Vroom vroom: WV Senate signs off on House bill to allow motorcyclists to stand while driving
Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, speaks on the floor of the West Virginia Senate on March 24, 2025. (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography)
A bill that would permit motorcyclists to stand up while driving their vehicle is nearly headed to the governor's desk.
'Standing up on the foot pegs just gives you so much more control when a bump is coming up. Your legs act like shock absorbers,' said Sen. Mark Maynard, R-Wayne, who voted in support of the measure. 'This is just heinous that if somebody does this, they would be ticketed.'
The Senate signed off on the measure, House Bill 2752, Monday evening with a vote of 27-6. The bill passed out of the House of Delegates March 19, spurring a viral video that showed Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, yelling, 'Vroom! Vroom! West Virginia,' before criticizing the Republican-backed bill, saying it was unnecessary and did nothing to help residents of the state.
Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel also questioned why lawmakers were spending time on the legislation. He called it the 'Organ Donor Act of 2025.'
'I've put up with a lot of shenanigans this session,' said Woelfel, D-Cabell. 'But why are we taking up the Senate's time with a bill to allow people legally to stand up on their motorcycles while the motorcycle is moving forward?'
'Of all the issues we have in our state, we're going to make legislation to let people be Evel Knievel? I'd like to have a no vote to send a message down the hallway,' he continued.
Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, said she had been told that the bill, which originated in the House, was needed.
'Right now if you stand up – you still have your feet on the foot pegs — it is a crime. They needed this legislation to allow them to stand up.'
Motorcyclists are already instructed to stand up in certain situations as part of their required instruction to obtain a motorcycle license, according to bill sponsor Del. Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam. The bill also includes mopeds and motor-driven cycles.
The House will have to concur with the Senate's vote before the legislation heads to Gov. Patrick Morrisey's desk for consideration.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
27 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Senators launch a weekend of work to meet Trump's deadline for passing his tax and spending cuts
WASHINGTON — The Senate launched a rare weekend session Saturday as Republicans race to pass President Donald Trump's package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his July Fourth deadline. Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all GOP lawmakers are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks. The 940-page bill was released shortly before midnight Friday. Senators are expected to grind through the days ahead with procedural vote Saturday to begin considering the legislation, but the timing was uncertain. There would still be a long path ahead, with hours of potentially all-night debate and eventually voting on countless amendments. Senate passage could be days away, and the bill would need to return to the House for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, opened the day's session with an impassioned defense of the package that he said has been misrepresented by its critics. 'Here's what American workers get out of 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' Moreno said as he began outlining the provisions. 'Read it for yourself.' The weekend session could be a make-or-break moment for Trump's party, which has invested much of its political capital on his signature domestic policy plan. Trump is pushing Congress to wrap it up, even as he sometimes gives mixed signals, allowing for more time. At recent events at the White House, including Friday, Trump has admonished the 'grandstanders' among GOP holdouts to fall in line. 'We can get it done,' Trump said in a social media post. 'It will be a wonderful Celebration for our Country.' The legislation is an ambitious but complicated series of GOP priorities. At its core, it would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump's first term that would otherwise expire by year's end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Trump's mass deportation agenda. But the spending cuts that Republicans are relying on to offset the lost tax revenues are causing dissent within the GOP ranks. Some lawmakers say the cuts go too far, particularly for people receiving health care through Medicaid. Meanwhile, conservatives, worried about the nation's debt, are pushing for steeper cuts. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he remains concerned about the fundamentals of the package and will not support the procedural motion to begin debate. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., pushing for deeper cuts, said he needed to see the final legislative text. With the narrow Republicans majorities in the House and Senate, leaders need almost every lawmaker on board to ensure passage. The release of that draft had been delayed as the Senate parliamentarian reviewed the bill to ensure it complied with the chamber's strict 'Byrd Rule,' named for the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, It largely bars policy matters from inclusion in budget bills unless a provision can get 60 votes to overcome objections. That would be a tall order in a Senate with a 53-47 GOP edge and Democrats unified against Trump's bill. Republicans suffered a series of setbacks after several proposals were determined to be out of compliance by the chief arbiter of the Senate's rules. One plan would have shifted some food stamp costs from the federal government to the states; a second would have gutted the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But over the past days, Republicans have quickly revised those proposals and reinstated them. The final text includes a proposal for cuts to a Medicaid provider tax that had run into parliamentary objections and opposition from several senators worried about the fate of rural hospitals. The new version extends the start date for those cuts and establishes a $25 billion fund to aid rural hospitals and providers. Most states impose the provider tax as a way to boost federal Medicaid reimbursements. Some Republicans argue that is a scam and should be abolished. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said that under the House-passed version of the bill, some 10.9 million more people would go without health care and at least 3 million fewer would qualify for food aid. The CBO has not yet publicly assessed the Senate draft, which proposes steeper reductions. Top income-earners would see about a $12,000 tax cut under the House bill, while the package would cost the poorest Americans $1,600, the CBO said. The Senate included a compromise over the so-called SALT provision, a deduction for state and local taxes that has been a top priority of lawmakers from New York and other high-tax states, but the issue remains unsettled. The current SALT cap is $10,000 a year, and a handful of Republicans wanted to boost it to $40,000 a year. The final draft includes a $40,000 cap, but for five years instead of 10. Many Republican senators say that is still too generous. At least one House GOP holdout, Rep. Nick LaLota of New York, had said that would be insufficient. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans dropped the bill 'in the dead of night' and are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what's in it. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sent his colleagues home for the weekend with plans to be on call to return to Washington, had said they are 'very close' to finishing up. 'We would still like to meet that July Fourth, self-imposed deadline,' said Johnson, R-La. Johnson and Thune have stayed close to the White House, relying on Trump to pressure holdout lawmakers.
