle technology should include provisions that ensure the safety of roadways users including motorcyclists. We will keep you updated on any movement of legislation related to this emerging technology.

Transportation Bill
The current transportation bill, which funds federal surface transportation programs, expires in September of 2020. The previous bill known as the FAST Act provided $281 billion for transportation projects. The Transportation Committee and specifically the Highways Subcommittee has begun the process of drafting the reauthorization bill.

At a recent hearing Highways Subcommittee Ranking Member Rodney Davis of Illinois laid out his four priorities for new legislation:

“First, the Highway Trust Fund is not able to meet our surface transportation needs as they stand today, let alone our future needs. Congress and the Administration must come together and find a way to shore-up the Highway Trust Fund, providing sustainable funding for our Nation’s surface transportation programs.

Second, while our current surface transportation system has significant needs, we must also begin to prepare for the future. Underinvestment has taken its toll on the system’s ability to move people and freight – we face increasing congestion, delays, and safety issues. Not only is adequate infrastructure investment important to mobility, it also creates jobs and allows our economy to prosper.

Third, as the reauthorization process moves forward, it is essential that we find ways to build more efficiently – to stretch the federal dollar. We need to identify and attack hidden project costs by streamlining the project delivery process and reducing burdensome regulations.

And lastly, by incorporating technologies and other innovations, we have the opportunity to increase safety and efficiency in our surface transportation system.”

The MRF has a meeting scheduled with Congressman Davis in early April to discuss transportation-related issues and ensure that the motorcycle community is not overlooked when Congress addresses transportation issues. We will update you about our conversations in the coming weeks.

Google It
This month the House Motorcycle Caucus updated its website for the 116th Congress. One addition of note is the inclusion of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation to the list of “related organizations”. Previously only the American Motorcycle Association and Motorcycle Industry Council were listed in this section of the website.

While not earth-shattering news, this small addition to the website is a simple example of how the MRF continues to raise our profile on Capitol Hill. If you haven’t visited the House Motorcycle Caucus website, we encourage you to take a few seconds and look around.

House Motorcycle Caucus

MRF Event News – Bikers Inside the Beltway 2019
The 11th Annual Bikers Inside the Beltway is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21st. Schedule too jammed to attend Bikers inside the Beltway? Please go to www.mrfae.org to make a tax-deductible contribution of $10, $20, $50, or $100 to raise funds needed to offset the administrative and printing costs of sponsoring BITB 2019. Motorcycle Riders Foundation Awareness & Education, Inc. (MRFA&E) is a not for profit 501 (c) 3 and sponsors BITB with an awareness presentation to members of Congress.

OR … Mail your contribution to:
Motorcycle Riders Foundation Awareness & Education, Inc.,
2221 S. Clark St.; 11th Floor
Arlington VA 22202

Your support of BITB is greatly appreciated! The efforts to promote and protect the rights of motorcyclists could not be done without members such as yourself.

Tiffany & Rocky
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation