by higdon » Tue Mar 05, 2019 12:57 pm
There was a hearing on this bill last Thursday, February 28. A video of the hearing is here:
http://mgahouse.maryland.gov/mga/play/74560a74-807d-4776-b9c0-b0abd42b9921/?catalog/03e481c7-8a42-4438-a7da-93ff74bdaa4c
The relevant clip begins at 3:06:48 and continues for half an hour. Delegate Kathy Szeliga (Baltimore), a rider herself, is the sponsor of the bill. She appeared with the AMA government affairs rep and two citizens, one from ABATE. The visual used to introduce the committee members to the legislative proposal was typical "death by PowerPoint." Mark Twain used to tell prospective lecturers that they should, before doing their show-and-tell in a public forum, first give the proposed talk to a dog. It was clear that Del. Szeliga's staff had not taken that advice. The presentation did improve dramatically with the brief statements by the AMA rep and a quite knowledgeable citizen-biker.
There were half a dozen questions from committee members. Most were at least neutral. The concern, naturally, was safety: This looks bad, so therefore it must be. The proponents did, I thought, as good a job as possible at responding positively and effectively to questions of that sort.
I spoke to Del. Szeliga's office this morning and asked about the disposition of the bill. I was advised that it had not been put to a vote by the committee but, upon the discretion of the chairman, placed "in a drawer." This apparently a term of art that is roughly equivalent to consigning proposals to limbo. For all practical purposes, HB 917 is dead for this session. I questioned whether that was better than having it put to a vote and defeated by an overwhelming majority. Even that is not clear. But Del. Szeliga is sincerely behind this and intends to keep trying to advance it. Similar bills are pending this year in six or more other states.
My own take on this is somewhat darker. This committee is currently chaired by Del. Kumar Barve whose district is in Rockville/Gaithersburg. I remember this guy from 1991-1992 when he was one of the few votes in the Maryland House to force motorcyclists to purchase catastrophic health insurance. I remember being so angry at such irresponsibility on the part of an elected official that I considered making it my life's work to see that his first term in the House would be his last. Unfortunately, I forgot about him. But here he is again, like Banquo's ghost, and in a position of real power now. I didn't talk about about Barve's attitude toward bikes with Del. Szeliga's receptionist, but I sincerely doubt this particular leopard has changed his spots in the intervening years.
Bob Higdon
Annapolis