Politico
34 minutes ago
- Politico
Trump pollster warns Senate GOP against deeper Medicaid cuts
Senate Republicans released updated megabill text late Friday that would make sharp cuts to the Inflation Reduction Act's solar and wind tax credits after a late-stage push by President Donald Trump to crack down further on the incentives. The text would require solar and wind generation projects seeking to qualify for the law's clean electricity production and investment tax credits to be placed in service by the end of 2027 — significantly more restrictive than an earlier proposal by the Senate Finance Committee that tied eligibility to when a project begins construction. The changes came after Trump urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune to crack down on the wind and solar credits and align the measure more closely with reconciliation text, H.R.1, that passed the House, as POLITICO reported earlier on Friday. The changes are likely to put some moderate GOP senators, who have backed a slower schedule for sunsetting those incentives, in a tough position. They'll be forced to choose between rejecting Trump's agenda or allowing the gutting of tax credits that could lead to canceled projects and job losses in their states — something renewable energy advocates are also warning about. 'We are literally going to have not enough electricity because Trump is killing solar. It's that serious,' Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) responded on X early Saturday. 'We need a bunch of new power on the grid, and nothing is as available as solar. Everything else takes a while. Meantime, expect shortages and high prices. Stupid.' The revised text would retain the investment and production tax credits for baseload sources, such as nuclear, geothermal, hydropower or energy storage, as proposed in the Finance Committee's earlier proposal. But it would make other significant changes, including extending a tax credit for clean hydrogen production until 2028. The panel's earlier proposal would have eliminated the credit after this year. And despite vocal lobbying by the solar industry, the proposal would maintain an abrupt cut to the tax incentive supporting residential solar power. The committee's earlier proposal would have eliminated that credit six months after the enactment of the bill; now the updated draft proposes repealing it at the end of this year. It would also deny certain wind and solar leasing arrangements from accessing the climate law's clean electricity investment and production tax credits, but, in a notable change, removed earlier language specifically disallowing rooftop solar. And it would move up the timeline for certain rules barring foreign entities of concern from accessing those credits. The bill would move up the termination date for electric vehicle tax credits to Sept. 30, compared to six months after enactment in the earlier Finance text. The credit for EV chargers would extend through June 2026. The new text also provides a bonus incentive for advanced nuclear facilities built in communities with high levels of employment in the nuclear industry. And the bill makes metallurgical coal eligible for the advanced manufacturing production tax credit through 2029. Sam Ricketts, co-founder of S2 Strategies, a clean energy policy consulting group, said the new draft is going to 'screw' ratepayers, kill jobs and undermine U.S. economic competitiveness. 'All just to give fossil fuel executives more profits,' he said. 'Or to own the libs. Insanity.' Josh Siegel contributed to this report.
New York Post
35 minutes ago
- New York Post
New Jersey lawmaker, inspired by Trump's Gulf of America, suggests new name for Delaware Bay
The Garden State should rename its historic Delaware Bay to 'The Bay of New Jersey,' a state lawmaker inspired by President Trump renaming the Gulf of America proposed in new legislation this week. The bill, introduced by Republican state Sen. Michael Testa Thursday, would direct state agencies to use the term 'The Bay of New Jersey' in 'publications, signage, websites, and materials to reflect the new designation and notify relevant federal entities,' reported. 3 State Sen. Michael Testa wants to rename the Delaware Bay. Jared Larson / NY Post Design 'I look at the robust fishing industry — commercial fishing industry and recreational industry of the State of New Jersey,' Testa told the outlet. 'I think that the fact that we have to call the bay that we fish in the Delaware Bay – they've had a claim to that long enough.' 3 Republican state Sen. Michael Testa introduced a bill this week that would direct state agencies to use the term 'The Bay of New Jersey' instead of Delaware Bay if passed. ccrrogop The bay – a vital body of water for New Jersey tourism, commerce and travel – has had the name of its southern neighbor since 1610, when it was named after the third baron de la Warr, Thomas West, who governed the Virginia colony, according to the Delaware government's website. 'Make New Jersey Great Again!' Testa, a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, wrote in an X post touting the bill Friday. The proposal comes about six months after Trump famously renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America – a move that led Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to jokingly suggest that the Long Island Sound be recognized as the 'Connecticut Sound.' 3 The bay – a vital body of water for New Jersey tourism, commerce and travel – has had the name of its southern neighbor since 1610. Rose Guinther – 'While the maps are changing, here's an idea,' Lamont posted on X with a map of the sound renamed, and tagged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. In a second bill introduced this week, Testa suggested that the Garden State should reclaim a slice of land located on Salem County's shoreline, which was deemed part of Delaware in a decades-old border agreement.
