May 25,2000

Since September 1999, I have focused on Florida's Helmet law. For just this update I will stray from this to remind you that this Memorial Day weekend Rolling Thunder XIII will take place on September 28, 2000.  Rolling Thunder is a motorcycle run in Washington DC that demands the full accountability of all the POW/MIA from all of the wars of this nation.  There are still over 2,000 servicemen and servicewomen who remain unaccounted just from the Vietnam War.  Last year as part of Rolling Thunder XII, 250,000 motorcycles paraded through the streets of Washington, DC and gathered at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  I hope many of Florida's motorcyclists attend this event.  Also, a bill passed in the Florida Legislature this session the requires the Department of Transportation to fly the POW/MIA flag, and to erect appropriate markers honoring POW's and MIA's, at each of the rest areas along interstate highways in this state.  The Governor is expected to sign SB1018.

As of this morning HB1911 and 184 other bills are still waiting to be sent to Governor Bush for his signature.
 

May 24, 2000

Sometimes timing is everything.  Mark your calendars!  This Friday, May 26, 2000, at 11:30 a.m., Governor Jeb Bush will hold the very first Cyber Town Hall meeting during his tenure as Governor.  Please join the Governor during this inaugural Cyber Town Hall meeting by accessing Governor Bush's website this Friday morning at 11:30 a.m.  The address is:

www.flgov.com

Please spread the word about this event.  What better forum to show support for his signing HB1911 and to ask him what he intends to do.  Thank you to CharlieCLU for bringing this to my attention.

Added 6:40 PM

I need to share with you what I just experience.  I was driving in my car and pulled up next  to someone on a Harley.  I yelled over and asked if he has called the Governor (Ok, so I'm getting a little carried away here)?  The driver said, "Why?  It's a done deal.  The helmet bill is tucked in the middle of a bigger transportation bill that the Governor must sign."  I quickly tried to set him right before the light changed.  Then, I brought some flyers over to Jim's HD in St. Pete and asked one of the managers if I could leave some handouts.   He said he thought the Governor already signed the bill and it would be law on Oct. 1, 2000.  I explained what is going on and he didn't say a word.  He just took the flyers and placed them on the counter.  He then thanked me for helping out.  I'm telling you this because there are a lot of people out there who have the wrong information.  Please help in getting the message out.  If anyone challenges your information either give them this website address (just have them type helmet law in Yahoo) or have them call the Florida Legislative Information Division, toll free for Florida residents, at 1-800-342-1827.

HB1911 did not make it to the Governor again today but about 40 other bills did.  There are less than 200 bill remaining to go the the Governor.  Don't forget to let everyone know what you think and to read what others have to say about this issue.  Please continue to read the previous update.
 

May 23, 2000

Bills are slowly making there way over to Governor Bush for his signature.  Only 256 Bill remain as of the end of the day yesterday. HB1911 is still waiting patiently for its turn to make the trip to the Governors desk.  Update:  40 more bills went over today but not our bill.

On the Voice Your Opinion page, Luchinelli let us know of an article in last Sunday's St. Pete Times  about the helmet issue.  The article reported the Governor received about 500 letters and emails, 65 percent from the bill's supporters and 35 percent from opponents.  Luchinelli pointed out that this would mean only 325 people called to ask the governor to sign HB1911.  I called the Governor's office and spoke with the individuals who collect this information and actually present it to the Governor.  Here's what I was told.

Telephone Calls
While she couldn't give me exact numbers, Peggy said there have been over 1000 calls on this issue and the calls are running 95% for the Governor to sign HB1911.  Telephone calls are a good way to let the Governor know how you feel but make sure you give your name and address to the person taking the call.

Emails
According to Regina, who handles written correspondence, there has been about 790 emails sent to the Governor on HB1911.  70% have asked for him to sign the bill and 30% asked for a veto.

Letters and Faxes
As of today Regina said the Governor has received 133 letters.  Only 59 letters have asked the Governor to sign HB1911.  74 have asked for his veto.  When writing a letter you need to sign the letter and give your name and address in the letter.  Letters and petitions without this information are discarded.

Now let's put this in perspective.  With a little math we can figure out that about 1562 people have asked Jeb Bush to sign HB1911.  According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles records, there are almost 497,000 motorcycle driver license endorsements and 229,684 registered motorcycles in the State of Florida.  That leaves us with some alarming results:

A little more than one half of one percent (.0068%) of the individuals who own a motorcycle have contacted the Governor.

