Update on the Vulnerable Users' bill

Yesterday we received a response from Senator Joe McDermott, the sponsor of SB 5838, to our letter of support for the bill.  It appears that the bill is on the fringe of moving from committee to the Senate floor for action.

I'll let the Senator's words provide an update to the status of the bill:

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a Public Hearing on my bill on Tuesday of last week. Yesterday the committee took a vote on the bill in Executive Session. As I type, it is still one signature short of enough to be passed out of committee. I, along with David Hiller of Cascade Bicycle Club and others, are working hard to secure the necessary signature before tomorrow afternoon’s deadline.

 Two key things here:

1. The bill needs one more signature to move it to the floor for action in the Senate
2. This signature must be obtained today (today, February 5, is the cutoff for bills to be reported out of committees in the chamber of origin.  Those that aren't, with the exception of fiscal bills, are considered dead and will not advance).

While there is no word on who has not committed to a position on the bill yet, you can do something.  Contact the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to encourage them to support this bill.  Links to the Senate home pages for the members:

Senator Adam Kline
Senator Debbie Regala
Senator Bob McCaslin
Senator Mike Carrell
Senator Randy Gordon
Senator James Hargrove
Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles
Senator Pam Roach

To Senator McDermott: regardless of the bill's status at the end of the day, thank you for advocating for vulnerable roadway users across the state.


(Senator McDermott's reply is only the second response we received to our letter of support.  The other was committee chair Senator Adam Kline)