Action Alert: Complete Streets and Safe Passing Hearing in House Transportation Committee on April 9

Great news! Complete Streets (HB 1102) and Safe Passing (HB 2225) have both been scheduled for a hearing in the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday, April 9. We’re thrilled that both of these bills have reached the next step toward coming to a vote. Now you can help get them out of committee and onto the House floor!

Some members of the Transportation Committee are not yet ready to vote “Yes” on these bills. If any of these Transportation Committee members are your representative, please contact them immediately to ask them to vote Yes for Complete Streets and Safe Passing:

Rep. Larry Phillips (Committee Chairman), District 62 

Rep. Cindy Burkett, District 113 

Rep. Allen Fletcher, District 130 

Rep. Bobby Guerra, District 41 

Rep. George Lavender, District 1 

Rep. Joe Pickett, District 79 

Rep. Debbie Riddle, District 150 

TAKE ACTION NOW:

• Call or email your representative’s office now and ask for his/her support for HB 1102 and HB 2225.
• Each member’s name above is a link to his/her page with a phone number and email form. NOTE: Please call the Austin office, not the district office.
• BikeTexas has found the following format to be most effective when communicating with elected officials:

1. My name is _____ and I live in District _____.

2. My occupation is _____.

3. I (or my spouse/child/parent) ride a bicycle.

4. Will Rep. _____ vote Yes on Complete Streets and Safe Passing?

• Be polite. Thank the staff for their time. They field hundreds of angry calls every day, so let's make sure cyclists stand out by being courteous. Giving the staffers and the representative a positive impression of Texas cyclists could be the difference in getting the bills passed!
• Please take a moment to contact us ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and let us know if you've reached your Representative's office and how they respond. ACT NOW so Complete Streets and Safe Passing can come to a vote before time runs out on the session.

If these are not your representatives, please do not contact them! Elected officials respond to their own constituents. Don't worry; there will be plenty of opportunities for everyone in Texas to contact their representatives and senators soon!

Thank you for making Texas a great place to bike and walk!

Cyclists in Suits 2013 a Success

Cyclists in Suits 2013 has come and gone, and the day was a great success! With 80 participants from all over the state, it was the largest Bike Lobby Day yet.

Buses started arriving early in the morning at the Capitol, and advocates spent time getting to know one another before the briefing session. BikeTexas Executive Director Robin Stallings and Legislative Director Mark Stine went over the key points of the Complete Streets and Safe Passing bills. All participants were assigned to teams and sent out to visit all 181 legislative offices. As Tom Compson of Houston said, "Our elected officials need to know that there is strong support for bicycle-friendly legislation." The reception that Cyclists in Suits participants received from the legislative offices was overall very positive!

After lunch, participants gathered in the Senate Gallery to hear a proclamation from Senator Rodney Ellis, thanking Texas cyclists for their contributions to the health and economy of the State. Participants then gathered on the Capitol steps for a group photo before heading to the BikeTexas office for happy hour to exchange stories about the day.

Even though the buses to DFW and Houston had a long way to go to get back home, participants were all still able to spend some time meeting other advocates before heading back. Some participants were able to stay longer and continue talking about making Texas a great place to walk and bike.

Veteran Cyclists in Suits participants Paul and Lynne Harris from Bedford brought their 16-year-old grandson with them for his second Cyclists in Suits. Paul said, "He had a real blast and is already talking about going back next time. If you have kids or grandkids who are mature enough to grasp what we are doing, you should bring them along to see the legislative process in action."

Did you miss out on Cyclists in Suits? We'll be doing it all again at the next legislative session in 2015. You haven't missed your chance to influence the legislature, though! Keep an eye out for Action Alerts at key moments for our bills over the next few weeks. We still have a lot of work ahead to make Complete Streets and Safe Passing a reality for Texas!

On the Lege: March Activities

After a successful Cyclists in Suits Bike Lobby Day on Monday, March 25, BikeTexas legislative staff members look to take the next steps on the two primary bills on the BikeTexas agenda, Complete Streets (HB 1102 / SB 565) and Safe Passing (HB 2225 / SB 1515). Each bill has been referred to the appropriate committee: House Transportation Committee and the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committees. We await committee hearing dates on each bill.

The Safe Passing Bill was filed on March 8, 2013. Senator Rodney Ellis filed the Senate version of the bill. The House bill is authored by Ruth Jones McClendon (D-San Antonio); Armando Martinez (D-Weslaco); Linda Harper-Brown (R-Irving); and Jim Keffer (R-Eastland).

We last pursued a Safe Passing Bill in the 2009 session, but that bill was vetoed by the governor despite strong bipartisan support. The 2013 bill uses much of the same language as the 2009 bill and the thirteen local ordinances in cities across Texas, but we have taken measures to address the Governor’s concern about “creating a new class of road users.” BikeTexas believes changing the language from “Vulnerable Road Users” to unprotected road users (uncapitalized and without quotes) will help the Governor view the bill as an appropriate and necessary addition to the traffic safety culture in Texas.

BikeTexas staff has developed information sheets focused on the economic value and safety impact of the Complete Streets law. Staff has visited with all offices of legislative members on the transportation committees. Support is promising but not complete at this point. If your representative or senator is on the transportation committee, please be watching for an Action Alert in your inbox soon. We will need your help to get Complete Streets over this hurdle and on to the next step in the process.

Working on legislation is always an uphill battle and 2013 is no different. BikeTexas staff faces real challenges, some familiar and some new. In spite of this, there are a number of possible avenues to success. Here are some of the things in favor of bicyclists and pedestrians in the legislature:

1. With time and experience, BikeTexas is presenting bills in ways to help Texas legislators feel comfortable with a “yes” vote. We have better developed the economic argument for Complete Streets. We have linked bicyclists and pedestrian safety to overall roadway safety for Safe Passing.
2. We constantly receive compliments and thanks from the offices for making our information sheets about the issues easy to understand. These handouts have the key points that the legislator needs to know in a concise format. Cyclists in Suits participants combined these materials with positive attitudes and enthusiasm to execute a truly stellar one-day canvass of all 181 legislative offices.
3. After many sessions, many legislators and staff know us and what we’re about. We have worked hard to respect the environment in which they must perform, and we strive to make them feel comfortable with trusting us about bike/ped issues.

However, the challenges are not small:

1. We must continually mold our message to educate officials. The legislators and staff have many issues calling for their attention, so we have to make them see the importance of our issues in short periods of time.
2. The legislature is shifting. Many new members are not immediately receptive to our message and we must build a relationship with them just as we’ve done with other legislators. This relationship building is crucial, but takes time.
3. From a practical standpoint, we need to know that “yes” votes are lined up before asking the our legislative allies to use valuable political capital to get a committee hearing for bills like Complete Streets and Safe Passing.

The bill authors have requested committee hearings on Complete Streets and Safe Passing. BikeTexas is optimistic about the prospects these bills. Thank you for supporting BikeTexas as we strive to make Texas a great place to walk and bike.