Legislative Update - Week 8

Lots of bike news in the Legislature this week!

In New Business, Representatives ESQUIVEL, KRIEGER, GARRARD, and SCHAUFLER introduced House Bill 3008, a "bicycle registration and licensing system" with an initial fee of $54. See Oregonian bicyclist and lead political columnist, Jeff Mapes, thoughts here. Jonathan Maus at Bikeportland interviews Rep. Krieger here and his initial coverage here.

Also, in a move that duplicates Senate Bill 292, the BTA introduced House Bill 2971, which increases funding for the Bicycle and Pedestrian projects from 1% to 2% of the State Highway Fund.

House Bill 2902 parallels Senate Bill 635 in establishing a "nonmotorized vehicle transportation fund."

Old Business:
Senate Bill 267 - no change
Senate Bill 276 - no change
Senate Bill 291 - no change
Senate Bill 292 - no change
Senate Bill 635 - no change
House Bill 2106 - Now in the Senate Finance and Revenue committee.
House Bill 2120 - Held hearings this past week; more to come. This is a big and important bill, and it will get lots of attention. Both the OLCV and 1000 Friends have sent out requests for letters in support of the green pieces, including bicycle infrastructure. In the next few days we'll hope to have information on the hearings already completed.
House Bill 2681 - no change
House Bill 2690 - Though it's not on the official calendar, bikeportland reports that a hearing is scheduled for March 18.