Slightly more than one quarter of one percent (.0031%) of those individuals who are licensed to operate a motorcycle in the State of Florida took the time to contact the Governor.

I cannot speculate how the governor will look at this but make no mistake, according to the individuals I spoke with today, this is the information that our Governor will receive.  Let me ask you, how much do you think Jeb Bush would believe it would hurt his political future if he vetoed a bill that apparently only concerned .0031% of the people it affected?  Keep in mind the only controversial issue in HB1911 is the helmet language.

Look, we can make a difference or we can just sit back and see what happens.  Everyone needs to get his or her family and friends to write to the Governor.  If we would print out the flyer and pass it out when we go to bike night or post it where our fellow bikers hang out it would make a difference.  Many people email jokes back and forth every day.  Email these same people who send you jokes and ask them to contact the Governor.  We need to get more letters sent or faxed to the Governor.  You do not need to write anything fancy.  Dear Governor, please respect my right to make an adult decision and Sign HB1911 when it comes to your desk.  If you want to pass on more information to the Governor then do it.  Just write the letter.  If you don't want to type it then hand print it.  Again here is the Governors Information.

Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Telephone: 850/488-4441
Fax: 850/487-0801
Email:  fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us

If anyone has any suggestions or comments please put them in the Voice Your Opinion section.  Just think in 37 days we may be able to make our own decision if we do the work now.
 

May 18, 2000

11 bills were sent over to the Governor Bush for his signature since my last update.  HB1911 was not among them.  There are 356 bills that still remain to be enrolled, signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, and sent over to Jeb Bush.  In doing some research of last years bills, I found that most bills were sent to the governor from mid May through mid June.  Last year, the legislative session ended a week earlier than this year's session.

The delay in the Governor getting the bill may actually work to our advantage.  First, it gives us extra time to have our opinion heard by the Governor and second, it is allowing some of the uproar against the bill to dissipate off into oblivion.  Hopefully, without the issue in the forefront, it may make it easier for the Governor to sign the bill.  This is not to say that there is much doubt that the Governor will keep true to his word and sign the bill as he has promise.  Of course if enough people call and ask him to sign the bill, it won't matter what the opposition has to say.

There has been a lot of activity in the Voice Your Opinion page.  I sent the link to the Governor's office.  Maybe one of his staff will look at it and let the Governor know what people are saying.  One person who shared their opinion on the page, Michelle Warren, offered a very good comment about other costs to society that everyone including motorcyclist are forced to bear.  I took the liberty of sending this information to the Governor in an email.  Thanks Michelle.

Here is the link to the poster if you want to print it and pass it out or to post it at your favorite watering hole.  Also, the last time I spoke with the Governors office I was told the calls were coming in about 50/50 so we need to keep calling.  If you've already called, call again.  Here's the information:

Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Telephone: 850/488-4441
Fax: 850/487-0801
Email:  fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us
 

May 15, 2000

Just a quick note to let you know this is not the time to panic. Governor Bush  has not even received the bill yet.  There are 367 bills that need to be sent to the Governor, HB1911 is among those bills.  They cannot send all the bills over at one time because once the Governor receives a bill he only has 15 days to decide what he wants to do.

We need to stay focused.  There are a hell of a lot of motorcyclists out there who may not be getting the same information you are.  Many may not know what to do.  It is up to you and me to tell them what they need to do.  I have made a poster/flyer that you can print out.  This can be a hand out to people or you can post it at your local motorcycle repair shop, parts shop, showroom or anywhere else concerned people will read it.  Hey, how about where we all go to bike night or hooters, winghouse and the like?  Click here to view the poster.  You will need to use your back button to get back here.

Years have gone by waiting for a opportunity like this.  Months has passed since HB0117 has been introduced.  In the next couple of week a decision will be made. We need to focus on this just a few more days.

Do you have any ideas or comments.  Post them in the Voice Your Opinion page.  While there, read what fellow bikers are saying and doing.

