The legislative bill filing season is moving along here in Massachusetts – and we need your help! We have several bicycle-friendly bills filed in both the MA House of Representatives and the Senate, and we'd like your local legislators to become cosponsors.

Working with reps and senators from across the state, we have six bills we're supporting, which help improve road safety, promote electric bicycle regulations, offer incentives for bicycle commuting, and fund rail trails. You can find more information about these bills below, and on our Legislation Advocacy webpage.

This is the very start of the bill-becomes-a-law process, and a good time to let your reps know to chime in.

Our ask for you is to:

1. Get to know our six bicycle-related bills that have been filed for the 192nd Legislative Session
2. Find and contact your local state legislators, either by phone call or email
3. Ask them to support these bicycle-related bills (reference the bills by "docket number," and remember to thank them for their work!)
4. And please share a story about why promoting bicycling, improving road safety, and building our rail trails are so important to you

To make this easy, we've created a template to use to reference the bills when contacting your legislator. If it helps, click HERE to use the template.

Details of the bills we're supporting are below

An Act to reduce traffic fatalities

Defines "vulnerable road users" to include people walking and biking, roadside workers, and more; designates "safe passing distance" as 3+ft at 30+MPH; requires state-contracted trucks to be equipped with safety side-guards, convex mirrors, and backup cameras (in House version);  and requires a standardized analysis tool to report crashes involving a person biking or walking.

Bill Numbers: HD.1888 and SD.1613

Filed by: 

• Rep. Moran (18th Suffolk) and Rep. Straus (10th Bristol)
• Sen. Brownsberger (Second Suffolk and Middlesex)
  

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An Act relative to automated enforcement

Allows municipalities to install cameras to enforce certain traffic infractions, such as red light running, speeding, passing a stopped school bus, and more; provides restrictions around use and dissemination of images in order to protect drivers’ and vehicle owners’ privacy; determines a maximum penalty of $25 for each violation, which will not be counted as a criminal conviction and will not be made part of the operating record of the vehicle owner (will not add points to the owner’s license, affect insurance premiums, or result in license revocation); and creates procedures for notifying the public about locations where cameras are in use.

Bill Numbers: HD.3705 and SD.1962

Filed by: 

• Rep. Ciccolo (15th Middlesex) 
• Sen. Brownsberger (Second Suffolk and Middlesex)
  

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An Act relative to electric bicycles

Defines e-bikes as distinct devices separate from "motorized bikes" and mopeds; uses the 3-class federal classification model already in place in most of the country; aligns e-bike more closely with bicycles, while retaining local authority to regulate, especailly for off-road and "natural surface" trails.

Bill Numbers: HD.1396 and SD.2303

Filed by: 

• Rep. Fernandes (Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket) and Rep. Owens (29th Middlesex)
• Sen. DiDomenico (Middlesex and Suffolk)
  

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An Act relative to electric bicycle rebates

Provides rebates for electric bicycle purchases of up to $500 (and up to $750 for low- and moderate-income consumers), not more than 40% of the retail price, as part of the State's electric vehicle incentive program.

Bill Numbers (192nd Session): HD.2436

Filed by: Rep. Blais (1st Franklin)

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An Act relative to commuter transit benefits

Adds bicycling to the pre-tax benefits claimed for commuting, related to taxable income, specifically for costs related to bikeshare membership, purchasing a bicycle (including electric bicycles), repairs and upgrades, and storage, as well as Regional Transit Authority passes.

Bill Numbers (192nd Session): HD.2249 and SD.1340

Filed by: 

• Rep. Vitolo (15th Norfolk)
• Sen. Keenan (Norfolk and Plymouth)

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An Act authorizing municipalities to expend certain funds for the acquisition of land to be used for rail trails

Clarifies that municipalities are allowed to use Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding to be used for acquiring federally rail banked right of ways for the development of rail trails

Bill Numbers (192nd Session): HD.456 and SD.160 

Filed by: 

• Rep. Gentile (13th Middlesex) and Rep. Sabadosa (1st Hampshire)
• Sen. Eldridge (Middlesex and Worcester)