Advocacy & Policy Updates

State Policy & Advocacy Updates: 

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We begin with 2017 Mississippi Legislature, now in session. Bike Walk Mississippi has been watching potential positive and negative bills in regards to bicycling and walking in our state. We have kept on eyes on these bills and have been keeping your interests in mind.  Yesterday, January 31st was the deadline for bills to either pass to the floor or die in committee. 

We have compiled a list of dead and "not yet dead" bills that we’ve been watching below: 

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SB 2801: Complete Streets Bill 

This bill would have required MDOT to develop a complete streets program that would provide for the needs of all types of users, including motorists, public transit, bicyclists and pedestrians and asked that these group's needs be considered in planning, programming, design construction, reconstruction, retrofitting, operations and maintenance activities, and services for the sake of improved access and mobilities.  

- Updated Status: DEAD. This bill, authored by Senator Dawkins was referred to the Highways and Transportation committee, where it died.  

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SB 2452: Requirement of Bicycles to be equipped with lamp and reflector safety equipment. 

This bill would have required every bicycle to be equipped with a white light on the front, visible from a distance of at least (500) feet and equipped with a rear reflector or lamp visible from a distance of at least(600) feet to the rear. This bill would require lights for bicyclists riding on the roadway during the period from 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise or other times with sufficient light. 

Updated Status: DEAD. This bill, authored by Senator Jolly was referred to the Highways and Transportation committee, where it died earlier this week. 

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HB 877: Abolish elected Mississippi Transportation Commissioners 

This bill would have abolished the elected Transportation Commissioners and instead created a Governor appointment position to oversee MDOT. 

Updated Status: DEAD. This bill authored by Representative Chism was referred to the Highways and Transportation committee, where it died.  

HB 25: Rumble Strips  

This bill would require MDOT to install rumble strips along the shoulders of roadways when they are constructed or resurfaced. This bill states that after 7/1/17, whenever any highway, road or street under the jurisdiction of MDOT is constructed or resurfaced, or the shoulder of any highway, road or street under its jurisdiction is improved, MDOT shall include as a part of the project, the installation along the shoulders or edges of the roadway, rumble strips or similar safety features which create an audible warning to a motor vehicle operator whose vehicle travels off the primary driving surface of the roadway.  The exceptions to this are: 1. Low speed zones within municipalities, areas sensitive to noise pollution (schools, churches, hospitals) and roads with insufficient shoulder that would require acquisition of additional right-of-way.

Updated Status: PASSED TO FLOOR. This bill authored by Representative Formby was referred to the Highways and Transportation committee, who passed a version of the bill to the floor. 

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Worth Noting:  We also have some concerns about the gas tax and it's implications for multi-modal investments. We are watching this and continuing our conversations with state agencies to include bicycle and pedestrian accommodations in road improvements, particularly in regards to re-paving and bridge repair. We will continue to keep you up to date on these issues. 

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Federal Policy Updates: 

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For these issues, we work with our national partners at the League of American Bicyclists, Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership, People for Bikes, Rails to Trails National Conservancy and America Walks.  We will continue to work with these partners and to represent you on the national level.  With a new administration, we will have to continue to watch and see what happens. All we really know right now is that President Trump has called for infrastructure improvements during his tenure. We do not have clear knowledge whether or not this means an investment in bicycling and walking infrastructure as part of the overall transportation vision.  We also know that we have a recently confirmed new Transportation Secretary, Elaine Chao.  She is the wife of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and has previously served as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation as well as the Secretary of Labor. Secretary Chao has not explicitly stated her support or lack of support for bicycle and pedestrian specific issues, but we know that the FAST ACT put a lot of focus on safety and performance measures. According to our national partners (mentioned above), she also seems supportive of TIGER. Sign THIS LETTER to Transportation Secretary Chao from Smart Growth America asking her to include people walking and biking as well as driving as part of the overall Transportation Vision at US DOT. 

The National Bike Summit : Every year, Bike Walk Mississippi attends the National Bike Summit, sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists, where we look at and learn from national best practices, share our experiences pushing biking and walking issues in Mississippi and attend Lobby Days on Capitol Hill. Our Executive Director, Melody Moody-Thortis has serve as the Mississippi Coordinator for past six years, scheduling and leading meeting with Mississippi Congressmen and Senators. Each year, Bike Walk Mississippi works with the League to determine appropriate “asks” along with sharing success stories from across the state of Mississippi.  These success stories are absolutely KEY to our work on the national level and many of these stories from Mississippi have been shared as national successes as well. We have some great stories to tell with the economic impact of the Tanglefoot Trail, the Longleaf Trace and many other projects that have directly effected the communities of Mississippi.  See #3 below to see how you can help! 

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