Minnesota

The bikers in Minnesota have been working hard to get failure to yield legislation passed. The bill on the House side is HF 658 and in the Senate it is SF 605. The bills have hit some roadblocks and we need all riders in Minnesota to contact their State Representatives and State Senators and ask that these roadblocks be removed. This legislation would make it a gross misdemeanor for any right of way violation that causes a death. This is a watered down bill and it doesn't have much teeth but it is a start and it's a lot better than what we have now. Both bills passed through the transportation committees and they are stalled in the judiciary committees. Back in February A.B.A.T.E. of Minnesota, The St. Croix Valley Riders, and the Minnesota Coalition of Clubs held a successful Biker Day at the State Capitol. The failure you yield topic was our only issue and we received a lot of support from legislators for these bills. Now we have two committee chairs holding everything up and they are; State Senator Moua and State Rep. Mullery.

If you would like more information you can contact A.B.A.T.E. of MN. State Coordinator, Mack Backlund at 763-263-1532, or A.B.A.T.E. of MN. Legislative Director, Todd Riba at 952-239-09029. Members of A.B.A.T.E. of MN and the St. Croix Valley riders completed a successful lobbying trip to Washington D.C. We had all eight of our Congressional Districts Represented, this was a first for us. These trips are of great value and I encourage all states to do whatever it takes to make these trips possible. Our only topic of discussion was the HIPPA fix, H.R. 1076 and S 616. You can learn more about those bills on this website. We have had some success securing cosponsors for this legislation from Minnesota so we know these trips are worth while.