2010 FBA Legislative Priorities Survey Results
Thanks to all of you (603) who took the time to complete the 2010 FBA Legislative Priorities survey. The results will help the FBA Board of Directors determine the best plan of action.
Upon review in a general sense and based on combining the top two choices (rankings varied from 5=Very important to 1=Not important), the rankings by item were as follows:
1. Anti-Texting Law
2. Anti-Harassment Law
3. Fill the Recklessness/Carelessness Gap
4. Vulnerable User Law
5. Tax Credit for Rail Trail Purchases
6. Bicycle Exception for Limited Access Facilities
7. Florida Traffic & Bicycle Safety Education Program (FTBSEP) training as part of Mandatory Physical Education in K-12
8. FTBSEP training in Graduated Driver License program
9. Expand Dori Slosberg funding to include FTBSEP
1. The anti-texting issue is no surprise and there is already legislation being developed. FBA will support existing efforts by developing partnerships with other organizations.
2-4. All three are potentially controversial so research must be done due to the complexity and many unknowns. We must be well prepared with statistics before introducing legislation. These items are very, very important, but we must do our homework first.
5. Trust for Public Land is supportive of this item, however, we need to communicate with Rails to Trails Conservancy and other partners before proceeding.
6. This could be our champion item out of the starting blocks and it is very important to be successful on our first go at introducing legislation. Fifteen states have limited access exceptions and the safety record is good. FBA will proceed with drafting language, solicit feedback from peers and then approach sponsors to introduce the bill.
7-9. The education items were discussed as one topic. It was acknowledged that working with individual school districts has not been very successful. Developing a relationship with the Dept. of Education is important in order to move forward. More research needs to be done before proceeding.
Stay tuned for more information as our plan is further developed.
