News
This is the SJMC News section. Here you will find the latest info from SJMC.
Final Push to Stop the Ban on Youth Motorcycles and ATVs Begins this Week
14 02 2011BLUERIBBON COALITION PARTNER ALERT!
Final Push to Stop the Ban on Youth Motorcycles and ATVs Begins this Week
Dear BRC members, supporters and action alert subscribers,
Two years ago the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
implemented a new law, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
(CPSIA), regulating lead content in certain products including youth
model all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcycles and snowmobiles.
As a result, the CPSC initiated a ban on youth model OHVs.
Both the American Motorcyclists Association (AMA
) and the Motorcycle Industry
Council (MIC ) have been working with state,
local and other national groups on a fix. Today we have two action
items from each organization to recommend to our members to help fight
this unfair ban.
On January 25, Representative Denny Rehberg
(MT)
introduced H.R. 412, the Kids Just Want to Ride Act of 2011, which
would exempt kids’ off-highway vehicles (OHVs) from the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 that effectively bans
their sale beginning December 31, 2011. H.R. 412 is the most promising
and viable legislative remedy available to permanently exclude
kid-sized motorcycles and ATVs from the unintended consequences of the
CPSIA.
The AMA and others are strongly supporting this bipartisan effort and
are urging everyone who is concerned with the future of youth riding
to contact his or her representative and ask them to cosponsor H.R.
412, the Kids Just Want to Ride Act of 2011. For an easy email action
item and more info please go here
.
The Motorcycle Industry Council, who has been at the forefront in the
effort to encourage the CPSC modify their regulations, has sent out a
call to action for enthusiast and everyone in the powersports
community to help. We’ve pasted MIC’s Media Release below. Please,
take a minute; read it over and then Take Action.
Thanks in advance for your efforts,
Brian Hawthorne Ric Foster
Public Lands Policy Director Public Lands Department Manager
BlueRibbon Coalition BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102 208-237-1008 ext 107 Motorcycle Industry Council
Media Relations
(949) 727-4211, ext. 3027
The Final Push to Stop the Ban on Youth Motorcycles and ATVs
Begins this Week
Congressional Hearing to Review CPSIA; Grassroots Advocacy
at the 2011 Dealernews International Powersports Dealer Expo
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 14, 2011 – Two years of persistent efforts by
powersports enthusiasts, dealers and other industry representatives
have driven Congress to action. On February 17, the U.S. House of
Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade will
hold a hearing to review the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
(CPSIA). The Motorcycle Industry Council continues to focus Congress’
attention on the unintended ban on youth model ATVs and motorcycles
resulting from the CPSIA’s lead content provisions – and the safety
risks that the ban presents to youth riders – and has submitted a
letter
for the hearing.
“Congress knows that the risk to children comes from banning youth
models, not from the lead in metal parts, and there now is a will to
solve this problem once and for all,” said Paul Vitrano, MIC’s general
counsel. “We urge Congress to stop the ban by either lowering the age
range of ‘children’s products’ to age 6 and under or granting a
categorical exemption for youth ATVs and motorcycles, as provided in
Representative Denny Rehberg’s bill, H.R. 412.”
MIC has issued a video call to action
urging
the powersports community to make a final push to encourage their
Congressional representatives to amend the CPSIA to ensure youth ATVs
and motorcycles remain available. “The timing of this hearing is
perfect,” Vitrano added. “With much of the industry gathering in
Indianapolis this week for the Dealer Expo, we have a tremendous
opportunity to flood Capitol Hill with hand-signed letters and
electronic messages asking our Representatives and Senators to stop
the ban.”
Enthusiasts can use the portal on www.stopthebannow.com to send an
electronic message to their Members of Congress as well as the members
of the House and Senate committees with oversight of the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission. MIC also will again work the floor at the
Dealer Expo to gather thousands of signatures on letters to
Congressional leadership. For those not attending the show, the
letters are available on www.stopthebannow.com.
The Motorcycle Industry Council exists to
preserve, protect and promote motorcycling through government
relations, communications and media relations, statistics and
research, aftermarket programs, development of data communications
standards, and activities surrounding technical and regulatory issues.
It is a not-for-profit, national industry association representing
manufacturers and distributors of motorcycles, scooters,
motorcycle/ATV/ROV parts and accessories, and members of allied trades
such as insurance, finance and investment firms, media companies and
consultants.
