We are currently going after Larry Yarborough to amend House Bill 307 (S.L.2020-40) to include SXS for road use. We need him to champion and become the primary sponsor the new SXS bill (introduce it, manage it, etc.). The reason being, Larry Yarborough was the primary sponsor of the Mahindra Roxor Legislation (House Bill 307). He knows the process and what needs to be done for SXS/UTVs to become road legal in NC.
I also meet with Senator Deanna Ballard. She gave me some helpful advice. She mentioned a few things should be done in order to secure a champion for a bill to amend House Bill 307:
- A broad collation of support across NC (the petition)
- The economic impact
- Backing from an association or lobby group (i.e. NC Motorcycle Dealer’s Association)
If any of you are super close with a state legislature and you believe they would like to be the champion or primary sponsor, please share.
The new SXS bill will essentially be only a few text changes to House Bill 307 (S.L.2020) – basically, an amendment to this bill. The text changes will include: cc size, length, width, and to remove the parking brake requirement as many SXS have park. This will make it easy to draft a new bill. These small text changes will allow mid-sized utility vehicles (aka SXS/UTVs) to become road-legal in NC and receive an official endorsement.
Regarding the other legislatures, all are on the table. I believe the low hanging fruits are those statehouse representatives and senators who have sponsored the Mini Truck and Mahindra Roxor legislation – as they have prior experience with a bill of this type.
Initial List of State Legislatures
House of Representative:
- Larry Yarborough: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/694
- Ray Pickett: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/772
- Brian Turner: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/696
- Bobby Hanig: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/745
- John Ager: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/689
- Sarah Stevens: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/592
- Harry Warren: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/630
- George C. Cleveland: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/476
- Chris Humphrey: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/747
- Tim Moore: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/339
- Edward C. Goodwin: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/744
- Jimmy Dixon: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/613
- William D. Brisson: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/558
- John R. Bell: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/H/661
Senators:
- Deanna Ballard: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/S/396
- Philip E (Phil) Berger: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/S/64
- Lisa Barns: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/S/427
- Steve Jarvis: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/S/430
Once we have a champion and a bill is drafted, the flood gates will open for us to start emailing and calling them to become a sponsor of the new bill. I’ve also been told it’s very easy to go to the General Assembly, visit their offices, and meet with them. This is something I’ll be doing once a bill is drafted and we need support.
In the meantime, contact Larry Yarborough’s office and tell him to “please champion a new bill to amend House Bill 307 (S.L.2020-40) so that mid-sized utility vehicles, SXS and UTVs can become street legal in NC!”
Cheers,
Kyle [at] unseenpass [dot] com
P.S. As of this post, we’re currently, over 6700 signatures.
P.P.S. Here’s the link to the web page dedicated to the lobby effort: https://offroadgatlinburg.com/lobby-nc/