FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AND ACTION
MMA Alert - Right to Repair passes MA Senate, but BAD for Motorcyclists!
Late Thursday evening, the Massachusetts State Senate passed SB2204, also known as "Right to Repair" in a mixed vote, but the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association (MMA), upon receiving and reviewing a copy of the passed bill cautions that this bill clearly excludes motorcycles meaning that motorcyclists are not protected under the new legislation. The MMA requests all riders to contact their State Senators to express their displeasure and contact your State Representative to request that they amend this bill to add Motorcycles back to the legislation!
Originally scheduled to be heard on April 26th, Senate Bill 2204 was being amended and was deferred several times until May 17th. The MMA previously reported that it could contain specific and potentially significant language that affects motorcycles adversely. Indeed, State Senator Thomas P Kennedy (D) Brockton filed an amendment to exempt motorcycles completely from this bill and the revised bill passed by the State Senate contains that very language which is based on heavy lobbying from the Motorcycle Industry Council representing the Motorcycle Manufacturers.
In essence, the Bill specifically removes Motorcycles from a list of defined “Motor Vehicles” despite their presence in the Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 90, Section 1. The specific listing of a Motorcycle as excluded from the definition of a Motor Vehicle means that motorcyclists who have bikes with computer controls could lose their right to repair our own motorcycles or to choose our favorite independent motorcycle service shop.
On May 17th, during the MMA’s Storm the State House, numerous MMA Board Members and riders visited Senator Kennedy’s office to ask for clarification of his position. The Senator seemed reluctant to speak with us asking if we were paid lobbyists (which we are not), but did hear our position, insisting that the bill was only still being written. Despite this, the re-drafted bill was presented to the Senate floor late in the evening with little time for anyone to review before it was passed by a mixed vote, even after some additional concern was raised by Senator Bob Hedlund on the floor.
Many modern motorcycles (those manufactured in the past few years and beyond) are now heavily computerized and many riders are already reporting that their independent service providers do not have the required access to manufacturer's authorized dealers in order to diagnose and reset computer codes.
The Right to Repair Coalition had been lobbying for this legislation to include Motorcycles, however their recent communication asks to support of the House passing the legislation as approved by the Senate. The MMA is actively in discussion with the Right to Repair Coalition to actively support amending the bill to include Motorcycles.
The MMA requests that you contact the Right to Repair Coalition, your favorite independent Motorcycle parts and repair providers, your State Senator, and your Representative via a phone call, letter, or a fax as soon as possible; let them know you do not want to be exempt from this law!! Tell them a Motorcycle is a Motor Vehicle – one requiring a special license, one requiring registration and inspection, and one you pay taxes on. Insist that the House amended Senate Bill 2204 to NOT have motorcycles exempted to the entire bill, rather only the specific section dealing with emissions testing during motor vehicle inspections which does not currently apply to motorcycles anyway.
To contact the Right to Repair Coalition, go to: http://massrighttorepair.com/
To find your State Senator please go to this link: http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Search and type in your address.
For more information see http://www.massmotorcycle.org/, contact chairman@massmotorcycle.org, or call 1-800-432-1MMA
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