Read the FAQ's
Introduction
Contents
Our
Helmet Law
Helmet
Facts
Burden
On Society
Legal
Cases
The
Bills
Find
Your Legislators
Lobbying
Legislators
Sample
Letters
States,
Studies & Info
Updates
Voice
Your Opinion
Events
Credits
Harassment
& Stops
Send comments to the WebMaster
Register To Vote: Click here to begin the process
Previous updates, 2000
| January | July |
| February | |
| March | |
| April | |
| May | |
| June |
Previous updates, 1999
| September | November |
| October | December |
August Updates
August 10, 2000
I just received an email stating that Representative Russell has been called to Tallahassee for business and will not attend the forum tomorrow evening. August 11, 2000. Anyone who lives in District 44 is still encouraged to attend the forum but those who live outside the district need not attend.
August 08, 2000
The first bills of the 2001 Florida legislative session have been prefiled in the Florida Senate. Most of these bills have to do with relief issues and nothing is prefiled that concerns helmet legislation. What should we expect in the future?
Last week the St. Petersburg Times ran an article entitled, “Helmet Battle Simmers Anew.” The main topics of the article were the deaths of several helmet less motorcyclists in Florida and the promise from the opposition, “to see the helmet law back on the books” after the next legislation session. If you have been following along you know that many of the deaths are reported, at the scene by law enforcement, to be caused by the lack of a helmet. However, in most of the cases, medical experts contradict these early reports saying a helmet would not have made a difference.
Whether we like it or not, there will be a battle in the 2001 legislative session. We need to begin to prepare now.
The first step is to register to vote. The primary is September 05, 2000. The general election will be November 07, 2000. The primary is important because it is expected to be a light voter turnout due to the Labor Day Holiday. You can really help your candidate by voting during the primary.
In the Florida Senate, odd numbered district offices are up for election. In the Florida House of Representatives all district offices are up for election. Because of term limits, we will lose many of those that supported motorcyclists in the past. We now must find out how those who mean to replace legislators leaving office, feel about the modified helmet law.
To find out who the candidates are in your district, Click Here for State Representative Candidates or Click Here for State Senator candidates. If you do not know your Senate or House District number, Click Here. Once you have found the candidates in your district, you can follow the candidate's links for their campaign office information. Call their campaign office and ask if they support freedom of choice. If you get an answering machine, leave a message and they will call you back.
If the incumbent is running for reelection and supported us in amending the helmet law, it is our turn to help them. We will need their support in the upcoming legislative session. Which bring me to Representative Dave Russell of House District 44. Last legislative session, Representative Russell sponsored HB0117. He worked very hard to help modify our helmet law. This election year, his opponent is trying to use our issue to campaign against him. According to Jeff Baxla, his opponent is, "even using signs/billboards trying to portray his support of our legislation as stupid, and a reason to vote against him."
There will be a candidate forum in the Hernando County Commission chambers on Friday, August 11, 2000 at 7pm. We need to be there to support him as he supported us this past session. Brooksville is a great place to cruise and it would make a great ride for you and your friends. Please gather as many people you can to help show that we appreciate what Representative Russell has done for us in the past. Remember, WE ARE GOING TO NEED HIS SUPPORT AGAIN THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION. Here are the details of the meeting.
Hernando County Board of County Commissioners' chambers
20 North Main Street
Brookesville, Florida
(352) 754-4000
Meeting Starts 7:00 PMNo matter where you live in Florida, if at all possible please come help a friend who helped make it happen for us this July 1. We are going to need Representative Russell and those like him to support us next Spring. They won’t be able to help us if we do not help them now.
Back To Updates