I’ll keep an eye out! Dang, I was all set to run across from my Labor and
Housing Committee Meeting and keep an eye on both Bills!
Ann
Sent from my iPad
On Feb 12, 2019, at 1:24 PM, John Brooking <johnbrooking4@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
FYI, tomorrow's legislative Education Committee public hearing at the state
capital has been cancelled due to weather, and will be rescheduled to a date
to be announced later. This was to be the hearing of the Traffic Safety
Education bill LD470. I'll let you know when I hear a new date.
On Sat, Feb 9, 2019 at 4:07 PM John Brooking <johnbrooking4@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
No problem, Carson. Although our focus is mostly on streets, accessibility
to news and information is another important form of accessibility!
On Sat, Feb 9, 2019 at 4:05 PM Carson Wood <cwood@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
My apologies for using this list as a stepping stone to Ann but it seemed
to be the best and quickest way to get information to her.
LD 382 is majorly important for people like me to be able to access the
news.
Yes, Pedestrian and bike issues are right there as well. LD 382 will be
heard on Wednesday at the Education & cultural Affairs Committee at 9:00.
From: wsmac-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wsmac-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On ;
Behalf Of John Brooking
Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2019 11:00 AM
To: wsmac@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [wsmac] Re: New bills before the state legislature
I've decided to attend Wednesday's hearing in person, about the traffic
safety education. I can offer rides to others. If you want a ride, please
let me know ASAP before I make other arrangements to ride with someone
else. I do plan to email written testimony about the other bills, before
Tuesday's hearings on them.
For the bills I've listed, the traffic safety education bill is in the
Education and Cultural Affairs committee, and you can send email testimony
to EDU@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. The others are in the Transportation
committee, and you can send email testimony to TRA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Here's some more general information regarding testifying for bills. The
links for each of these bills brings you to a page about that bill. On that
page:
If you know the bill number, you can see information for it by typing the
number into the LD # box in the top left, and click "Retrieve Data".
Click "Status in Committee" along the left side to see what committee is
responsible for that bill, and if any public hearings are scheduled.
You can send email testimony to the committee responsible for that bill.
To find the email address for that committee, click "Committee Information
& Schedule" in the "Committee Work" section along the left side of the
page. On the new page, select the committee you want to know about from the
dropdown. After you do that, the page displays the committee name across
the top, with the name of the clerk, the meeting room in the Cross building
in Augusta, and the email address. Below that are listed the names of the
legislators on the committee on the left, and the schedule of work sessions
and public hearings on the right.
On Mon, Feb 4, 2019 at 1:35 PM Carson Wood <cwood@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I’ve sent a letter to the clerk of the committee for distribution to all
the committee members in the past.
From: wsmac-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wsmac-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On ;
Behalf Of John Brooking
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2019 9:23 PM
To: wsmac@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [wsmac] New bills before the state legislature
Hi, WSMAC,
We are at the start of a new 2-year state legislative cycle. A lot of
new bills have been introduced. At this point, they are still "in
committee", with the next step being a public hearing. A few have hearings
scheduled for them, starting in February.
Here is a list of bills that I think are of interest to this committee:
LD165 - An Act To Prohibit the Use of Handheld Phones and Devices While
Driving
LD166 - An Act To Protect Schoolchildren by Increasing the Penalty for
Unlawful Passing of a School Bus
LD344 - An Act To Increase the Penalties for Illegally Passing a School Bus
LD470 - An Act To Provide Traffic Safety Education in Schools
There will also be one to clarify the status and regulation of
electric-assist bicycles in Maine, but I don't think that one has been
officially made available yet.
I created a public Facebook note here, with a description and other
notes about each of these. I'll try to keep on top of any other bills that
haven't come out yet, and add them to the list.
Of most immediate priority are two public hearings that are coming up
this month.
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 1:00 PM - The two bills about passing a school bus (LD
166 and 344), among others. Basically, both of these bills increase the
penalties. They seem to be pretty much identical, and I would think that
the Transportation Committee would recommend just combining them into one.
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 1:00 PM - The act to provide traffic safety education
in school (LD470), among others. This bill is being re-introduced from the
last session, 2017-18, in which it was approved by committee after public
comment, but didn't progress.past the point of funding. The Facebook note
has links to talking points from the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, along with
some other interesting reading.
Public hearings are the public's chance to speak for or against a
proposed bill. (You can also just make comments while being "neither for
nor against".) Most people attend the hearing and speak in person, but your
comments also have to be written out, and a copy handed to the clerk when
you testify. I believe there is also a way to submit testimony by email,
without being there in person, but I don't remember the details. Maybe Ann
can tell us.
I hope to be able to travel up to Augusta on 2/13 to testify for the
Traffic Safety Education bill. Anyone else who is interested in testifying
or just attending and listening is invited to carpool with me. I probably
will not go up on the 12th, so as to not have to take two days in a row off
work.
I'm promoting this and prioritizing it in my schedule because the
legislative process is one of the most powerful mechanisms we have to
change things. This is democracy in action. Let's make use of it!
- John