May 14, 2000

The Orlando Sentinel has struck again.  This time, in a news article published Sunday May 14, 2000, Gwyneth K. Shaw of the Sentinel staff concocted a story using statistics, and the opinions of doctors, a nurse, the leader of a Christian motorcycle group and law enforcement.  The article, which is filled with misleading information, incorrect statistics and language clearly meant to inflame it's readers, touched on every negative point of those who have oppose the change in the helmet law for the past 10 years.  It seems to me that the Sentinel is really trying to fire up the general public.  In other words the opposition is going at full blast.  The Article goes as far as hint that if Governor Bush signs this, he will be responsible for a “Bloodletting.”

From what I've seen, it doesn't appear like the rest of Florida's media has focused on this issue as the Sentinel has.  This is the fifth or sixth article the Sentinel has published on this since HB1911 passed the Florida Legislature.  There's not much we can do about them printing articles.  I'm not going to waste my time responding to them again.  I'm going to work harder to get people to help me call the governor to ask him to sign the bill.

Speaking of the Governor, I hope I don’t sense some waffling on his part.  In the Sentinel article and in the email his office is sending in reply to this issue, the governor is now said to be considering the amount of the insurance required by the bill.  This is a major departure from his earlier statement that he would let the Legislature deal with the insurance amount.

Go to the Voice Your Opinion Page and let us know what you think.

Below is a sampling of what the media has to say about the passage of HB1911.

Daytona Beach News-Journal
Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale
Florida Times Union, Jacksonville
Florida Times Union, Jacksonville
Tampa Tribune
Tampa Tribune
St, Pete Times
Gainesville Sun
Gainesville Sun
Sarasota News
 

May 11, 2000

The Governor still has not received HB1911.  Once he receives it, according to Article III Section 8 of the Florida Constitution, he has 15 consecutive days to consider and the sign the bill.  If he doesn’t sign it in that time, it becomes law.  Since HB1911 is not an appropriations bill, the Governor does not have line item veto authority.  If he doesn’t like something within the bill must veto the whole bill.  It takes a 2/3 vote in the House and the Senate to override the veto.  That will never happen.

If you call the Governor’s office you obviously will have a slim chance of talking to old Jeb himself.  Just let the person you’re talking to know you want the Governor to please sign HB1911 when the bill arrives at his office.  The most important thing is that you make the call or send the letter.  Do it now.  No matter where you call from in the State of Florida it shouldn’t cost you more than $0.50.  Just tell the person who answers the phone, who you are, where you live and say, “please ask the Governor to sign HB1911 when he receives it.”  If you want to send an email or fax, just include the same information.  In fact, why not contact the Governor in all three ways.  Today, call him, tomorrow email him and the next day send him a fax.

By no means is this a done deal.  If you do not believe me, when you call the Governor’s office, ask them if they are getting any calls against this bill.  The media has done its job in stirring up the pot.  The opponents who want us to keep the lids on are working on this tirelessly.  We need to respond in numbers and we need to recruit anyone who will listen to contact the Governor.  My mailman said he’d call the Governor for us.

On July 1, 2000 the people of Florida may be able to make a choice, but only if we do the work today.  Here’s the information you need:

Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Telephone: 850/488-4441
Fax: 850/487-0801
Email:  fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us

We've had a lot of comments in Voice Your Opinion page so make sure you check them out.  While your there let us know how you feel or share any information you may have.
 

May 09, 2000

As of today the Governor still has not received HB1911.

There has been much reaction now that the word is out about HB1911 passing the Florida Legislature.  The Orlando Sentinel has published another editorial and several bleeding hearts type stories.  And get this, the following cartoon appeared in the St. Pete Times published yesterday:

You can bet your Fatboy that every group opposed to helmet modification will be in touch with the Governors office to ask him not to sign this bill.   The bill has passed the legislature but must be signed by Governor Jeb Bush to become law.  You and everyone you know must call the Governors office and ask him to sign HB1911.  The opposition is doing it so we must also let our voice be heard.  Here is the Governor's contact information:

Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Telephone: 850/488-4441
Fax: 850/487-0801
Email:  fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us

We've had a lot of comments in Voice Your Opinion page so make sure you check them out.  While your there let us know how you feel or share any information you may have.
 

May 06, 2000

I have received many emails from people asking questions about the legislation that has passed. Here are some of those questions.

Will the Governor sign HB1911?
There is every indication he will sign this Bill.  In the past he has been very supportive of amending the helmet law.  If he would decide to veto it, it would most likely be due to some other part of the bill and not the helmet language.  If he did veto the bill the entire bill would not become law.

