Colorado Bill SB19-054 RE: (Former) Military Vehicle Motor Vehicle Regulation

[mann650]

Still not much of an update, the MVCC (Phil Movish) has been trying to get someone at the Department of Revenue or DMV to hear his plea and allow titles to be issued. Senator Crowder (author of the bill) has not seamed particularly interested in helping us. the other Senators and Representatives I have written letters to seam to be sympathetic but none are stepping up as of yet to help us. I'm still hoping someone can bring us together and we can get a larger voice on this, right now all I can see is 4 people, that's not enough to make any real impact.

 

[mann650]

Representative Don Valdez (https://leg.colorado.gov/legislators/donald-valdez ) did just reply that he will look into it and see if there is any legislation that he can move forward. For those of you writing letters, here is the first person that has said that he will take action, write him a letter of support.

 

[mann650]

Senator Crowder (original bill sponsor) just responded as well, looks like they are going to look at a new bill for the upcoming session, that means that we have to wait until late January to even get an idea of what might happen, but it is still something. Keep pulling on their ear folks, having a bunch of people that support this will only help us.

 

[Reworked LMTV]

Getting a law amended or repealed requires a tactical effort that is orchestrated. I would start by Google Video chat and put together a strategy with a network of all MV drivers. Get the word out on Facebook. You need leverage here. Strength in numbers and knowledge. I would start a petition. Get friends and neighbors to sign it. Stop by a VFW and get Veterans to sign off. Use Holiday Parades to get the word out and get signatures.  Bring pictures of your vehicle. What ever you do, START NOW.

Here is an example of a CO law repealed: https://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2018/03/colorado-committee-passes-bill-to-repeal-high-capacity-magazine-ban/<br>

Another CO law : https://kdvr.com/2019/07/19/organizers-say-they-have-enough-signatures-to-put-repeal-of-national-popular-vote-to-a-vote/"

Same is true for amendments:


How does the average US citizen go about getting a state law passed? “Average” US citizen means not formally involved in federal, state, or local government.




https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-thu...bqgdscauu.jpeg


[FONT=q_serif]Adam Nyhan, Attorney at Opticliff Law[/FONT]
Updated Apr 14, 2016 · Upvoted by Marc Bodnick, Harvard Gov major, Stanford PoliSci PhD student and Dana H. Shultz, Lawyer for startups in or coming to the U.S.










[FONT=q_serif]
I've worked in a state legislature (Minnesota). And I've worked in Congress and lobbied.
Short answer: do your homework, then pick your allies carefully and hit the phones. The basic steps are:
1. Learn the policy.
2. Learn the politics.
3. Identify key legislators in both chambers of the legislature to sponsor the bills.
4. Consider whether & how to ally yourself with lobbyists and NGOs (non-governmental organizations), both of which will become involved if your efforts gain momentum whether you like it or not.
5. Learn how lobbying works in real life, because now you're a lobbyist.
6. Start making phone calls.
Detailed answer:
This will be clearer with a running example: let's say you want your legislature to ban the sale of soft drinks in public high school vending machines statewide, on the theory that this will lower youth obesity. [1]
1. Learn the policy.
Before you get into the politics, understand how the new law would actually change the status quo. In as much detail as possible. For example:

• does the state government even have the right to pass this law? Is it the type of thing that the U.S. Constitution allows only the federal government to regulate? would the law require an amendment to the state constitution?
• what are all the state governmental agencies that would have to play any role in implementing and enforcing the new law? would the new law simply require authorization (i.e., a law that simply permits a change in the law and orders state agencies to implement it)? or would it also require an appropriation? (the type of law that takes a set number of dollars out of the state's treasury to pay for something new).
• what exactly are the details of the new law? In our example, exactly what types of drinks would be banned? defining a "soft drink" may not be as easy as you think.

2. Learn the politics.
Legislators are human beings. They are subject to political influences that will push them toward a vote for or against your proposed law independently of their views on the pure merits of the policy. So you have to research the political landscape, for two reasons. First, you need it to plan your own strategy. Second, once you ask legislators to support you, they may want your help understanding the political canvas. You need to know things like:

• has this new law (or anything remotely like it) ever been proposed in your state? in other states? if so, how did the major parties tend to vote on it? when legislators deviated from their party peers, what factors can you identify that made them break ranks?
• what are the most likely voting scenarios that you can identify based on general party philosophies? In our example, you'd start with the assumption that many or most Republicans would oppose the bill because they tend to favor market-driven solutions and not government health mandates.
• now get more detailed. There will be a few Republicans who break ranks with their party -- maybe they feel especially strongly about obesity, who knows? And there will be Democrats who vote against your bill -- maybe they have major campaign contributors that are soda makers; maybe Pepsi employs 5,000 people in their district; who knows?
• don't forget the Governor; she still has to sign whatever bill the legislature passes.

3. Identify your bill's sponsors.
If you've gotten this far, then by now you have a decent idea of which legislators are most likely to vote for this. Of them, a small number are good candidates to be the bill's author(every bill must have an author, a.k.a. sponsor, to introduce it in the legislature. There needs to be one in the Senate and another in the House/Assembly). You want two people who genuinely care passionately about this issue, first and foremost. Ideally, they are also people who have a compelling "story to tell," something personal to explain why they are carrying this torch. Maybe the author has struggled with obesity herself. Maybe young people in her district do. But to persuade the public that this issue matters, it helps to be able to tell a story that moves people.
4. Consider allying with NGOs and other lobbies.
There are NGOs (e.g. Planned Parenthood, the National Rifle Association, Greenpeace) and other lobbyists (e.g. those for Coke & Pepsi, the National Association of School Principals, the teachers' unions) that work on virtually every issue you could think of. This means that they can be excellent sources of information to you. And they also have far more experience than you with both the policy and the politics of your issue; and they likely have good relationships already with your would-be authors. Which means that it may be worth contacting these lobbyists early to ask if you can work with them. Here, just search the web to find groups that seem interested in something as close to your issue as possible. If you can't find a group already lobbying on your exact issue, find one working on something similar and ask them if they know of leads.
But: everybody has an agenda. That's not a bad thing, but it's reality. If you ally yourself with an NGO or lobbyist, you may later feel that your campaign has been hijacked by the veterans. However, this may happen whether or not you reach out to them early in your campaign; if your campaign gains traction, the vested interests will take note and may get involved. Here again homework pays off.
5. Learn how lobbying actually works.
You are now a citizen lobbyist, so learn what you actually do when you meet with a legislator (or more likely, at first you'll meet her staff). I give a cheat sheet here: Adam Nyhan's answer to What do lobbyists talk about when they court politicians and regulators?
6. Hit the phones.
Now it's time to start calling your elected officials. Start with your #1 choices and just call their offices, explain that you'd like the Senator or Representative/Delegate/Assemblyperson to author a bill, and that you'd like to meet with the staffer who would handle that issue to discuss the idea. You're off to the races.
___________________________________________
Source:
[1] In real life, New York City is considering this as of mid-2013.


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[FranciscoDAnconia]

For those who maintain basically stock military vehicles, what about the following idea?

As I have read it, it seems like the law that was passed in July DOES allow for the titling of military vehicles as long as they maintain historical military value. Which I interpret as being relatively stock military vehicles. For those cases, it seems to me like the DOR misinterpreted this new law in their memo to the DMV in which they said that NO military vehicles will be licensed. It seems like another approach is to get a legal interpretation of the new July law. I don’t know what the process is to make this happen. Maybe someone tries to title a stick military vehicle and files a suit if they are unable to get registration. Then the courts can interpret the law. Maybe this is another approach without having a new law passed. I realize this does nothing for those who modify their vehicles to a point where they no longer have “historic military value.” It for the rest of us, this seems like a faster short term approach.
Thoughts?

 

[tommys2patrick]

I also thought that just working on a better interpretation of the law that was passed might be in most of our own best interests. However, this tactic would require a fairly substantial monetary risk on someones part in going the court route. Not to mention a potential battle that could drag out for years.

I think a more effective approach for all of us would be closing ranks so to speak and presenting a united front. Also, it would be effective to join ranks with other groups such as car clubs, veterans organizations, fire departments, police unions, rescue organizations, disaster relief agencies etc. Anyone that has contact with "recycled" military vehicles or antique, restored or re-purposed vehicles. Organizations that keep history alive, re-enactors, groups and businesses that support or create various holiday parades and demonstrations, civic organizations, groups like the Smithsonian and local museums such as "Wings over the Rockies".

I will be writing letters to the local senators and representatives mentioned above. My recommendation whether you are in Colorado or not is to take pen in hand and get busy. Those in Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, etc hopefully have figured out that this scenario is coming to them as well. Please don't wait. The only way to keep history alive is to remind regular people about it and get them thinking. Those people and their children need to see it to think about it. That is the truly subtle and great thing about keeping these vehicles alive and moving in the public eye.

 

[simp5782]

I also thought that just working on a better interpretation of the law that was passed might be in most of our own best interests. However, this tactic would require a fairly substantial monetary risk on someones part in going the court route. Not to mention a potential battle that could drag out for years.

I think a more effective approach for all of us would be closing ranks so to speak and presenting a united front. Also, it would be effective to join ranks with other groups such as car clubs, veterans organizations, fire departments, police unions, rescue organizations, disaster relief agencies etc. Anyone that has contact with "recycled" military vehicles or antique, restored or re-purposed vehicles. Organizations that keep history alive, re-enactors, groups and businesses that support or create various holiday parades and demonstrations, civic organizations, groups like the Smithsonian and local museums such as "Wings over the Rockies".

I will be writing letters to the local senators and representatives mentioned above. My recommendation whether you are in Colorado or not is to take pen in hand and get busy. Those in Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, etc hopefully have figured out that this scenario is coming to them as well. Please don't wait. The only way to keep history alive is to remind regular people about it and get them thinking. Those people and their children need to see it to think about it. That is the truly subtle and great thing about keeping these vehicles alive and moving in the public eye.

The governor of TN has an M37 and a deuce so i think we are safe as long as he is in office. All of the legislature that sponsered the bill are also MV owners. It just simply states here that MVs are not required to display tags and gives an actual defintion of the vehicle in state code.

 

[tommys2patrick]

It does not sound like the rest of us can count on support from Tennessee I suppose.

 

[mann650]

I think a petition and letters both sound promising. I'm still looking for someone to organize us, any volunteers? I did hear from Phil and he does have a meeting with the DOR (they are over the DMV) to see if we can get them to follow the law as passed. I think that there still needs to be an effort to get new legislation, I worry that the "historical" could be narrowly interpreted to exclude more modern vehicles, vehicles that have been modified (does adding a spin on filter keep you from legally registering you deuce?), and vehicles that have paint jobs that are not military issue (gun truck replicas would be a good example here). I'll start the list, pipe up if you can tackle one of these:

1. Someone to organize us, keep track of who is doing what, schedule events, coordinate visits, establish a unified message.
2. Start a petition
3. Start a google document or similar sharing option where we can put reserch, information, stock letters, photos, and stories to help our cause
4. Visit or contact other groups (we will need many liaisons for these groups)
Veterans Groups (VFW, Wounded Warriors, etc.)
Active Military groups (The state just declared that the vehicles they drive every day for work should not be allowed on the road?)
Car / truck collectors clubs
1st responders (fire, search and rescue)
groups with military and outdoor ties (ROTC, Boy and Girl scouts)
5. Write letters. this on doesn't go away, everyone should write a letter to anyone they think can help. Take a listen to the debate: http://coloradoga.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=49&clip_id=13277 there are some people in that debate that are on our side and would be a good place to start (beyond just the sponsors)
6. Anything else you think will help.

I hope we can make Colorado a MV friendly state.

 

[Another Ahab]

Any Update here?

 

[mann650]

Ahab, Unfortunately no, I have not heard from any SS members since posting my plea for help. I have been talking to representatives and they would like to introduce a bill to support us but that would not be until the next session in the spring. I would hope that this legislation would be broad and inclusive of all reasons for owning a MV, be it historical, work, pleasure, search and rescue etc. I am not sure what we will end up with and if it will even pass. For those of you in Colorado, we need to get organized, any help is good. The more they hear from us and the more cohesive that message is, the better

 

[mann650]

Here is a link to a petition that seeks a legislative fix to this situation,

http://chng.it/2cN924XYqT

please sign it and write to anyone you think can help. We are about 60 days away from the session starting, now is the time to show everyone that there is broad support for this.

Thank you

 

[marchplumber]

Signed and donated......

God be with ya,........

 

[Another Ahab]

please sign it and write to anyone you think can help. We are about 60 days away from the session starting, now is the time to show everyone that there is broad support for this.

Thank you

Colorado residency required to sign?

 

[marchplumber]

I'm in Illinois, but I did "sign".....

Tryin to help, Ahab...

 

[Another Ahab]

Oh, I know, I know.

You're a good man, marchplumber! Absolutely.

I'm just asking:

- Is the petition good with out-of-state signatures?

Do you know, mann650?

 

[Reworked LMTV]

I signed and donated and I live in TN. It does not matter. We are all brothers.

 

[Another Ahab]

I got it. I hear you. Understood.

Just trying to understand if it's a legislative petition or what.

You got my signature and donation, also, Mann650. Good Luck!

 

[tommys2patrick]

signed and donated. Thank you for starting this.

 

[mann650]

Thank you to all who have signed!! The petition is just fine with out of sate signatures, this will not be to get something added to a ballot so it is ok. As for the donations, I didn't know this was even an option, I'm trying to see where this money is going so for now please don't donate as I'm not sure where it is ending up. For those of you that have donated, I will send an update once I figure this out.