The MIC is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., with a government
relations office in metropolitan Washington, D.C. First called the MIC
in 1970, the organization has been in operation since 1914. Visit the
MIC at www.mic.org. # # # The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions
responsible recreation, and encourages individual environmental
stewardship. With members in all 50 states, BRC is focused on building
enthusiast involvement with organizational efforts through membership,
outreach, education, and collaboration among recreationists.
1-800-BlueRib – www.sharetrails.org
Final Push to Stop the Ban on Youth Motorcycles and ATVs Begins this Week
Dear BRC members, supporters and action alert subscribers,
Two years ago the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
implemented a new law, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
(CPSIA), regulating lead content in certain products including youth
model all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcycles and snowmobiles.
As a result, the CPSC initiated a ban on youth model OHVs.
Both the American Motorcyclists Association (AMA
) and the Motorcycle Industry
Council (MIC ) have been working with state,
local and other national groups on a fix. Today we have two action
items from each organization to recommend to our members to help fight
this unfair ban.
On January 25, Representative Denny Rehberg
(MT)
introduced H.R. 412, the Kids Just Want to Ride Act of 2011, which
would exempt kids’ off-highway vehicles (OHVs) from the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 that effectively bans
their sale beginning December 31, 2011. H.R. 412 is the most promising
and viable legislative remedy available to permanently exclude
kid-sized motorcycles and ATVs from the unintended consequences of the
CPSIA.
The AMA and others are strongly supporting this bipartisan effort and
are urging everyone who is concerned with the future of youth riding
to contact his or her representative and ask them to cosponsor H.R.
412, the Kids Just Want to Ride Act of 2011. For an easy email action
item and more info please go here
.
The Motorcycle Industry Council, who has been at the forefront in the
effort to encourage the CPSC modify their regulations, has sent out a
call to action for enthusiast and everyone in the powersports
community to help. We’ve pasted MIC’s Media Release below. Please,
take a minute; read it over and then Take Action.
Thanks in advance for your efforts,
Brian Hawthorne Ric Foster
Public Lands Policy Director Public Lands Department Manager
BlueRibbon Coalition BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102 208-237-1008 ext 107 Motorcycle Industry Council
Media Relations
(949) 727-4211, ext. 3027
The Final Push to Stop the Ban on Youth Motorcycles and ATVs
Begins this Week
Congressional Hearing to Review CPSIA; Grassroots Advocacy
at the 2011 Dealernews International Powersports Dealer Expo
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 14, 2011 – Two years of persistent efforts by
powersports enthusiasts, dealers and other industry representatives
have driven Congress to action. On February 17, the U.S. House of
Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade will
hold a hearing to review the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
(CPSIA). The Motorcycle Industry Council continues to focus Congress’
attention on the unintended ban on youth model ATVs and motorcycles
resulting from the CPSIA’s lead content provisions – and the safety
risks that the ban presents to youth riders – and has submitted a
letter
for the hearing.
“Congress knows that the risk to children comes from banning youth
models, not from the lead in metal parts, and there now is a will to
solve this problem once and for all,” said Paul Vitrano, MIC’s general
counsel. “We urge Congress to stop the ban by either lowering the age
range of ‘children’s products’ to age 6 and under or granting a
categorical exemption for youth ATVs and motorcycles, as provided in
Representative Denny Rehberg’s bill, H.R. 412.”
MIC has issued a video call to action
urging
the powersports community to make a final push to encourage their
Congressional representatives to amend the CPSIA to ensure youth ATVs
and motorcycles remain available. “The timing of this hearing is
perfect,” Vitrano added. “With much of the industry gathering in
Indianapolis this week for the Dealer Expo, we have a tremendous
opportunity to flood Capitol Hill with hand-signed letters and
electronic messages asking our Representatives and Senators to stop
the ban.”
Enthusiasts can use the portal on www.stopthebannow.com to send an
electronic message to their Members of Congress as well as the members
of the House and Senate committees with oversight of the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission. MIC also will again work the floor at the
Dealer Expo to gather thousands of signatures on letters to
Congressional leadership. For those not attending the show, the
letters are available on www.stopthebannow.com.
The Motorcycle Industry Council exists to
preserve, protect and promote motorcycling through government
relations, communications and media relations, statistics and
research, aftermarket programs, development of data communications
standards, and activities surrounding technical and regulatory issues.