Does this repeal Florida's helmet law?
No, Florida will still have a helmet law.  What it does is allow a person over 21 years of age from wearing a protective headgear while operating or riding upon a motorcycle if such person is covered by an insurance policy providing for at least $10,000 in medical benefits for injuries incurred as a result of a crash while operating or riding on a motorcycle.

Can my insurance be my health insurance policy from work?
Yes, health insurance, as well as traditional insurance policies will meet the requirement as long as it will pay for at least the first $10,000 of your medical bills should you be injured while operating or riding on a motorcycle.  However, some health insurance policies and auto policies specifically exclude coverage for activities involving motorcycles, ATV’s, jet skis and other similar activities.  Check you insurance policy carefully.

When can I get rid of the lid?
July 1, 2000 if the Governor signs HB1911.

How will this law be enforced?
Good Question!  I guess it will be up to local law enforcement to decide when and why they should stop a helmetless motorcycle rider.  The law contains no provisions for enforcement.  There is also no requirement to carry or display proof of insurance.  There is no prescribed penalty for driving without a helmet and with no insurance other than the $30 fine for not wearing a helmet.  I'm sure there will be a learning period for both motorcyclist and law enforcement.

Does my passenger need insurance to ride without a helmet?
Yes, the law specifically includes, “operating or riding upon a motorcycle.”

What do I do with my helmet if I choose not to wear it?
Johnny Pate made these suggestions:  Keeping my head warm in winter. Putting it under my kickstand when I park in sand.  As a billboard for stickers (now minus the helmet laws suck sticker). For a porta-potty.  To carry water.  For oil changes.  A popcorn pot.

Who is doing this website?
Many people have asked this question.  My name is Frank.  I live in the Tampa Bay Area.  I do not belong to any MRO though I have nothing against any MRO’s.  I am basically just a Joe like you, except maybe a little more handsome.

Make sure you check out the comments from Florida's motorcyclist in the Voice Your Opinion page.  While your there let us know how you feel
 

May 04, 2000

Its hard to believe were almost there.  There is little doubt that Governor Bush will sign HB1911.   On July 1, 2000 we will be able to decide if we want to ride without a helmet or not.  But our work isn't finished.  We need to write a few more letters to thank the following individuals:

Representative Dave Russell – He agreed to take over sponsorship from Representative Nancy Argenziano, and Sponsored HB0117.

Representative Nancy Argenziano - She originally sponsored HB0117 but backed off it when she thought her sponsoring the bill would affect it progress.  She also sponsored HB0641 last year,

Representative Bruce Kyle – He authored and placed the helmet amendment on his own Bill, HB1911.

Senator Burt Saunders – He sponsored SB0126 and authored the amendment of SB780

Senator Daniel Webster – He allowed his bill SB780 to be amended making the Helmet amendment a friendly amendment.

All of the Sponsors and Co Sponsors in the House and in the Senate. – They have continued to support motorcyclist in spite of the adversity of past years.  Whether it was at the committee meetings, on the floor in debate or behind the scene talking to their colleagues, they continued to be our voice and work hard to get us to the Governor's desk.

James "Doc" Reichenbach, Lobbyist and President of ABATE of Florida.  Over the years Doc has worked to make this happen.  Many of you will never know the contribution he put into this effort.  One quick example very few people know about.  When HB0117 was getting close to its second reading Representative Joseph Arnall was going to introduce and amendment to increase the insurance Requirement to 100,000.  Doc and Representative Garcia went to Arnall’s office and convinced him to withdraw the amendment.  This is typical of Doc's involvement in getting the job done and just one of many, many examples.

The final letter you need to write is to Governor Jeb Bush.  Governor Bush has always stated he will sign a bill allowing the adult to make a decision in wearing a helmet.  HB1911 contains much, much more than the revised helmet law.  We need to ask him to sign HB1911 if for no other reason, then to give Florida's adult motorcyclist the right to make their own choice.

Make sure you check out the comments in the Voice Your Opinion page and while your there, let us know how you feel about the new law.
 

