February 2nd is the legislative deadline to get our bills reported "favorably" out of their respective committees, and we need your help to show the impact bike-friendly bills will have across Massachusetts! Please take a few minutes to write to the chairs of the committees and your local legislators, to share your personal stories about why safe and accessible bicycling is important to you.

How You Can Help

• Learn about our priorities at www.massbike.org/legislation
• Craft your stories: Why is this legislation important to you? Three significant themes we recommend focusing on are:
  
  • Combating climate change and greenhouse gas emissions
  • Reducing traffic congestion
  • Creating an equitable transportation system by improving public safety and welfare for all riders
    
• Contact your local State Representative and Sate Senator to check-in
  
  • Tell your stories and how they relate to the bills
  • Ask them to get in touch with committee chairs
• Contact the chairs of the committees this week!
• Track the bills using the bill numbers and stay in contact with your local reps for support as bills move forward

MassBike has many priority bills, yet right now the bills currently in the Joint Committee on Transportation are the ones we most urgently need to pass to support roadway safety and electric bicycle regulations. Using the contact information below, email your personal comments sharing why you support the bills and request they be favorably reported out of committee. 

Joint Committee on Transportation

• H.3549 & S.2273, An Act to reduce traffic fatalities
  
  • A multi-issue bill that requires sideguards on large trucks, defines "Vulnerable Road Users," clarifies 3+ foot passing, and standardizes crash reports throughout the state. (Note: There are many versions of this bill, however MassBike prefers the House version from Rep Moran + Rep Straus, since the Senate version puts undue burden on bicyclists to have red rear lights, and we prefer education and lights distribution as a means to mitigate enforcement and encourage the use of red rear lights at night.)

• H.3457 & S.2309, An Act relative to electric bicycles
  • Defines e-bike categories, aligns low-speed e-bikes with bicycles instead of mopeds, and helps to create sensible regulations statewide
    

Please direct your emails to:

Rep William M. Straus, Chair - [email protected]

Rep Marcos A. Devers, Vice Chair - [email protected]

Sen John F. Keenan, Vice Chair - [email protected]

Your State Senator and State Representative: https://malegislature.gov/search/findmylegislator

CC: [email protected] so we can keep track of your efforts

Politics is all about relationships, so please stay involved! If you don't know the staff of your local State Senator or State Representative, introduce yourself and express your concerns, and listen to their points of view. Going forward, we encourage you to follow some of our priorities on our legislation page and keep up with our action alerts. 

Thank you for your support in this effort and our ongoing pursuit of better bicycling through legislation in Massachusetts.