It is a not-for-profit, national industry association representing
manufacturers and distributors of motorcycles, scooters,
motorcycle/ATV/ROV parts and accessories, and members of allied trades
such as insurance, finance and investment firms, media companies and
consultants.
The MIC is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., with a government
relations office in metropolitan Washington, D.C. First called the MIC
in 1970, the organization has been in operation since 1914. Visit the
MIC at www.mic.org. # # # The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions
responsible recreation, and encourages individual environmental
stewardship. With members in all 50 states, BRC is focused on building
enthusiast involvement with organizational efforts through membership,
outreach, education, and collaboration among recreationists.
1-800-BlueRib – www.sharetrails.org
Categories : news
WASHINGTON – State Legislature Introduces Two User Fee Bills
8 02 2011BLUERIBBON COALITION PARTNER ACTION ALERT!
WASHINGTON – State Legislature Introduces Two User Fee Bills
Dear BRC members, supporters and action alert subscribers,
Tod Petersen, Political Action Committee Chairman for the Washington Off-Highway Vehicle Alliance (WOHVA), just emailed about two user fee bills just introduced in the state legislature.
Tod is asking us to alert all BRC members in Washington State and ask that you read their alert, and if you don't like this legislation and would like ORVs to be exempt from these new fees, then please let both of your State House of Representatives members and your State Senator know how you feel ASAP.
I've pasted their alert below, so please take a minute to read it over and take action. Then, pass this important alert on to your friends and family, and please ask them take action as well.
Thanks in advance for your involvement,
Ric Foster
Public Lands Department Manager
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 107
PS: Don't forget the WOHVA OHV Rally is scheduled for Friday, February 25, 2011, at the State Capitol. Plan on attending and show your support for motorized off-road recreation.
You can download a copy of the flyer hereand more information is available on WOHVA OHV Rally 2011 website.
The Washington State Legislature has introduced two user fee bills.
Senate Bill SB5622 and HB1796 would both require a $30 per year, per vehicle pass to enter any public land managed by Washington state Parks, Department of Natural Resources or Department of Fish and Wildlife.
See links:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5622&year=2011
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1796&year=2011
In addition to any street legal vehicle that you take onto public land, this would also apply to your ORV too.
An ORV permit will still be required in addition to this new access pass.
For each $30 pass sold only $2.25 would go to the DNR and none of that would be specifically allocated to support ORV recreation. Almost all of the rest of the money would go to State Parks where ORV use is prohibited.
If the revenue projections are correct, it works out to over $250 per acre of Parks managed land and only about 75 cents per acre for the land that the DNR manages. While the mission and recreational goals of the two agencies are different, the funding formula is still unfair to the citizens that recreate on DNR managed public land.
If you don't like this legislation and would like ORVs to be exempt from these new fees, then please let both of your State House of Representatives members and your State Senator know how you feel ASAP.
You can find them and contact them via this link:
www.leg.wa.gov
Some sample words to consider, or better yet write some of your own.
++++++++++++
Please exempt offroad vehicles from the public land access fees proposed in HB1796 and SB5622.
They already pay their access fee via the ORV gas tax and ORV use permits.
This is the only trail based recreation in the state that is completely self funded and now the Legislature is proposing to have these same citizens pay more to support other forms of recreation?
For each $30 pass sold only $2.25 would go to the DNR and none of that would be specifically allocated to support ORV recreation. Almost all of the rest of the money would go to State Parks where ORV use is prohibited.
Wasn't the Governor's request to not allocate general funds for Parks intended to remove the burden of paying for State Parks from the people that do not recreate there?
If so, charging ORV owners a new fee with almost all of it going to State Parks where they cannot recreate does not accomplish that intent.
I support the proper use of the existing fee system.
That is the ORV gas tax refund and the ORV permit fees going into the NOVA grant program and being used to benefit motorized offroad recreation.
++++++++++++++
happy trails,
Tod Petersen
Political Action Committee Chairman – Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance
Legislative/Land Use Coordinator – Northwest Motorcycle Association
Email: tod701@aol.com
The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible recreation, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. With members in all 50 states, BRC is focused on building enthusiast involvement with organizational efforts through membership, outreach, education, and collaboration among recreationists. 1-800-BlueRib – www.sharetrails.org
_______________________________________________________
As a non-profit, grassroots organization funded primarily by membership dues and donations, we greatly appreciate your support. Visit http://www.sharetrails.org/make-a-difference-now to help fund our efforts to protect your trails!
Categories : news
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