For
those who could not make it to Lobby Day, I will reiterate what we
discussed Sunday. We are getting procedurally screwed at the General
Assembly. We have historically gone to the Militia, Police and Public
Safety Committee. That is a friendly committee. This year we were put
in the Transportation Committee which is much less friendly. The
chairman of Militia & Police could not even get us moved to his
committee. The aggravating thing is we have enough votes on the House
floor to get the bill to the Senate, and as of this morning, we have a
22-18 majority on the Senate floor. We have made more head way this
year than ever before. We have turned some good relationships into
great ones and have made some new and very important relationships as we
move on. Our lobbying team has been fantastic to work with and has put
us in the best position we have ever been in to prevail. That is what
makes the procedural moves of a few individuals so aggravating.
As
of now, we do not have the votes to prevail in subcommittee. Remember
that we were sent here to be defeated. Even if we do not prevail it is
still possible to get to full committee. In full committee we have a
potential 13-9 victory if all of the stars align. Your help is
necessary to make that happen.
The bill will be heard in sub-committee tomorrow Wednesday January 23 at 7:00 a.m. on the 4th floor of the General Assembly Building in the 4th
floor West conference room. Tom, Jim, Martin and I will be there.
Anyone is welcome to join us. That being said, if you can make one day
it is most important that you make the full committee hearing which
should be Thursday January 24 at 8:30 a.m. in House Room C. We need as
many people as possible. This is extremely important. The General
Assembly building is located at 9th and Broad Street in Richmond. There are parking garages at 6th St. between Grace and Franklin as well as at 8th
and Clay St. The House committee rooms are on the first floor to the
right after you pass through the metal detectors. It is important that
you are in your seats by 8:00 a.m. so that we can have the front rows
and be seen by the committee members. Make sure that you are easily
recognized as a motorcyclist.
This
is an opportunity to show our legislators that we are an active and
engaged part of the electorate. This is a tough committee for us but if
we get out we are very comfortable with our chances in the full House.
If you are able to make it please contact me so that I have an idea as
to how many we can expect.
Likewise
let’s get the emails rolling to all of the members of the
transportation committee. Keep hitting the same points that we have
been hitting. This is not a question of should you wear a helmet. It
is a question of should the law take that choice away from you and force
you to do so. Remind them that over the past twenty years the trend
has been for states to allow their citizens to make their own choices.
We are now to the point where Virginia is one of 19 states that do not
trust their citizens to make appropriate choices for themselves. If all
of the horror stories were true, these states would be re-enacting
mandatory helmet laws. However, the opposite is happening. More and
more states are seeing that this is truly an issue of personal choice.
The members of the Transportation Committee are listed below my
signature line. Email each and every one.
Thank
you again for all that you do for motorcycling. I look forward to
seeing you Thursday morning. Also please watch your emails tomorrow for
important updates.
Matt Danielson
McGrath & Danielson
Tom McGrath's Motorcycle Law Group
1-800-321-8968
Motorcyclelawgroup.com
