Begin forwarded message:
From: Kasey Russell russell.kasey@gmail.com Date: April 4, 2013 9:34:47 AM EDT To: Andrea Salina andreathompson31@gmail.com, Andrea Salina a.salina@wvhub.org, Bill Austin baustin@labyrinth.net, Charles Holley cholley@cityofhuntington.com, Christiaan Abildso cgabildso@mail.wvu.edu, Craig Slaughter craig.slaughter@wvimb.org, Dennis A Strawn dennis.strawn@highmark.com, "DSpencer36@comcast.net" DSpencer36@comcast.net, Emily Vasile Emily.Vasile@mail.wvu.edu, Emily Vasile emilyvasile@gmail.com, Frank Gmeindl frank.gmeindl@comcast.net, Gail Pitchford gail.pitchford@camc.org, Gary Zuckett garyz@wvcag.org, Gary Zuckett garyz@wvcaef.org, Greg Garrett gagarrett@gmail.com, Jeffrey Lusk jlusk@trailsheaven.com, John Manchester jmanchester@lewisburg-wv.com, Michael Loughney mloughney@tioga-resources.com, Patricia Clay patricia.clay@southernwv.edu, Patrick Donovan pdonovan@njrati.org, Rahul Gupta rahul.gupta@wv.gov, Stacy Bisker selaineb@gmail.com, Steve Fowler smf@pffwv.com, Ted Armbrecht eca3@suddenlinkmail.com, Tom Heywood theywood@bowlesrice.com, Tom Wood twood84@gmail.com Subject: Fwd: HB 3021 Bicycle Saftey not passed by House today :(
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Gary Zuckett garyz@wvcag.org Date: Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 5:20 PM Subject: HB 3021 Bicycle Saftey not passed by House today :( To: Kasey Russell russell.kasey@gmail.com
WV Connecting Communities (this report is from Gary who was in the House gallery last night) -- Bad news:
Our HB3021 did not make the cut today. It was on the agenda and brought up for a passage vote when Rep Cadle (R) Mason got up and ranted and raved about how he was a truck driver and it takes 1,000 feet to stop a tractor trailer going 60 MPH and what’s he going to do crash into the oncoming car, run over the cyclist or run off the road? Of course none of this makes any sense but sense and reason sometimes takes a hike in the Chamber. It was enough to spook leadership…
At that point Del Fleischauer got up and gave a good defense but Speaker Thompson had our bill moved to the “foot of the bills” and then when it came back up had it laid over a day, effectively killing it because today is the last day to move bills out of the House to the Senate. I was told the Speaker was concerned that they didn’t know if they had the votes to pass the bill so rather than letting it go down with a no vote they put it off the calendar for today.
I’ll be looking for a “horse” - a bill that is already still alive and running that we can insert (amend) some or all of our bill into. This is a tricky maneuver and needs a lot of help from committee chairs and leadership so it’s a longshot but worth a try.
Gary Zuckett, for WV Connecting Communities
From: Christiaan Abildso [mailto:Christiaan.Abildso@mail.wvu.edu] Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2013 2:21 PM To: Tom Heywood; Gail Pitchford; Charles Holley; Don Spencer; Frank Gmeindl; Andrea Salina; Greg Garrett; Kasey Russell; Stacy Bisker; Tom Wood; Dennis A Strawn; Bill Austin; John Manchester; Emily Vasile; Patrick Donovan; Steve Fowler; Patricia Clay; Ted Armbrecht; Michael Loughney; Jeffrey Lusk; Rahul Gupta; Gary Zuckett; Craig Slaughter Cc: Susie K Salisbury; Tom Lane; Jodi Urbanic; Rod Watkins Subject: Re: HB3021
All - Update: Senate Bill 158 (Compete Streets Act) is scheduled to be taken up in the House Committee on Government Organization tomorrow, Thursday, April 4 at 9:30 a.m. Christiaan
On 4/2/2013 at 3:58 PM, russell.kasey@gmail.com wrote:
Hello WV Connecting Communities Members and a few others -- Gary Zuckett has let me know that our Bike Bill as it is being called is on third reading on the House of Delegates floor tomorrow. As of now, HB3021 has a four-foot passing requirement for motorists and repeals the mandatory bike path language. The far to the right repeal that we want in the bill was not amended back in and faces major opposition. Again, I am very happy with the dialogue this bill has created regarding cycling in our state. And, not just for recreation but a dialogue about biking to work, school, and errands. The bill is expected to pass the House but it is always nice for your Delegates to hear from their constituents. If you have a minute or two and feel comfortable calling your Delegate, now is the time to do so :). I will keep you posted on what happens tomorrow and the plan for the Senate. If any of you have a Complete Streets update, please let me know. I know Gary was hoping to help get this on the Transportation committee agenda in the House but not sure the status. Thanks everyone, kasey