Calif. lawmakers pass bill to quiet motorcycles By ROBIN HINDERY

OFF THE WIRE, FYI
http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/CA_XGR_California_Motorcycle_Noise_521179C.shtml Calif. lawmakers pass bill to quiet motorcycles By ROBIN HINDERY
The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO
California, birthplace of Hells Angels and home to legions of weekend motorcycle warriors, has taken its latest step to subdue the state's boisterous two-wheeled culture.
The state Senate on Monday voted 21-16, the bare majority needed, to pass a bill aimed at quieting the earsplitting roar from modified motorcycles.
SB435 would modify the California Vehicle Code to make it a crime to operate a motorcycle manufactured after Jan. 1, 2013, that fails to meet federal noise-emission control standards.
Motorcyclists whose vehicles lack the proper U.S. Environmental Protection Agency label would be subject to a fine of up to $100 for first-time offenders.
California is home to more than 10 percent of the country's registered motorcycles, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Supporters of the bill say many motorcycle owners modify their bikes to make them much louder, which in turn creates a public nuisance. Those modifications also allow the motorcycle to produce more harmful emissions.
"Basic common sense and decency dictates that when a motorcycle drives by and sets off every car alarm on the street, that is too loud," said the bill's author, Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills.
"This is just an extra layer of bureaucracy," said Wayne Harter, an owner of a Harley-Davidson dealership in San Jose. "Our scarce police resources could be better utilized."
Harter, who has been riding for more than 40 years, said adequate laws already are in place to deal with motorcycle noise and illegal mufflers.
Pavley said enforcement of existing federal noise regulations is lax because there is no uniform statute that gives state and local law enforcement officers the ability to write citations. That's what her bill aims to change.
The measure now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who owns multiple motorcycles. Matt Connelly, a spokesman in the governor's press office, said Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on Pavley's bill.
The legislation isn't the first motorcycle-related bill to draw fire from California's biker community. A helmet law took effect in 1992 after extensive debate and publicity.