Congratulations, WA riders, advocates, and friends/family of riders. Our resilience, patience, and continued mass messages of support to the senators in the transportation committee have resulted in them finally giving in and agreeing to schedule a hearing for SB 5401 on February 16th at 4:00 PM.

Thank you to all who continually pestered friends and acquaintances to reach out to their representatives, all who canvassed on Facebook and other subreddits, and those who raised awareness elsewhere.

So does this mean the bill is going to pass?

Before I go any further, I want to make sure everyone grounds their expectations and has realistic expectations for this bill. A hearing is not a guarantee that the bill will clear the committee! As of now, I've been told that the deadline for a vote to be held is February 24th. This would technically give the committee time to vote on SB 5401, but if the committee head (Senator Liias) is opposed to the bill, all he has to do is not schedule a vote and the bill dies. Personal predictions about this bill's future below.

What does this mean, then?

In order for the bill to "clear" the committee and move up into the house and senate for all representatives to vote on, the transportation committee must hold a vote on it with a majority in favor. This is called "executive action" on a bill. In order to schedule executive action for SB 5401, a hearing must take place first.

During a hearing, EVERY WA individual, organization, group, and commission has a chance to officially register their position on the bill online, and testify in front of the entire committee. The idea is that testifying lets the senators know where the majority of the population, the experts, and law enforcement stands, before they actually vote on the bill.

What do we do now?

We need to do two things:

1. Get as many WA residents, (whether riders or not) to electronically register a "PRO" position online. This just marks your name and position in the ledger, with the amount of registrants on both sides tallied right before the hearing. Last year's lane-sharing bill had around ~500 supporters registered (a very large amount), but we can make the number even larger this year to show the senators that this MATTERS to many.
2. Encourage well-spoken, pro-lane-sharing citizens/organizations to register to testify remotely on the bill on February 16th. These individuals will need to prepare a short script that will focus on key talking points (primarily safety-related) that will attempt to sway the opinions of the attending senators. Edit: lobbyists have requested that we not "clutter up the amount of people testifying" unless they belong to organizations. Apparently, the senators will appreciate the professionalism more than if every average joe signs up to testify. For now, let's focus all our energy on the first point.
3. 02/10/23 EDIT: a shoulder-surfing bill HB 1487 has been presented as a "compromise" to full-on lane-splitting. As a compromise bill, it may have a real chance of passing IF enough people register their support electronically. Please register a PRO position for this bill as well!

How do I register my support online?

Please do both of the below:

For lane-sharing

1. Go to https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/Senate
2. In the committee drop-down menu, select "transportation"
3. In the meetings drop-down menu, select "02/16/23 4:00 PM"
4. Select the bill called "SB 5401 Motorcycles on laned roads"
5. Select "I would like my position noted for the legislative record"
6. Fill out the following form with your name, position, email, and phone number.

For shoulder-surfing

1. Go to https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/house
2. In the committee drop-down menu, select "transportation"
3. In the meetings drop-down menu, select "02/15/23 4:00 PM"
4. Select the bill called "HB 1487 Right Shoulders/Motorcycles"
5. Select "I would like my position noted for the legislative record"
6. Fill out the following form with your name, position, email, and phone number

How do I sign up to testify?

Follow the above instructions, but instead of clicking "I would like my position noted for the legislative record", click "I would like to testify" (either remotely or in-person). You will be prompted to fill out a form. Act quickly, because last year, they only allowed ten or so "pro" testimonies in order to save time for the smattering of "con" ones from government agencies. Furthermore, it is recommended to prepare a 1-minute script, a 2-minute script, and a 3-minute script. Last year, they initially told those testifying that they'd have up to 2 minutes speaking time, but that was later shortened to 60 seconds. Make sure you're able to hit all your key points in 60 seconds if need be.

(Edited at the request of lobbyists: please do not sign up to testify unless you're representing an organization!)

What should we expect? (Personal predictions)

Edit 02/10/23: According to motorcycle lobbyists in close contact with legislators, HB 1487 (shoulder surfing) was presented as an alternative to full-blown lane-sharing. Senators realize that there is not enough political will to legalize splitting completely, but there has been enough public outcry to merit at least some form of "congestion relief". As such, HB 1487 might actually have a real chance this year. Don't get your hopes up too much, Because the house transportation committee's deadline is one week before the senate house transportation committee, this gives them exactly two days to schedule a vote on (lol). Still, if we mobilize a large amount of signatures in support of the bill, this bill could be the compromise we all need.

We are in a slightly better position than last year, as then the hearing was scheduled on the day of the cutoff. SB 5622 died before the hearing itself ever took place. This year, the committee is going to be left with one week during which they can schedule executive action (a vote) on this year's bill before the deadline of February 24th.

The major government agencies- that is, the WA Traffic Safety Commission, the WA Sherrif's Organisation, and the Department of Transport- will most likely testify against this bill during the hearing. The senators will usually defer to their expertise and opinions. If the bill remains as-is (a clone of last year's SB 5622), expect nothing to happen after the hearing as the political will to hold a vote on this bill won't exist.

However, there is still hope. The sponsor of this bill, Sen. Randall, is meeting with motorcycle lobbyists (Including our very own /u/SquidTips) to potentially rewrite large parts of the bill, adding amendments, clarifying language, and restrictions.

Yes, no one likes restrictions. However, amendments will be the only hope for this bill to get voted on. Some simple clarifying language and general restrictions (things like lowering the speed limits, no filtering in school zones, and restricting the practice to roads with two lanes or more) might be enough to assuage the main concerns from the WA Traffic Safety Commission/DOT, and change their position from "against" to "for" or "neutral".

If this happens, the chance for the bill to be voted on (and therefore clear the committee) jumps from "not likely" to "highly probable".

Remember, ANYTHING that gets motorcycles between cars at all is our foot in the door, even if it's highly regulated and restricted.

Now, go out there and register some positions! Let's fill up the ledger with electronic support from as many WA residents and organizations as possible. An organized, unified grassroots push from riders could sway the opinions of the senators. The squeaky hinge gets the grease. If enough constituents make enough noise, the senators may decide to "give them what they want and hold a vote on the damn thing".