This page contains information about our elected official's voting records with regard to the inherently un-American Government drive to force Adult American Citizens to "protect themselves" by wearing motorcycle helmets that have been proven to cause far more harm than good.

Helmet Safety Info

Legislation alert!!!

HB 2454 (passed the House & Senate)! A bill to repeal the Oregon mandatory Helmet Law for riders over 21 has been successfully carried by Lonnie Roberts (D - House) and Gary George (R - Senate). The bill was vetoed by Governor John Kitzhaber(D) on 8/15/97, the last day before it would have automatically become law.

Also note related bills HB2452 (languishing in the House Transportation Committee) and HB2453 (passed unanamously by the House and Senate)

Click here to view Gov. Kitz' "reasons" for vetoing freedom of choice
Click here to see a rebuttal to the Governor's "logic"
Click here to see how the House voted
Click here to see how the Senate voted
Click here for full details on each Law maker
Click here to E-mail a Rep or Senator
Click here to E-mail EVERY Rep
Click here to E-mail EVERY Senator

Representative Roberts, Senator George and Senator Shannon have worked very hard for Motorcyclist's rights. Please call or write to show your appreciation for the good work that they are doing! Don't forget to contact Governor Kitzhaber (who has stated that he'll veto this Pro-choice bill) to let him know how you feel. Most of our elected officials (except the Governor) now have Internet access. Point your URL to http://www.state.or.us to obtain their E-mail addresses! Or, click here to E-mail your Law Makers right from this page.

Contact the House Clerk at (503) 986-1870 or click HERE to find out when bills will be presented to the full House for a vote. Click HERE to see how your Reps voted.

Committee hearing schedules are posted HERE. You may also obtain schedule information from the Transportation Committee at (503) 986-1680.

Contact your District Senator to find out when a bill will be presented to the full Senate for a vote. For the daily Senate bill voting aganda, click HERE

4/09/97 - HB2454 passed the House with a vote of 32-27. Talk about a squeaker! Please thank Rep. Repine who came over to our side for this critical vote! Also, please thank Rep. Brian who voted against us last time but was absent for this key vote. I've updated the voting records to reflect yesterdays session. Please be sure to call or write in a big THANK YOU to the folks who backed us up!! Now.... on to the Senate!

5/21/97 - The Senate Transportation Committee added a PIP (personal insurance protection) amendment to HB2454. The extra cost and legality of this insurance amendment is unknown. Stay tuned for developments.

6/6/97 - HB2454 passed the Senate 16-13. Click HERE to see how your Senators voted. Please be sure to thank everyone who voted for us!

6/6/97 - Now HB2454 goes back to the House for a concurrence vote. This should be a no-brainer as we have already made it through the House *WITHOUT* PIP insurance (not carrying extra insurance was the reason some Reps gave for voting no last time)

6/11/97 - The House refused to concur in Senate amendments (likely due to BikePAC's urging).

6/13/97 - A Joint Committee has been selected. Rep Montgomery, Rep Roberts, Rep Wells, Senator Dwyer, Senator Shannon and Senator George are reported to be on it. All are Biker friendly. It was agreed at the State ABATE meeting that the best course of action would be to have the Committee remove the PIP amendment and then go for a Senate vote. A vote by the House would not be needed as this would be the bill that they already approved earlier in the session.

6/24/97 - The joint committee has changed the amendment to read: "The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services shall investigate whether abolition of the requirement that motorcyclists 21 years of age and older wear helmets increases the need for personal injury protection benefits for motorcyclists and if so, shall investigate the feasibility of personal injury protection benefits applicable to motorcycles. The director shall consult with representatives of motorcyclists and the insurance inducstry in making the determinations."

The new verbiage means that HB2454, if passed, will not require that Motorcyclists purchase PIP. The amendment merely directs that a study be performed to determine the need, cost and availability of such insurance. HB2454 will now go back to the House and Senate for a vote and then on to the Governor.

6/28/97 - House passes HB2454 by a vote of 32-28. The Reps.' voting records have been updated.

6/30/97 - Senate passes HB2454 by a vote of 16-13. Mae Yih, Dwyer and Stull were excused.

8/15/97 - HB2454 and Adult Oregonian's right to choose is VETOED by Governor Kitzhaber!!!

Want to get rid of the helmet law in Oregon? Then do your part and let your elected officials know how you feel!! Don't delay... do it today!! Click here to E-mail your Legislators right now!

Disclaimer

Please note that this is a *PERSONAL* home page. While it is true that I belong to several Motorcyclist Rights Organizations, nothing written in these pages has been authorized or sponsored by those or any other groups or organizations. The comments written here express my opinions and not the opinions of any other person or organization.

Click here for the arguments that helmet law proponents subscribe to
Click here for helmet law repeal facts and information
Click here for an Easyrider editorial regarding mandatory helmet laws
Click here for an Oregonian editorial regarding mandatory helmet law repeal
Click here for an Easyrider rebuttal to the above Oregonian editorial
What does the PIP and similar amendments mean?
Click here for an Easyrider interview regarding mandatory helmet laws
Do motorcycle helmets cause accidents? Click here to find out for yourself
Debunking Government "facts". Click here to see for yourself
Are Motorcyclists really as stupid as Government Bureaucrats think they are?
Click here for Oregon Law Maker contact info and voting records
A Legislator's response to our intention to oust our Enemies from office
Click here for the Court's decision regarding OSP's helmet law supported campaign of harrassment
Click here to sign our guestbook .. Please be sure to bookmark this URL before you leave!!!!
Don't forget to ask for info about joining the MMA or ABATE

Need more information? Contact:
* BUTCH HARBAUGH, Bike PAC Lobbyist: bhpac@aol.com, 503-838-1460, page: 361-1470
BRIAN STOVALL, Exec. Dir. of BikePAC: ilmostro@gorge.net, at 1-503-298-1317
* IMPORTANT NOTE: Be advised that my experience with BikePAC has not been very good.
ABATE sponsored status updates are available on their Legislative Hotline, at 972-3434
Out of Portland area, 1-888-UR1-bike

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If you have comments or suggestions, please E-mail me at

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Last modified August 15,1997
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