The following is from James Lombardo, ABATE of California's Lobbyist
"There are going to be many suggestions and alternative thoughts on how to kill SB 435 and/or water it down so that we can live with it if we can't kill it, outright.
"One suggestion is to alert the aftermarket exhaust industry. That is not going to be necessary, because as soon as they get wind of the proposed amendment (if they haven't already), they will be up at the Capitol with their lobbyists also trying to kill SB 435.
"However, their solution will probably be to protect their ability to keep selling illegal (unlabeled) or competition-only pipes as street legal. I'm not sure if you all remember last year's fight to stop the motorcycle smog test provisions of SB 435. The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), the trade association for the manufacturers (Tim Buche, President), tried to convince Pavley to amend out the smog test provisions and to amend in their roadside sound testing standard that they, along with the AMA, spent $250,000 to get approved.
"That's what I thought Pavley was going to amend into the bill, instead of the label matching provisions.
"This new MIC noise standard was developed as an alternative to the aftermarket pipe manufacturers having to develop and distribute noise compliant products, and instead snare riders in the roadside sound checks.
"ABATE is a rider organization, and we can accept help from other rider organizations and the industry, when offered and it will help us. OUR strength is in the grassroots outpouring of our members to pass good bills and defeat bad ones. You need to seriously push the letters, faxes and telephone calls to the Assembly Transportation Committee Members from any and all the Locals and members. That's how we are the most effective, and quite frankly, stand the best chance of winning."
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