Bicycle Safety Bill unanimously passes Missouri House

Missouri Bicyclists,

I just heard from our lobbyist Jim Farrell that SB 372, the Bicycle Safety Bill has UNANIMOUSLY PASSED the Missouri House!

At this point the bill will go back to the Senate (because there was a very minor wording change as SB372 went through House committee), the Senate will accept the changes, and it will be a done deal. (Remember that this bill has already passed the Senate, over a month ago.)

Need I remind you all of the value of having Mr. Farrell working as our lobbyist?

In previous years we have not been able to even get a HEARING in a House committee.

This year, our bill has passed the House unanimously, with full support of House leadership (one item prominently mentioned in the debate is House Speaker Rod Jetton's upcoming Katy Trail ride--starting June 20th).

We are still hoping that the bicycle safety provisions will pass as part of HB487, too, because HB487 includes all the language that just passed but also a penalty provision for drivers that pass too close.

SB372 went as a consent bill, and consent bills are not allowed to include penalty provisions. So SB372 includes the language that says that motorists may not pass too close, but it does not include a specific penalty for this offense.

Summary and complete text of the bill are available online.

Brent Hugh
President, Missouri Bicycle Federation, Inc.