Legislative Update: May 1, 2007

By: Prospector

Today I met with 7 Assembly Members with favorable responses from 6 of the 7.  None of our bills were on any committee agendas.  In reviewing bill summaries I discovered 2 new bills. The first is S5594/A6294 which is a gang bill. I was not able to read the actual bill because it is not yet in  print.  Similar bills have been introduced in other states, and while they are meant to deal with street gangs, the definitions are broad enough to include motorcycle clubs, ABATE and probably the VFW and Boy Scouts.  Hopefully, this NY version will prove to be more specifically worded, but we'll have to wait and see before we can address it.  The other is A7864, also not yet in print, an exhibition driving bill introduced by Assemblyman Joel Miller at our suggestion to replace his earlier "wheelie bill", which could have affected many riders other than the problem of young, daredevil stunt riders it was intended to address At this point, I don't believe there is a Senate companion bill.

This past weekend I attended the MRF Beast of the East in Killington, Vermont.  There were 19 states in attendance, ABATE of NY having 14 members present. Great showing on our part!  As usual, it was an inspiring and informative weekend.  I would love to see more people attend these conferences.

There will be no reports for the next 3 weeks as I will be leaving on Monday, the 7th, for Charlotte, NC for the NCOM Convention and then, immediately after the Freedom Rally, I will be working at AmJam.  My next day in Albany will be 5/29 and I have a full day of appointments scheduled