May 03, 2000 6:25 PM

HB1911 has passed the Florida Senate and is on its way to the Governor's office for his signature.  If you've been following along here on Helmet Law 101, you know that Representative Bruce Kyle added an amendment to HB 1911 that was the identical to the language of HB0117.  On the Senate Side, Senator Burt Saunders added the same amendment on SB780.  Well, Senator Daniel Webster substituted HB1911 (which had already passed the House) for SB780 when it came up for third Reading.  And by a vote of 35 Yea 1 Nay, HB1911 passed it's final chamber of the Florida Legislature.  With the passage of HB1911 so passes Florida helmet modification.  HB1911 makes changes to several Florida Statutes.  Remember, It's not law until the Governor signs it but it sure looks good.  Go to the Voice Your Opinion page and let everyone know how you feel about this.  More to come...
 

May 3, 2000 1:30 PM

HB0117 has been received by the Senate and referred to the Senate Transportation and the Banking & Insurance Committees.  There are no further planned committee meeting this session.  Unless both committees meet and pass the Bill, or the Bill is withdrawn from these Committees, HB0117 will die in Senate Committee. Now the good news, Road Three

Road Three

Representative Bruce Kyle offered an amendment to CS/CS/HB 1911, A Bill Relating to Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, that contains the identical language of HB0117.  The amendment was adopted and the Bill passed the House today 114 Yea to 4 Nay.  The bill is being sent over to the Senate Messages.  This Bill is comparable to SB780. which is on third reading in the Senate today.  If the Senate concurs with HB1911 the Helmet Law will be modified when the bill is signed by the Governor.  If SB780 passes the Senate and the House Concurs the Helmet Law will be modified when the bill is signed by the Governor.  Confused yet?  In spite of all of this it is looking really well for it to happen this session.
 

May 03, 2000

The legislative process continues to mystify me.  I spent all day yesterday on the phone with Tallahassee only to get confused and frustrated.  It is very hard to confirm what is taking place or what is going to take place when the House and Senate doesn't even know.  Ok, here's where we are as of this morning.  We now can use two roads to get to the same place.

Road One

HB0117 has passed the house and is sitting in Senate messages.  Its companion bill, SB0126 has
been sitting on the calendar since March 15, 2000.  Generally the way it works is, SB0126 is placed on
the Special Order Calendar.  When it comes up in order, it would then be laid on the table and
HB0117 would be taken up in its place.  SB0126 is not scheduled to be heard on the Senate Special
Order Calendar today May 3, 2000.  I was told that The President of the Senate, Toni Jennings could
simply call up HB0117 from messages but I have not confirmed this at this point.  The question is, if
she can do this will She?  It doesn't look good at this point.

Road Two,

CS for SB 780 is a bill entitled, an act relating to the operation of vehicles and vessels.  Yesterday, Senator Saunders, seeing that SB0126 was going nowhere and HB0117 may be stuck in messages, introduced Amendment Number 5, Bar Code 670160 to CS SB 780.  The language of this amendment is identical to the helmet language in both SB126 and HB0117.  At this point Senator Campbell introduced an amendment to the Saunders’ amendment to require $100,000 insurance coverage.  This was defeated.  Senator Saunders’ amendment number 5 was then voted on.  It was adopted by a vote of 20 yea 13 nay and is now being engrossed into SB780.  Here is how the senate voted.

Yeas—20
Madam President, Balart, Bronson, Brown-Waite, Casas, Childers, Clary, Cowin, Dawson, Diaz- Dyer, Hargrett, Horne, Jones, King, Laurent, Lee, Meek, Saunders, Scott, Webster

Nays—13
Campbell, Carlton, Diaz de la Portilla, Forman, Grant, Holzendorf, Klein, Kurth, Mitchell, Myers, Rossin, Sebesta, Sullivan

Senate Bill 780 is scheduled for it’s third reading early in today's Special Order Calendar in the Senate and is expected to pass the Senate.  CS SB 780 would then be placed in House messages to be heard and voted on by the House of Representatives.  Yesterday when I spoke to the Rules & Calendar committee in the House I was told and I quote, “the House does not ignore Senate Messages.

There are still three full days remaining in the 2000 legislative session.  Rules are suspended and changed at the end of the session to allow quicker progress and passage of a greater number of bill.  We are by no means dead at this point.  If you would like to do anything further, Call the president of the Senate, Toni Jennings, and ask her to allow HB0117 to come to the senate floor.
Phone: (850) 487-5229,
Email: jennings.toni.web@leg.state.fl.us
More to come…
 

May 02, 2000

I thought you would be interested to see how the Florida House voted.  Please make sure you thank those representatives who voted to pass HB0117.

