NE1: Northeast Bicycle Safety Act [Failed]

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

Winfield, let me know if the amendment is not friendly so that I can put it to a vote and we can continue debate.

The amendment is unfriendly, to a point.  I believe the wearing of helmets should be mandatory for every cyclist.  However, it is an excellent idea for expanded bicycle safety education programs and a public relations campaign to emphasize bicycle safety and the wearing of helmets.  As for free helmets to those attending these programs, this does have some merit, however, my preference would be that helmets be provided for those who cannot otherwise afford to buy one, e.g. low income parents who may have a child or children who ride trikes or bikes.

As for consequences for not wearing helmets if they are required by law, I do not necessarily favor financial penalties.  Perhaps something along the lines of bicycle class attendance with a warning to wear a helmet, it's the law, and it's for your own safety, and the safety of your loved ones.

[Simfan34]

I don't think a maximum age is helpful. Every biker should be wearing a helmet.

This is the ultimate truth here- they should!

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

Let's vote on the amendment. Voting begins now and will last 24 hours or until all members have voted, unless Pyro withdraws the amendment.

[Rep Pyrofox]

Aye!
And if the amendment fails AND if the bill fails, I'll proceed to tweak the measure and introduce it to the Assembly separately. However, I think we should continue working on educational reform before the election.

[Senator Napoleon]

I think this amendment should be added to the current text without replacing it.

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

Pyro, I inferred from your earlier post that your amendment is intended to replace the original text of the bill. Would you mind explicitly stating whether this is the case, for the sake of clarity?

[Senator Napoleon]

Pyro, I inferred from your earlier post that your amendment is intended to replace the original text of the bill. Would you mind explicitly stating whether this is the case, for the sake of clarity?

Just for the record I agree with your interpretation of how the amendment was offered ... just stating my opinion about what would make the best bill.

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

I'm not sure how I'll vote on the amendment. I don't like the idea of requiring bike lanes along all major highways, for instance, and some of the other language is a bit vague or pointless.

However, I'm willing to support this if it serves as a starting point for some kind of compromise legislation, especially if it's clear that this will at least partially satisfy the other Representatives.

[Rep Pyrofox]

Pyro, I inferred from your earlier post that your amendment is intended to replace the original text of the bill. Would you mind explicitly stating whether this is the case, for the sake of clarity?

It was intended to replace the original text, Mr. Speaker, as the original requires all bikers to wear helmets. I agree that some of the text is vague, so I'm completely open to changing it, as well as compromises others have in mind.

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

On the amendment

Nay

It defeats the purpose of the bill.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

On the amendment

Nay

It defeats the purpose of the bill.

How so?

I vote Aye on Pyro's amendment.

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

On the amendment

Nay

It defeats the purpose of the bill.

How so?

I vote Aye on Pyro's amendment.

The purpose of the bill is to save lives by requiring helmets for all bikers.

[Simfan34]

NAy on the amendment.

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

Aye on the amendment.

The amendment passes with 3 ayes and 2 nays.

[Rep Pyrofox]

Aye on the amendment.

The amendment passes with 3 ayes and 2 nays.

  Thank you Nix and Alfred. I'm happy to see you both agree with me on this.

Should we extend the debate time or let the vote comes when it does?

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

All this amendment does is to institute bicycle safety programs and give free helmets to those who attend.  Maybe those who attend the class will decide to wear the helment, maybe they won't.

If you don't attend, if you don't wear a helmet already, you are certainly not going to start wearing one because safety courses are taking place somewhere in the region. 

This amendment does nothing to ensure that cyclists are wearing helmets, which very well, at some time or other, save their lives.

And Representative Pyrofox, what will be the cost to construct bicycle paths throughout the region along all major roadways?  This has not been addressed.   

[Senator Napoleon]

Please add Winfield's original text back into this bill.

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

As no extension has been requested, debate time has expired. The Assembly will now vote.

[Simfan34]

I will abstain. I supported the original version of this bill, and while I support the aims of the current version, it is a shameful hijacking of Rep. Winfield's intentions. My conscience cannot allow me to vote in favor of such a chimaera.

If Rep. Winfield was to, however, I could be made to reconsider. If this passes, I urge the governor to veto this bill.

[Senator Napoleon]

I will veto this bill. I don't think this clause alone will make a productive impact.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

Abstain.

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

Nay.

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

Nay on this travesty.

Representative Simfan, I would certainly be honored to have your nay vote.

[Rep Pyrofox]

I find it unfortunate that no one answered my question on whether or not we should extend debate time. Instead, this will fail to pass as expected, due to the lack of further debate. Perhaps I should have simply requested an extension off the bat. That's my fault and I'll take the heat there. However, I'd like to give a few thoughts before voting.

Regarding last minute critique, the finished version of this bill would have been a START to educating our citizens on bicycle safety who previously may have been unaware of the risks. It seemed the majority of us wanted to avoid turning the action of not wearing a helmet an outright violation. Doing this would have done little to nothing to fix the real problem, so the majority of this Assembly voted affirmatively on a non-authoritarian approach (a democratic move which I would hardly call a "hi-jack").
 
First, I intended for the amendment to replace the original text. I will not accept any measure severing personal liberty. Second, those who would attend the program would likely use the helmet they received, lowering the amount of lives taken from bicycle accidents. As for those refusing to attend the programs, that I was ready to debate and talk about to fix that issue.

Yes it needed improvement, and I urged for more constructive input, but that hardly happened, and now it's too late. My amendment was a vague platform for continued debate which I hoped would lead to a compromise. In its raw form, I cannot approve of it, nor disregard the intentions of the legislation.

Abstain.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

Yay, bike helmets!