Tag Archives: bicycle law

Post Ferguson Fear of the Grand Jury: Fox 2 Questions Trial Attorney Michelle Funkenbusch On Move to Grand Jury of Furrer’s Felony Case

Is a Grand Jury still Grand???

Reporter Andy Banker  from Fox 2 stopped by the office this afternoon to talk about the move of Mayor Mark Furrer’s case to a grand jury at the last minute from a preliminary hearing.  As you know, the proceedings are secret and we cannot watch or be part of the process as the law firm for the victim. We represent cyclist Randy Murdick who alleges the Mayor of Sunset Hills intentionally ran him off the road. Reporter Banker was wondering if we have concerns over the last minute move to a grand jury.

While I do not have blind faith in the legal process, I do, in fact, have faith in our justice system that an indictment will follow.  I have personally seen in my criminal defense work, the St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office fight zealously to protect our streets from people they believe endanger us on the road.  We will find out in the next few days the fate in the criminal court of the Mayor of Sunset Hills. Let us hope that the people that lost faith in the justice system over “Ferguson” will see that the Grand Jury is still grand.

Michelle M. Funkenbusch

314-338-3500

Transportation-related bills from the 2012 legislative session passed and awaiting the governor’s signature

[UPDATE 8 JULY 2012: Bills signed or approved by Governor Nixon are indicated.]

A number of transportation related bills passed the Missouri General Assembly this year and are now awaiting the governor’s signature.

The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation recently gave a summary of the bicycle and pedestrian related bills and issues that came up during this year’s legislative session.  Now an even larger list–all of the significant transportation-related bills, whether or not they include bicycle or pedestrian provisions.Missouri Capitol and bicyclists

Almost all of the bills are ‘omnibus’ bills containing somewhere between a few and many different provisions.  To see the full list of provisions, click through to the bill’s page. The list below points out only those provisions of special interest for bicycling, walking, or trails:

  • SB 470 – Optional 3rd license plate for use when bike rack or other obstruction obscures the rear license plate (Ryan’s law)
  • SB 568 – Cities are allowed to levy a transportation tax under 74.700 to 74.755 RSMO.  The tax can be used for mass transit, roads, streets, bridges, airports, and planning. SB 568 adds “sidewalks, trails, and community-owned parking” to the list of allowed items for the tax.
  • SB 607 – Allows billboards to be moved or removed under special rules when a stretch of highway undergoes construction.
  • SB 611 – temporary permit tags; yellow light duration; move over law
  • SB 665 – conveys certain real estate to MoDOT
  • SB 719 – motorcycle training course exemption; use of state park roads by commercial entities (ie, bike rental, canoe rental)
  • HB 1402 – Optional 3rd license plate for use when bike rack or other obstruction obscures the rear license plate (Ryan’s law); “moderate” billboard legislation requiring MoDOT to create regulations government digital signs; includes many other provisions
  • HB 1504 – authorizing additional funding for Great Rivers Greenway District for trails, greenways, parks, and improvement of the Arch district in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County; authorizing creation of a Trails and Greenway District in Jackson County and creation of a sales tax to fund trails and greenways.  This is state enabling legislation–all taxes must be approved by voters in the respective counties before they become effective.
  • HB 1807 [signed by governor 6 July 2012] – Designates the bike/ped path on the Heart of America Bridge in Kansas City as the “Bob Watts Memorial Bicycle & Pedestrian Bridge”.  Bob was a pioneering bicycle and pedestrian advocate in Missouri and former MoBikeFed Chair.
  • HB 2004 and HB 2005 [signed by governor 22 June 2012 with one minor line-item veto in HB 2004] – Appropriating funding for MoDOT.
  • SCR 26 – Establishes the Joint Interim Committee on Transportation Needs to study the transportation infrastructure needs of Missouri

You’ll note that some provisions, such as Ryan’s Law, are included as part of two or more bills.  This is a common legislative tactic–each bill the language is included in raises the odds of that language passing at least once–and helps the provision survive a veto if one or more of the large omnibus transportation bills is vetoed.  So if a certain provision passes twice or more, it can only help and doesn’t hurt anything.

As an advocate for the protection of cyclists and pedestrians, I strongly urge you to support bicycling, walking, and trails in Missouri and work towards Complete Streets policies in Missouri that will help every community become safer and more inviting for walking and bicycling.  Bicycling, walking, and trails are important for our health, for the livability of our communities, and for the economic vitality of our state as it competes on a national and international level.  The governor has until July 14th to sign most of these bills.  

SOURCE: Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation, Article Submitted by Brent Hugh on Thu, 06/07/2012 – 2:27pm