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Posted on June 17th, 2009 at 9:46 am.
HB 2377, a bill sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Tomei that looks to strengthen laws against people who use mobile devices (texting or talking) while driving, has made it out of the Senate Rules Committee (where it was stuck last time we checked in) and is headed for a vote on the Senate floor.
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Posted on June 9th, 2009 at 11:13 am.
Rep. Carolyn Tomei
Last time we checked in on HB 2377, it was on its way to easy passage on the House floor.
It got through the House at the end of April by a vote of 38-22. Since then, it has had one reading in the Senate, bounced around to committees and work sessions [...]
Posted on June 1st, 2009 at 1:46 pm.
An exercise equipment store.(Photo © J. Maus)
A bill introduced by the United States House of Representatives in April would allow Americans to spend up to $1,000 in pre-tax dollars in a "flex-spend" account for the purchase of "qualified sports and fitness expenses."
The Public Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act of 2009 (H.R. 2105, cleverly known [...]
Posted on April 27th, 2009 at 4:37 pm.
Mary O'Donnell, shown hereat a press conference for the bill last June, lost her husband due to a careless driver.(Photos © J. Maus)
At a work session of the House Judiciary Committee in Salem today, the BTA's Vehicular Homicide Bill (HB 3399) was withdrawn from the agenda, thereby terminating its chances to become law this session.
According [...]
Posted on April 27th, 2009 at 1:05 pm.
Inside the House Transportation Committee.(Photos © J. Maus)
As the clock ticks in Salem on the 2009 legislative session, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) and other bike advocates are making last ditch efforts to make Oregon's laws more friendly to bikes.
Today in Salem, work sessions (different from public hearings in that no testimony is heard) will [...]
Posted on April 23rd, 2009 at 11:55 am.
"I bike and walk a lot...I'm especially careful when people are on a cell phone because their attention is obviously on someone else and not me."--State Rep. Carolyn Tomei, sponsor of a bill to ban use of mobile devices while driving.
A bill that would ban cell phones and texting while driving passed out of committee [...]
Posted on April 22nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm.
Rep. Jules Bailey(Photo © J. Maus)
The Portland Mercury's Matt Davis is reporting that House Representative Jules Bailey (D-SE Portland) places blame for the demise of the Idaho Stop law on the way the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) handled the departure of Karl Rohde.
In an update to a story published yesterday on the Mercury blog, [...]
Posted on April 21st, 2009 at 4:29 pm.
Scott Bricker speaking at the Oregon Bike Summit today.(Photo © J. Maus)
Speaking at the opening session of the Oregon Bike Summit today, Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) Executive Director Scott Bricker gave a rundown of their existing priority bills in the 2009 legislative session.
With the door officially closed on Idaho Stops (interesting report about it on [...]
Posted on April 20th, 2009 at 2:12 pm.
"...they [legislators] had heard from a number of constituents who were very concerned and opposed to giving cyclists what they viewed as special rights."--Doug Parrow, Chair of the BTA's Legislative Committee
An effort to pass the "Idaho Stop Law" in Oregon has officially ceased all forward motion.
I confirmed this morning from Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) legislative [...]
Posted on April 17th, 2009 at 9:50 am.
"We as a society need to address and reinforce that driving and bicycling requires full concentration on the road, unfettered awareness of roadway conditions and instant attention to non-motorized roadway users."--Jerry Norquist, in a letter to ODOT
The Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (OBPAC) has sent a formal letter to the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC, [...]
Posted on April 16th, 2009 at 9:52 am.
Bricker on the steps of the Capitol in 2007.(Photo © J. Maus)
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is working feverishly to garner more support for the Idaho Stop Law (HB 2690) with legislators in Salem.
According to BTA Executive Director and lobbyist Scott Bricker, the Chair of the House Transportation Committee has given him a significant hurdle [...]
Posted on April 6th, 2009 at 3:44 pm.
BTA veteran Doug Parrow will help bolster legislative efforts in Karl Rohde's departure.(Photos © J. Maus)
I got in touch with BTA executive director Scott Bricker today to ask him about how their recent shift in personnel would impact their 2009 legislative agenda.
On Friday, I reported that the BTA's government relations and public affairs director Karl [...]
Posted on April 6th, 2009 at 10:07 am.
Tim O'Donnell's widow, Mary O'Donnell, had these buttons made for the hearing.
Last Friday, just two days after he relieved former BTA lobbyist Karl Rohde from his duties, executive director Scott Bricker was down in Salem filling his former role as the organization's chief lobbyist.
Bricker presented the BTA's position on their proposed Vehicular Homicide [...]
Posted on March 23rd, 2009 at 11:23 am.
The letter from Eugene's bike program coordinator in opposition to the Idaho Stop bill.(Download PDF)
Last week, when the Idaho Stop Law bill -- which would allow bikes to treat stop signs as yields (adopting a law similar to one already on the books in Idaho) -- was in its first hearing down in Salem, [...]
Posted on March 20th, 2009 at 10:32 am.
[Update, 10:50am: According to a comment from Karl Rohde of the BTA, the work session has been delayed for a few weeks.]
The BTA's Karl Rohde, seen here on the steps of the capitolearlier this week.(Photos © J. Maus)
The House Transportation Committee has scheduled a work session for the Idaho Stop law proposal (HB 2690).
The work [...]
Posted on March 19th, 2009 at 4:03 pm.
(Photo © J. Maus)
Karl Rohde, the BTA lobbyist who is working on a bill in Salem that would allow bicycles to treat stop signs as yields (known as the "Idaho Stop law"), tells us that the fate of the bill hangs in the balance. (The bill received its first committee hearing yesterday).
According to Rohde [...]
Posted on March 18th, 2009 at 7:25 am.
"And you're scratching your head wondering when was the last time you saw one actually stop."-- Harry Esteve, The Oregonian
It's the BTA's worst nightmare.
They've spent months preparing for the smooth passage of the Idaho Stop Law (the proposed bill, HB 2690, would allow bicycle operators to enter a stop-sign controlled intersection without stopping [...]
Posted on March 17th, 2009 at 3:25 pm.
Through those doors, the laws are made.(Photos © J. Maus)
Tomorrow I'll make my first trip down to Salem this session -- and what a full day it's shaping up to be.
My day will start with a meeting of the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC). The OTC is the five-person, governor-appointed cabinet that sets transportation policy [...]
Posted on March 16th, 2009 at 12:02 pm.
"Right now, it's not moving...it's not going anywhere."-- Colleen Krieger, legislative assistant to Rep. Wayne Krieger
As the bike registration bill saga enters its second week, all signs point to the demise of H.B. 3008.
The bill, which seeks a mandatory fee of $54 to register all bicycles in Oregon that are operated on public roadways (except [...]
Posted on March 16th, 2009 at 11:04 am.
A scene from last summer's Sunday Parkways event.(Photo © J. Maus)
It may not feel like it outside, but summer is fast approaching and the City of Portland Office of Transportation is busy putting the pieces together for their second annual Sunday Parkways events.
Last year, the city held one Sunday Parkways event in North Portland. [...]
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