It is inevitable that ideas will collide in the legislative process. In an effort to prevent real collisions, I filed Senate Bill 238. Texas Farm Bureau members in Blanco County suggested this bill, which would prohibit bicyclists from riding on Farm to Market roads without improved shoulders, and prohibit them from riding two abreast.
Cyclists are concerned.
If public participation is a sign of a healthy democracy, then our legislative process is as healthy as Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. He and hundreds of others have voiced their opposition to Senate Bill 238, while many others have expressed their support. Special interests such as the Farm Bureau, the Texas Bicycling Coalition, the Multiple Sclerosis Society and other charitable organizations concerned that their bicycling fund-raisers would be affected negatively, have tried to shape the bill's provisions. Representatives of the Farm Bureau and the Bicycling Coalition met with my deputy chief of staff. Unfortunately, they were unable to reach a compromise which would satisfy the concerns of both groups while still meeting the goal of promoting safety on rural roads.