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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.
NEWS FROM THE HILL –
Government Funding Battle, Regulatory Reform On the Horizon in 2017
One of the few “must dos” during December before Congress adjourns for the year was to fund the U.S. Government. There was a summer-time battle which resulted in an agreement by Republicans and Democrats to keep the government funded until 11:59pm on December 9. Well that day has come and as I write this at 12:53pm on Friday, 12/9, it is still unclear if a deal has been reached; at least in the Senate.
This week, the House GOP released the text of the bill, which would fund the federal government through April 28 of next year. The House passed the bill Thursday and the Senate was supposed to follow on Friday (today). The reason the Senate hasn’t yet taken up the bill (the last item before Congress officially adjourns until 2017) is due to a revolt by Senate Democrats to bolster miners’ health insurance provisions. If the funding bill is not passed by 11:59pm this evening, the government would effectively “shut down.” However, if this does occur, it’s expected to be brief with lawmakers working through the weekend to finalize the deal. However, another wrinkle that complicates things is that the House, after voting on its version, left town. If there are changes in the Senate bill, the House will have to come back to Washington to vote on an updated version. Never a dull moment, folks…..
Another item that’s been getting attention here in Washington is a renewed call for major regulatory reform legislation in the new Congress. More than 300 business and industry groups are calling on leadership to make regulatory reform legislation a priority in order to make the regulatory process more transparent. Agencies like the EPA and even the Department of Transportation have faced criticism that they need to be more accountable for their decisions and any issued regulations that place unnecessary burdens on stakeholders. Several legislators are leading the charge on this, including Colin Peterson (D-Minn.) who is pushing for a major bill which would make significant changes to how regulations are issued by federal agencies. The MRF is monitoring this emerging area closely, especially as it relates to the authority of the EPA who has been a thorn in the side of the motorcycle high performance part and aftermarket industry.
EXECUTIVE & REGULATORY UPDATES – Republicans Laying Groundwork for Rollback of Major Regulations
President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans are quickly making plans to roll back a slew of Obama administration regulations early next year. Trump has threatened to halt all regulatory activity as soon as he's in the Oval Office. The president-elect's plan includes a moratorium on new rules, as well as a vow to repeal recently published regulations that were pushed through in the final year of the Obama administration.
Trump's plan has been met with enthusiasm from Republican lawmakers who are already laying the groundwork. There is already a list of regulations circulating that stakeholders want Trump to “undo.” These range from the Labor Department's new overtime rules, the Environmental Protection Agency's Waters of the U.S. rule and others.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is taking a lead role in this effort, recently penning a letter to the Labor Department, Food and Drug Administration, and EPA warning the agencies against finalizing controversial rules before President Obama leaves office. Many are worried about a flood of so-called "midnight regulations" – a term used to describe a vacating President's last opportunity to lock in rules on legacy issues.
SMRO SNAPSHOT – ABATE of Minnesota
A well-recognized leader in the biker rights’ world, ABATE of Minnesota has had a busy 2016 and is in the process of winding down this year while gearing up for the next. One of the first big events that will be taking place in January is the Bikerday at the State Capitol on January 25. Last year the event faced hurdles due to construction at the Capitol, however this year there is nothing standing in the way to make it one of the most successful lobby days yet.
There will be no shortage of issues to discuss with state lawmakers at MN’s Bikerday; the organization plans to take the issue of anti-profiling of motorcyclists up again this year and are hopeful they can join the ranks of Maryland and Washington who are the only two states to have passed laws on this issue. ABATE of Minnesota will also be lobbying on insurance related issues to make sure bikers don’t face a significant increase in insurance cost. And they will be working on a Motorcycle Safety Bill that includes a proposed insurance discount for riders that take a certified motorcycle safety course, a “Start Seeing Motorcycles” license plate, and a language that would insure that all the money from motorcycle endorsements will go directly into the motorcycle safety fund.
ABATE of Minnesota will just be recovering from the madness of Bikerday when they’ll shift gears to prepare for ABATE University in April. ABATE U is Minnesota’s annual conference held to rally and educate motorcyclists about riding as well as provide a number of workshops focused on safety and legislative updates. The emerging theme for 2017’s conference seems to be ‘something for everyone’ as there are already a number of interesting speakers and workshops being planned. No doubt Minnesota will deliver a fantastic event.