The Final Vote on House Bill 0117 was:

75 Yea
42 Nay

Voting Yea:

The Chair, Albright, Alexander, Andrews, Argenio, Argenziano, Arnall, Bainter, Ball, Barreiro, Bense, Bitner, Bronson, Brummer, Byrd, Cantens, Constantine, Cosgrove, Crady, Crist, Detert, Dockery, Effman, Feeney, Flanagan, Fuller, Futch, Garcia, Gay, Goode, Green, C., Greenstein, Harrington, Hart, Heyman, Hill, Johnson, Kilmer, Kosmas, Kyle, Lee, Levine, Logan, Maygarden, Melvin, Merchant, Miller, J., Morroni, Ogles, Prieguez, Pruitt, Putnam, Rayson, Ritchie, Ritter, Roberts, Rojas, Rubio, Russell, Ryan, Sembler, Smith, C., Smith, K,. Spratt, Stafford, Stansel, Starks, Sublette, Trovillion, Tullis, Villalobos

Votes after roll call:
Yeas—Bradley, Lacasa, Murman
Nays to Yeas—Suarez
 

Voting Nay:

Betancourt, Bilirakis, Bloom, Boyd, Brown, Bucher, Bullard, Bush, Casey, Chestnut, Crow, Diaz de la Portilla, R., Edwards, Eggelletion, Farkas, Fasano, Fiorentino, Frankel, Goodlette, Gottlieb, Greene, A., Hafner, Henriquez, Jacobs, Jones, Kelly, Lawson, Littlefield, Lynn, Miller, L., Minton, Patterson, Peaden, Posey, Reddick, Sobel, Suarez, Turnbull, Wallace, Wasserman-Schultz, Waters, Wiles, Wilson

May 01, 2000

Well here we go again.  Believe it or not we were in almost this same position in 1997.  In 1997, HB641 passed the House of Representatives by one vote.  The bill was carried over to the next session and the Senate introduced a similar bill, Senate Bill 0224.  SB0224 made it past the Transportation Committee but then was voted unfavorable by the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance.  SB0224 was laid on the table and so were our hope for helmet repeal in 1998.

So here’s what happens next.  The Florida Senate will receive a message from the House of Representative that the House has passed HB0117.  The Senate can now vote on HB0117.  Bills that have cleared one chamber usually get priority, so HB0117 may be heard in the Senate as soon as tomorrow May 02, 2000.

To tell you that you need to call and email you State Senator may seem redundant but that’s exactly what you need to do.  The Senate has less than half as many members and we have very little time left.  There is strong opposition in the Senate.  There were only 6 co sponsors that joined Senator Saunders in SB0126.  The Banking and Insurance committee wanted $100,000 worth of insurance.  Make the telephone call tomorrow morning that will help us not repeat 1998’s disappointment
 

May 01, 2000 3:20 PM

HB0117 has just passed the Florida House of Representatives by a vote of 71 to 43.

The Florida House of Representatives speaker, John Thrasher, asked that the bill be read.  The clerk then read HB0117 for the third time.  Representative Dave Russell, the bills sponsor explained the bill.  The Speaker asked if there were any questions?  There were none.  Then he asked if there were any amendments?  There were none.  And then he asked was there any debate.  You could hear the buzz throughout the house.

First to rise to speak against the bill was Representative Elaine Bloom.  Giving a speech using statistics and calling on Representative Larry Crow to give his motorcycle story, She spoke strongly against the bill.  She ended her debate saying this bill will “put blood on the hands of those who vote for it.”

Representative Dee Dee Ritchie rose to speak for the bill saying basically that the government should not make this adult decision.  She also pointed out that the bill does not prevent a motorcyclist from wearing a helmet.

Representative Dennis Jones rose to speak against the bill.  Jones, who owns a motorcycle, relied on statistics from the NHTSA, UCLA and other organizations not friendly to motorcyclists.

At this point, the Speaker of the House seeing many members of the house wanting to debate this bill stopped the debate saying, “We’ve been down this road before with and with a helmet,” and “We all know where this is going.”  He then asked for the clerk to unlock the voting machines.  The final vote 71 Yea 43 Nay.