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Augusta Emblem Club is raising money for A
Battlefield Cross Memorial to be placed at the Public Entrance to the
Maine National Guard Headquarters at Camp Keyes. To date Maine has lost
8 soldiers in the global war on Terrorism. It is the intent to
recognize those brave Maine Soldiers for their sacrifices with this
memorial.
Please send your generous donations to:
AUGUSTA EMBLEM CLUB #233
P.O. BOX 206
AUGUSTA, ME. 04332-0206
Results of the Noise Bill :
Ok Folks, here is how our day went:
There was a work session scheduled for 9am (Establishing Emergency
Zones)
not related to motorcycles. That took 15 minutes.
Next there were 2 bills scheduled for 10am, but since it was early, no
one
was there for them. Our bill (1642 "An Act To Reduce Road Noise within
Posted Areas") and 1675 "An Act To Reduce Noise Caused by Motorcycles
and
Improve Public Health" work session was scheduled to be heard after two
other bills starting at 11am.
Senator Damon, the Transportation Committee Chairman decided to hear
1675
early and the work session started at 9:20am. The only folks there were
Eric
from MMPAC, myself and Josh Herndon of the UBM. In a work session you
can
only speak if asked and Eric was asked to answer several questions, so
took the opportunity to add some extra testimony. During all this, the
issue
had changed from noise to inspection. I supposed they were thinking
that by
doing something with motorcycle inspection it would solve the noise
problem.
In any case that is the direction they went and when all was said and
done,
they passed a motion to place inspection stickers on the left front
fork of
motorcycles saying that since 40% of motorcycles were not inspected
(taken
from the number of registered motorcycles compared with the number of
inspection stickers issued), if the inspection sticker was prominently
displayed, law enforcement could see it and know the bike was inspected
and
therefore it was legal (that was apparently their train of thought).
The bill was Ought to Pass 7 to 3. The 3 votes against were not to put
the
sticker on the forks, but put it on the license plate.
But
That wasn't the end of the issue. I seems that Senator Sullivan, who
proposed the bill in the first place didn't like not being at the
committee
when they held their work session, so she convinced Senator Damon to
revisit
the issue at 11am. Lt. Chris Grotton from the Maine State Police was
also
present with a resolve to add to the bill. When all was said and done
(the
second time) The committee accepted and amended the bill to include
three
items the state police would include in a group to study the issue of
motorcycle noise.
They will include impacted citizens' groups,
representatives of the
motorcycle industry, and other motorcycle enthusiast group and other law
enforcement agencies.
They will, at a minimum investigate and research the
SAE J2825
standard and options to incorporate federal EPA labeling guidelines into
Maine law.
They shall include an analysis of motorcycle
inspections and the
feasibility of the requirement to display an inspection sticker on a
motorcycle.
The department shall report back to the Transportation committee during
the
125th legislature regarding their findings and proposed recommendations.
(Report due NLT January 15, 2011).
The committee made a motion to include the State Police resolve and
Senator
Damon made a point (as he said "for the record") I want the UBM to be
included in the working groups and Lt. Grotton agreed that he intended
that
to be the case, along with the MMPAC.
After the session, we went out in the hall and had a discussion with Lt.
Grotton and Senator Sullivan (included Darrell Spears as well as other
members of the UBM, Eric and myself.
Lt. Grotton indicated the next batch of motorcycle inspection stickers
had
already been delivered and they were exactly like the ones in prior
years,
which do not have an adhesive to "stick" it on the forks, so either the
implementation of the bill would have to be delayed until next year or
they
would have to incur a cost to get new stickers, which would probably be
a
non starter as far as the full legislature was concerned.
He went back into the committee room and told this to Senator Damon.
So, this bill will go to the full Senate first and there is a good
possibility that it will be postponed until next year or possibly not
passed
due to money constraints. At least that is how I see it.
Here is the bottom line. The legislature IS GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT
MOTORCYCLE NOISE. They say they can't ignore it any longer.
There is a good chance we will have to display an inspection sticker on
our
bikes, hopefully not on the forks but on the license plates.
So, what we can do in the mean time, is get the word out, bikers (not
just
in the UBM but everywhere in the state) NEED TO STOP MAKING A LOT OF
NOISE
WITH THEIR BIKES, LIKE REVING UP THEIR ENGINES ALL THE TIME, JUST TO
MAKE
NOISE ETC..
I think we need to head up a campaign concerning the noise issue.
Thanks to Josh Herndon for teaming with Eric and myself by attending
all the
sessions and providing a lot of info to be used in this legislative
issue.
Looks like he is going to be another UBM member as part of the
legislative
team.
V/R
Jim Reis
U.S Navy Veteran (RMCM (SW) Ret.)
UBM Newsletter Editor,
Legislative Affairs Liaison,
Lincoln County Treasurer,
Member MRF
(207) 582-6724
(207) 441-7428 (Cell)
It's not the Destination, It's the Journey
VA Retro/Disabled Military Retiree Retroactive
Pay
On September 1, 2006,
the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) and the Department of Veterans
Affairs (DVA) finalized plans for disabled military retiree retroactive
pay, commonly called the VA Retro program. The program is
designed to pay eligible military retirees any retroactive money due as
a result of increases in their percentage of disability. More
information on VA Retro/Disabled Military Retiree Retroactive Pay can
be found here: VA Retro/Disabled Military Retiree
Retroactive Pay can be found here: http://www.dfas.mil/rna-news/august2007/varetro.html
A salute is a from of
honor and respect.......new law protects your right to salute!
On Fri, 3 Aug 2007 08:36:39 -0400, "LTG Robert
Hails USAF ret" forwarded:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:S.1877:
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe
(R-Okla.) today praised the passage by unanimous consent of his bill
(S.1877) clarifying U.S. law to allow veterans and servicemen not in
uniform to salute the flag. Current law (US Code Title 4, Chapter 1)
states that veterans and servicemen not in uniform should place their
hand over their heart without clarifying whether they can or should
salute the flag.
"The salute is a form of honor and respect,
representing pride in one's military service," Senator Inhofe said.
"Veterans and service members continue representing the military
services even when not in uniform.
"Unfortunately, current U.S. law leaves
confusion as to whether veterans and service members out of uniform can
or should salute the flag. My legislation will clarify this regulation,
allowing veterans and servicemen alike to salute the flag, whether they
are in uniform or not.
"I look forward to seeing those who have
served saluting proudly at baseball games, parades, and formal events.
I believe this is an appropriate way to honor and recognize the 25
million veterans in the United States who have served in the military
and remain as role models to other citizens. Those who are currently
serving or have served in the military have earned this right, and
their recognition will be an inspiration to others."
"If It Weren't For The United States military"
"There Would Be NO United States of America" "Home of The Free, Because
of the Brave"
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