On the charitable front, Minnesota’s chapters continue to lead efforts to do their part in giving back. Recently a local Minnesota chapter held a bowling event which raised several thousand dollars to give to the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization. That same chapter is now working during December to provide items for Toys For Tots. Its activities like these that make ABATE of Minnesota and its chapters and members one of the most well-known in the biker community. Well-done MN!
PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION NEWS – Trump Names Oklahoma’s Scott Pruitt as EPA Head
This week, President-Elect Trump announced that Scott Pruitt, the Republican attorney general of Oklahoma and a frequent legal adversary to President Obama, was his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
This is significant for riders as Pruitt, if confirmed, will determine the direction and priorities of the EPA over the next 4 years. As you know, the EPA has jurisdiction over a number of issues that affect bikers including the amount of ethanol in the fuel market, motorcycle emissions standards which affect riders as well as the high performance and aftermarket industry, and generally just serves to make riders lives’ a living hell.
Many are encouraged by the selection of Scott Pruitt - he has always been a staunch critic of the EPA and has vowed to dismantle the EPA regulations that Trump targeted throughout his campaign as job killers that restrict economic growth. Pruitt has been a legal opponent of President Obama over nearly every major regulation and has led litigation against Obama's landmark climate rule for power plants, as well as water regulations and standards for ground-level ozone pollution, haze, methane and more. Also noteworthy, Pruitt is a known skeptic of climate change and has indicated that, in his first 100 days in office, would help carry out Trump's campaign promises to repeal Obama's entire executive climate change agenda.
However, Senate Democrats and other groups are suggesting pushback - saying they will not support Pruitt in the required Senate confirmation hearing that Pruitt is required to go through. They have indicated they will employ delay tactics in an attempt to force Trump to pick another potential EPA Administrator.
Also important to mention – Pruitt is a well-known ally of the oil industry. And though he has not come out and said anything specific about the Renewable Fuel Standard and ethanol, his close relationship is concerning to many in the ethanol industry about the role he may take on the controversial issue of ethanol. It’s also unclear how Pruitt’s feelings on ethanol will relate to Donald Trump who has indicated a commitment to protect the Renewable Fuel Standard.
MRF NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Continuing with my announcement from last week, your MRF has been working hard to implement some new programs in order to help you be a better advocate for the biker community. Last week, I detailed the new Federal Legislative Issues tab under the Legislative Action Center on the MRF website. This week I want to highlight the STATE legislative issues tab….
One of the primary purposes of the MRF network of biker rights’ enthusiasts is the ability to share information about what’s going on in your state regarding legislation. Many use (and still should use) an email to the proper list serves to gain this information. But…it’s a process. You have to draft the email, send it out and wait for a response that you (hopefully) get and is (hopefully) correct.
One of the software programs I used in a previous job was called CQ State Track. This service allows you to track as many legislative issues as you want across ALL FIFTY states. Simply set up your search parameters and wait for the hits to come back. Listening in at September’s Meeting of the Minds, I heard about some of the state issues you are facing – bills about right of way violations, auxiliary lighting, ethanol, handlebar-related bills, licensing issues, taillights and of course; helmet laws. Taking all of this information back to Washington with me, I have worked with a software company to develop customized searches on all of the aforementioned issues plus more. What you will eventually be able to do is utilize the MRF website to see what bills in your state exist concerning autocycles or lane filtering/splitting among other issues. You can see where the bill is in real time, who introduced it, what progress it’s made and more. Another pretty cool feature is that if you want to see all states that have profiling bills or helmet bills, you can search by issue area as well. This will give you the current status of that particular issue and where it stands across the entire United States. Maybe it’s the political junkie/nerd in me – but I think this is pretty freakin’ cool. And for our legislative reps and state lobbyists – this is going to make tracking and monitoring bills a hell of lot easier.
I hope you’ll check out the website and also consider joining a webinar next week to learn more about how to use the software. If you’d like to listen is, just contact me at megan@mrf.org with your full name, email address, and what SMRO you are affiliated with.
Until then – ride safe and ride free
Your Friend in Washington,
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Megan Ekstrom
Vice-President of Government Affairs & Public Relations
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation