Wis DOT v. ex-military vehicles - AB-592

[col.halftrack]

I have been posting as halftrackm2a1 on the G503 for over a year opposing this 404 DOT bill. I should check here more often. I agree with the majority here. I think 392 was our best hope. I told MVPA BOD to abandon 404 and fight but sadly it seems we are supporting the DOT's SB404.
KILL 404 ASAP IT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!
Kevin Lockwood

 

[undysworld]

Hi Guys,

Short post here, as I've got too much to do right now. (Sorry, I'll get more when I can)

The comment that nobody else was asking for more was made by Sen. Holperin. Jeff and I were both there.
Sen. Holperin had been asking the DOT attorney (Nilsen) how the DOT could compromise and allow some, at least the smaller civilian-based vehicles, to be registered as before, for unrestricted use. Nilsen stated that he'd been told to oppose any operation beyond 404's restrictions. So Holperin made his comment about nobody else asking for less-restricted registration, and directed Sen. Erpenbach's aide to redraft 392 to be Pinzgauer specific. Sen. Holperin suggested that they would "ram it down DOT's throat".

We (Pinzgauer owners) have never been trying to get the bill Pinz-only. I certainly don't think Pinzgauers should have more operating privileges than US milvehs.

I'm not going to take a position on 404, other than to say that if other owners want it, then I support them. My opinions are already known.

The only reason that passage of 392 (even if it were Pinz specific) would help other milvehs is that it would set a precedent of such registration. I'd like to see most milvehs included and allowed such registration too. But, ironically enough, the more vehicles that get included into 392, the more DOT will fight it's passage.

More later.

 

[vtwinpilot]

The idea that "no one is complaining" I can't understand how they can claim that with a straight face. This is all done quietly and methodically to avoid opposition. I'm a media hound and this nearly got past me. I wish I had a way to let the owners know what is going on. A letter to the editor in this area may have a detriment as it suffers from "delusions of Beverly Hills" and the anal retentive eyesore folks might rally up. The classic car folks have expressed concern that the HMV club is rolling over and conceding too much, I wish they would see the obvious threat that "they are next". I thought maybe the dealer's would step up, but they must be worried about repercussions and just want to keep a low profile. I see MV's on the road all the time and if I catch one fueling up I let them know. Maybe I should rewrite this bill to ban all those dangerous little crapboxes the lawyer claims are the "standard" I also think that an "economic impact statement" should be demanded, even if it's too late in the process...........I think the senator is just giving you "the illusion he cares" and already has his marching orders.

 

[undysworld]

A public hearing was held by the Assembly Transportation Committee today to hear comments about SB-392/AB404 (Sen. Erpenbach's bill).

Rep. Pope-Roberts introduced amendment #1, to narrow the scope of the bill to Pinzgauers only. The #2 amendment, to also include Kayser M715 Jeeps was not introduced at this time. (?)

The DOT's Carson Frazier presented the department's opposition, which sounded pretty lame to be honest. When asked, she was unable to provide any accident statistics. She also was unable to answer whether any other US states are currently pursuing such restrictions. When asked whether DOT was following some federal directive, she answered no, not in either direction. No federal mandate to either keep or remove milvehs from US highways.

She pointed to the recent news of the snows out east, and the fact that the Natl. Guard was using Humvees to get around, since nothing else could, as proof that Humvees were not fit to be on the roads.

Rep. Petrowski pointed out that he had a 4x4 pickup with big tires so he could get around anywhere. What was the matter with that? IIRC, Petrowski listed off at least Jeeps, pickups, Humvees, and Pinzgauers as vehicles which are small enough that he saw no reason why they should be limited to parade-only registration.

It was a bad day to be the DOT point-girl.

To my surprise, the only person (besides the DOT) to speak against this bill was Jeff Rowsam. Hopefully he will weigh in here with his thoughts.

I remember that one of Jeff's concerns was the "slippery slope" of having some sort of "approved" list. Personally, I think an approved list is far from ideal, but still lots better than having all milvehs restricted to parade, etc. uses.

I suggest that the precedent of having some milvehs allowed unrestricted operation is a better precedent to set than that of having all milvehs limited to parade functions.

In either case, it appears as if both bills will be up for further debate and review before the full houses. They will change, at least some.

Hey you guys in WISCONSIN!! If you don't get up off your butts, don't expect any great changes to occur.

I've pushed again as hard as I can. There is a lot of interest and support right now in our legislature for a positive change.

Call Jeff Rowsam, if he represents your collector group, and tell him if you support his position, or tell him if you disagree.

Call your elected representatives. If you're reading this, you can Google them too. If you still have trouble finding them, call the FBI (no, just joking there, call me, if you have to). VISIT your Senator and Assembly Rep. and tell them what you think.

Paul

 

[humbum]

Who Are My WI Legislators?

...to find out, visit Who Are My Legislators? and enter your location; next screen provides contact info for your district's senator and representative including their email address and phone number. Contact your rep and share your thoughts on this matter.



-Randy

 

[stumps]

If you assume that someone else is going to take care of this WI mess for you, you are wrong!

Call your representative. Tell him you want your HMV's restored to normal registration status.

If you live in WI, and you haven't called your representative on this issue, then you are sending a clear signal that you are ok with losing your ability to register your HMV's.

And to those of you that have taken a position and called, thank you! But don't forget that you do not represent your spouse! Have your spouse call too! And your mom and dad, and brother and sister, and that neighbor that thinks MV's are cool, and the postman, and your friend at the fire department, and the kids in your scout troop....

You don't have to own an HMV to have a say in this fight.... you only have to be a WI resident.

Don't be afraid to voice your opinion! It is the most fundamental right in our Bill of Rights. It won't put you on a list to be harassed, or audited, or anything bad. What it will do is put you on a long list of patriots that are proud enough of their country to take a stand and be part of how it is run.

-Chuck

 

[col.halftrack]

Hey guys, If your not from Wisconsin you need to call the MVPA BOD. Let them know if you like 404. We as a organization are backing 404 and I for one think that is a poor idea.
Kevin Lockwood

 

[undysworld]

We (Wisconsin Pinzgauer owners) have begun a petition drive to collect signatures urging Gov. Doyle to sign SB-392/AB589, should it get passed by our legislature. Currently, it is worded towards Pinzgauers-only, since that is the only amendment already before both houses. But we will update the petition as this bill progresses to include other vehicles (such as the M715 already introduced under Senate amendment #2). We support more milvehs being elilible for this less-restricted type of registration, and many members of the Assembly Trans. Committee seemed to want this too.

If you want to help with this petition effort, we have set up a webpage where you can print out a copy of our petition. Anyone can gather signatures, and mail the original copy to us. We will present the signatures to the Gov.'s office.

For anyone interested, here is a link to our webpage: February 8, 2010 : A Petition Is Available To Encourage Gov. Doyle To Sign SB392/AB589 | www.wisconsin-pinzgauers.org

Here is a direct link to the petition: http://www.wisconsin-pinzgauers.org/sites/default/files/sb392-ab589-petition.pdf

If you have any questions, etc., let us know.

Paul U

 

[mckeeranger]

If you assume that someone else is going to take care of this WI mess for you, you are wrong!

Call your representative. Tell him you want your HMV's restored to normal registration status.

-Chuck

"Absence from the decision process, implies agreement with the decisions made"-unknown (to me)

 

[undysworld]

Hey! A THIRD amendment has been introduced to the Erpenbach bill (SB-392/AB-589), so the bill now includes Pinzgauers, Kaiser M715 Jeeps, and Humvees (over 22 years old).

Here's the link to the amendment: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/SB392-SA3.pdf

Some thoughts:

Again, an "approved list" is not an ideal situation, but if that's what it takes in order to allow at least some milvehs to be operated for normal private uses, that's better than being "parade-only", IMHO. Then it's a matter of adding other deserving vehicles to the list, and that's already happened.

This bill does not further support DOT's (mis-)interpretation of 341.10(6) Wis. Stats., as Sen. Zigmunt's bill does (SB-404/AB-592). (This absurd interpretation is the crux of everyone's problem, and needs to be clarified, with help of a judge if necessary.)

This bill, with the amendments, is reportedly also supported now by the Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Decker. This has some substantial legislative support.

For those of us who want to be able to LEGALLY take our trucks to the lumber yard, or a drive-in, or to go camping, this bill is way better than 404/592. For owners who only drive their trucks for parades, etc., I'm glad you've gotten 404/592 so far.

But whether your milveh is listed under SB-392/AB-589 or not, your opinion matters. Please do not oppose this bill. It would be great if you supported it, and I'd suggest that there are several good reasons to do this. But at a minimum, don't register your opposition to this.

If we aren't going to kill both of the bills, and fight this out with DOT in court, then let's at least try our best to secure the least restrictive options for as many milveh owners as we can. If it ends up being only the 3 listed on this bill, for now, then so be it. Let's get what we can.

But let's also get organized for the next legislative session next year, and see what we can accomplish then...