OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS

Washington State

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STATE SENATOR JUDY WARNICK

Phone:     360.786.7624                                               Email:  

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

• We take a stand against motorcycle discrimination and motorcycle legislation that interferes with personal freedom. ABATE members get involved at the grass-roots level to support bills that promote fair motorcycle legislation and work to prevent or repeal laws which are prejudicial to motorcycling.

• One of the best ways to ensure you have a say regarding motorcycle legislation is to vote. To do that, you need to register to vote. Follow the link above to register online or get instructions to do it by mail or in person.

• Get to know your Legislators

• To make a difference, develop a relationship with your legislators on a personal basis. They are your neighbors, take time to build a positive relationship on common ground.

• Become informed on

• the issues.

• Attend ABATE business meetings for legislative updates.

• Attend Black Thursday.

Parking Bill HB1058

1. Currently, the law does not even mention motorcycles. So some law enforcement officers are using the words “parallel to the curb” in the current law to write illegal parking tickets to motorcycles parking with a wheel towards the curb as is the normal style of parking for a motorcycle.
2. Using this way of thinking law enforcement could easily write “illegal parking” citations to each additional motorcycle parked in a single parking space along the curb. Generating nearly $1,000 in fines from each parking space in a congested urban area. This bill would prevent taxpayers from being fined in such a manner.

Enhanced Penalty for striking a "vulnerable user of a public way"

1. This concept would make it a felony (vehicular assault) to strike and cause “substantial bodily harm” (break a bone, or hospitalize, or worse) to anyone from the “vulnerable public way users” category (pedestrians, bicyclists, people riding animals, motorcyclists, farm equipment operators, etc.).
2. The definition of each of the phrases in quotations are in the RCW’s.

3. RCW 9.94A.030 Definitions state that; eluding a police officer, driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, and hit-and-run injury-accident are all already a “Felony traffic Offense”. Yet striking a member of the vulnerable users often only results in a traffic citation.