Support Pro-Bicycling Bills in the Virginia General Assembly!!!

Mon Jan 24 11:18:28 CST 2005

Biking and Walking Alexandrians,

I have sent an e-mail to each of the Alexandria Delegates asking their support for the bills listed below.  Another  House Bill 2140 - Wellness and Fitness Initiative, patroned by Del Moran, is also worthy of support.    This law would require schools in Virginia to assess height and weight for children in grades K, 3, 7 and 10.  This is part of the Governor's Wellness and Fitness initiative that developed as a result of studies that indicate that too many of our students are overweight and potentially unhealthy.  In the past two decades, the number of overweight children nationwide has nearly doubled, while the number of overweight teens has tripled. In Virginia, more than 1 in 3 people diagnosed as obese each year are children.  More disturbing is that a third of young people in grades 9-12 do not
regularly engage in vigorous physical activity. Chronic diseases such as  hypertension and Type 2 diabetes, once thought to affect only adults, are  now showing up in overweight children. And an overweight child now has a 70% chance of being overweight as an adult. These trends are the direct result of poor nutrition and lack of physical activity.
Please let them know that we care.   Here are their e-mail addresses:
Brian Moran  del_Moran at house.state.va.us
Adam Ebbin  del_ebbin at house.state.va.us
Marian Van Landingham  del_vanlandingham at house.state.va.us

Thanks
Bruce Dwyer

Three good bicycle-related bills--HB 1818, HB 1883, and HB 2677--have been filed for the 45-day 2005 session of the Virginia General Assembly 
and need your immediate support.  Details on the individual bills can be found below.

Each bill is now before the House of Delegates and must be sequentially approved by a subcommittee, a full committee, and the entire House of 
Delegates by February 8th before the Virginia Senate can similarly consider any resulting bills, approved by the House, between February 
9th and 26th. The Virginia Bicycling Federation is working with the three bill patrons to improve the wording of each bill during committee 
action. We need hundreds of bicyclists from across Virginia to express their general support to their own legislators.

It's quick and easy to ask your legislators in Richmond to vote for these bills and to co-patron (endorse) these bills before they are first 
heard in committee.  Here's what you can do:

1) Phone the Constituent Viewpoint Hotline
Call 800-889-0229 (or 804-698-1990) between 8 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. State your home address and that you support HB 1818, HB 1883, and HB 2677, and this 
basic information should be reported to your delegate and senator.

2) Phone, email, fax, or mail your legislators directly.
Use the "Who's My Legislator" tool at http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform to find your delegate and senator and to send them email directly from the Virginia General Assembly website. Alternatively, if you know a legislator's district or last name, you can phone their office at 804-698-10XX or 804-698-75YY, where XX is the number of the House district and YY is the number of the Senate district, or send email using the formulas <del_lastname at house.state.va.us> for delegates and 
<districtYY at sov.state.va.us> for Senators. Richmond mailing addresses are PO Box 406, Richmond VA 23218-0406 for delegates and PO Box 396, 
Richmond VA 23218-0396 for senators.

For more information please contact:

Allen Muchnick, President
Virginia Bicycling Federation
PO Box 5621, Arlington VA 22205-5621
muchnick at capaccess.org
703-271-0895
http://vabike.org

Sample Letter

Dear _________:
I am writing today to encourage your support for HB 1818, HB 1883, and HB 2677 which are now before the VA General Assembly for consideration.  I feel that the Commonwealth of Virginia should make the best effort possible to encourage its citizens to use bicycling for recreation and transportation as a way to improve the quality of life in the state.  These bills will further encourage bicycle commuting, clarify and improve upon existing state laws to make it safer for bicyclists, and expand citizen input in the transportation planning process of Northern Virginia.

Thank you for your time and for your consideration of these important bills.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Bill Summaries

HB 1818 Income Tax Credits for Bicycle Commuting
Chief Patron is Del. Terrie Suit (R-HD 81, Virginia Beach)
Bill assigned to subcommittee #1 within the House Finance Committee

Would create two separate credits for Virginia income tax. Employers 
would be allowed a tax credit of up to $5,000 for providing bicycle 
racks and showers at the worksite. Employees who commute by bicycle 
could receive a tax credit of $15 for each month they bike both ways on 
at least 10 days. This bill should be amended to apply the employer 
credit to the full range of bicycle parking facilities and to clothes 
changing and storage facilities.

Bill Summary Page:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?051+sum+HB1818 

Bill Text as Introduced:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?051+ful+HB1818 

=====

HB 1883 Bicycle Taillight.
Chief Patron is Del. Frank Hargrove (R-HD55, Glen Allen) 
Bill referred to the House Transportation Committee

Would require a red taillight on bicycles operated on highways posted 
for 35 MPH or higher. This bill should be amended to apply only between 
sunset and sunrise, allow either steady burning or blinking red lights, 
and allow either the bicyclist or its rider to carry the light. 

Bill Summary Page:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?051+sum+HB1883 

Bill Text as Introduced:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?051+ful+HB1883 

=====

HB 2677 Regional Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committees
Chief Patron is Del. Adam Ebbin (D-HD49, Arlington)
House Committee Referral Still Pending on 1-16-05

Would require the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to 
establish regional pedestrian and bicycle advisory committees with 
citizen members for all nine VDOT districts. This bill may be amended 
to also require a statewide pedestrian and bicycle advisory committee 
since VDOT's statewide bicycle advisory committee has not held a regular 
meeting in more than two years.

Bill Summary Page:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?051+sum+HB2677 

Bill Text as Introduced:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?051+ful+HB2677 

Eric Gilliland
Executive Director
Washington Area Bicyclist Association
733 15th Street NW #1030
Washington, DC 20005
gill at waba.org
waba at waba.org
202-628-2500

Join us on February 5th at the Finnish Embassy for the 
WABA's Annual Gala and Auction.  More details are 
available at www.waba.org.  

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