Motorcycle safety funding and license renewals examined

Members of the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee met for their first hearing on Jan. 18. Bills considered by the committee included two proposals by Valentine Sen. Deb Fischer that would discontinue reimbursements for motorcycle safety courses and change provisions of law relating to the renewal of driver’s and motorcyclist licenses.

The first bill, LB170, would eliminate a state subsidy provided by the Motorcycle Safety Education Fund to motorcycle safety education providers.

The Motorcycle Safety Education Fund currently receives $3 from the Highway Trust Fund for every motorcycle registered in the state and $3.50 from the Department of Motor Vehicles Cash Fund for each motorcycle operator’s license issued during the previous year. The fund is used to reimburse motorcycle safety course providers up to $75 for each student who successfully completes a course.

Under LB170, the Motorcycle Safety Education Fund would be dissolved Jan. 1, 2012, and its balance, which is expected to be nearly $800,000, would be transferred to the Roads Operations Fund.

The bill would eliminate the $5 fee for motorcycle safety instructors’ permits and chief instructors’ permits, and replace it with a $100 fee for certification of a motorcycle safety course.

The bill also would broaden the DMV’s regulatory authority over motorcycle safety courses.

DMV director Beverly Neth testified in support of the bill, saying it would create consistency among driver training programs. She also said the bill would provide regulatory uniformity and authority to implement nationally recognized rules and curriculum in safety courses.

David Halen, one of the two chief instructors in Nebraska for motorcycle safety training, testified in opposition to the bill. The additional expenses motorcycle safety courses incur due to vehicle damage and facility acquisition warrant state support, he said, even if other driving education programs receive none.

Halen also said operating a motorcycle is more complex than driving a car or truck. Therefore, state assistance is needed to keep course fees low so enrollment does not decline, he said.

Bill Mulherin of the Greater Omaha chapter of the Nebraska Safety Council said new motorcycle riders often lack proper knowledge of how to operate their bikes. He said motorcycle safety courses work to reduce risky riding behaviors.

“If [state assistance] goes away, we are not going to shut our doors. We are going to continue to serve the public, but we are going to do it with a sudden jump in price,” Mulherin said, adding that the inflated price would result in deflated enrollment numbers.

While opponents of the bill said they understood why the state reimbursement was being cut due to budgetary constraints, Fischer said the positive fiscal impact of the bill was not its primary purpose.

“I view it as a question of equity that a subsidy is being provided to one segment — one business — and not to others in the state,” she said.

The second bill, LB158, would expand the upper age limit for online driver’s license renewals and provide opportunities for younger drivers to obtain new licenses online.

Current law permits individuals aged 21 to 65 with DMV digital signatures and photos on file to renew their class O driver’s licenses or class M motorcyclist licenses online.

LB158 would extend this age range up to 72 and permit persons under 21 who have completed all required examinations to apply for operators’ licenses electronically using rules prescribed by the DMV.

Neth said the state should limit the number of times young drivers are required to appear in person as they progress through the series of permits and licenses offered to those 18 aged years or younger.

“Since there is no additional testing required, it makes sense that a qualified young person applies for his or her permit or license through an online process,” Neth said.

The bill also would prohibit those who fail a driving test three times for a class O driver’s license or class M motorcyclist license from retaking the test until they complete a driver’s safety course or hold a learner’s permit, for which they would be eligible, at least 90 days.

The committee moved to advance both bills to general file.