This page was last updated 05/18/2007
This page was last
updated 05/18/2007
Should contacting your government officials about issues that
concern you get you
put on a government database? Well we don't believe so...
Representative Henry Waxman introduced a bill H.R. 984 called the
"Executive Branch Disclosure Act of 2007"
If this were to become law, certain executive branch officials would have to
record & report any significant contact
with private parties relating to government action. These records are to be
'made public' as well.
So if you were to
contact one of your elected executive branch officials regarding a helmet bill
or other legislation that
impacts your right to ride. They would have to report that contact (email,
phone call, or conversation) and make it publicly available.
Creating a database
of individuals who exercise their right to contact their elected officials,
could greatly impact an organization like ours.
Please contact your member of the United States House of Representatives and ask
that they OPPOSE H.R. 984
A.B.A.T.E. of Illinois supports the following bills
Please contact your State Representative & State Senator
and ask that they support these bills!
Does
Your Health Insurance Cover You If You're Injured While Riding? Are You
Sure?...
The Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) recently printed the final rule concerning
“Nondiscrimination and Wellness Programs in Health Coverage in the Group
Market,”
also known as the loophole that allows health insurance providers to
refuse benefits on a claim
that was the result of a
motorcycle accident.
The final rule is the result of a process that began almost 10 years ago when
the interim rules were published in
1997 as a direct result to the original HIPAA (PL-104-191) legislation passed by
Congress in 1996.
This final rule clarifies who exactly can be refused benefits..
Basically, if you have insurance through your job, even if you work for the
government, you can be refused
coverage based simply on the source of that injury and nothing else.
Can my employer do that? The answer is absolutely, if they tell you. It may be
the fine print, but legally that’s ok.
One thing this final rule does carve in stone is the need for a legislative fix.
April 24, 2007- Update
Legislation has been introduced to close this loophole. Please contact your
federal Representative to support HR 1076
and your two US Senators to support S 616.
Chicago Motorcycle Parking Regulation change.
Chicago motorcycle and scooter owners
will be required to park their bikes "perpendicular to the curb" -- or as close
to 90 degrees as possible
-- under an ordinance advanced recently to ease Chicago's notorious parking
crunch. The City Council's Traffic Committee
approved the Mayor Daley-sponsored ordinance with the support of ABATE of
Illinois and the AMA Community Council - Chicagoland.
The ordinance also calls for receipts spewed out by Chicago's
pay-and-display parking machines to have adhesive on the back
to accommodate motorcycles that have no place to secure them. Motorcycle owners
will be asked to affix the sticky new receipt to the bike's headlamp.
HB0729 Amends the Cycle Rider Safety Training Act.-
Introduced, by Rep. Harry R. Ramey, Jr.
Provides that the State Treasurer shall appoint the trustee for the Cycle
Rider Training Fund.
Provides that the trustee, in consultation with the Department, is authorized
to award contracts out of appropriations to the Fund
(rather than providing that the Department is authorized to do so).
Status: Placed on Calendar 3rd Reading - Short Debate
HB0996 Creates the Motorcyclist Public Accommodation Act-
Introduced by
Rep. Lisa M. Dugan
Prohibits any person from restricting an
individual's access to, admission to, or use of
a place of public accommodation solely because the individual operates a
motorcycle.
Provides that a violation is a petty offense and also provides for civil
penalties.
Provides that the Act does not prohibit a person from restricting an
individual's access to,
admission to, or use of a place of public accommodation because the
individual's conduct poses a risk to the health, safety, or property of another.
Status: Judiciary I - Civil Law Committee Hearing Mar 21
2007 8:00 AM
HB0921 & SB0627 Amends the Recreation Trails of Illinois Act-
Introduced by Rep. Daniel V. Beiser &
Sen. Mike Jacobs
Provides for certain disbursements from the
Off-Highway Vehicle Trails Fund notwithstanding any
other provision of law to the contrary adopted after the effective date of the
Act. Effective immediately.
Status: HB0921 Passed
Agriculture & Conservation Committee 010-000-000
Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
SB0627 Passed Senate; 55-00-00 3/15/2007, Placed on Calendar in House
SB0580 Amends the Cycle Rider Safety Training Act-
Introduced by
Sen. John J. Millner
Provides that the State Treasurer shall appoint
the trustee for the Cycle Rider
Training Fund. Provides that the trustee, in consultation with the Department,
is authorized
to award contracts out of appropriations to the Fund (rather than providing that
the
Department is authorized to do so). Effective immediately
Status: Passed Senate; 55-00-00 3/15/2007
Placed on Calendar in House
HB1768 & SB724 Encourages the use of the Public access sticker for ATV use-
Introduced by Rep. Bill Black & Sen. John O. Jones
Status: HB1768 Placed on Calendar 3rd Reading -
Short Debate
SB0724
Postponed - Agriculture and
Conservation
National News:
State and Local News:
The American Motorcyclist Association is a nonprofit organization with more than 250,000 members. Established in 1924, the Association's purpose is to pursue, protect and promote the interests of motorcyclists, while serving the needs of its members. For more information, visit the AMA website.
For more information use the Illinois ABATE, AMA or MRF links below to obtain more detailed information on current legislative issues of concern to motorcyclists.
JOIN THE MRF TODAY!
We need to keep the
MRF
working for us in
Washington, D.C.
Who Represents You?
Find Out Here!
ABATE of Illinois Legislative
Update Link
American Motorcycle Association
AMA
How to Strip a Citizenry of
It's Liberty
"Let us consider that arbitrary power has seldom or ever been introduced into any country at once. It must be introduced by slow degrees, and as it were step by step, lest the people should see its approach. The barriers and fences of the people's liberty must be plucked one by one, and some plausible pretenses must be found for removing or hoodwinking, one after another, those sentries who are posted by the constitution of a free country for warning the people of their danger. When these preparatory steps are once made, the people may then indeed, with regret, see slavery and arbitrary power making long strides over their land, but it will too late to think of preventing or avoiding the impending ruin"
Lord Chesterfield, English
statesman,(1694-1773)
Mike Donahue, Legislative Coordinator,
South Suburban Chapter, ABATE of Illinois