Take action now: Keep kid motorcycles and ATVs legal!

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Take action now: Keep kid motorcycles and ATVs legal!

PICKERINGTON, OH – March 18, 2011 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has voted to extend the enforcement stay of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) that currently bans the sale of kid-sized motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The stay, which now lasts through Dec. 31, 2011, was extended by a vote of 4 to 1 on Feb. 1, 2011.
While we applaud the CPSC commissioners’ vote to extend the stay enforcement of the law, this does not solve the real issue, which is the law itself. Despite the stay, it is unclear whether state attorneys general will also decline to enforce the CPSIA. The sale of kid-sized motorcycles and ATVs is still technically illegal. Even though a stay means that dealers would not be subject to fines or penalties imposed by the CPSC, state attorneys general would still be able to prosecute violators if they chose to do so. Kid-sized motorcycles and ATVs should be exempt from the law, and Congress needs to act to make that happen.

Below are some quick links for ways you can help to exclude kid-sized motorcycles and ATVs from the CPSIA or for more information about the issue:
Contact your representatives in Congress by using the Take Action button in the Issues & Legislation section of this website. Act now to help kids keep access to kid-sized dirtbikes and ATVs: AMA urges riders to contact elected officials by clicking here. Read the AMA’s letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees in support of Rep. Denny Rehberg’s amendment to prohibit the use of funds to implement and/or enforce the CPSIA. Section 218 allows state attorneys general authority to enforce certain federal product safety laws. To view a brief summary of Section 218, please click here. Click here to urge your State Attorney General to follow the lead of the CPSC regarding stay of enforcement. Individuals can sign up for the AMA/ATVA Government Relations Department’s Action E-list so that they can be notified by e-mail when their support is needed to make a difference on important issues. Those interested in circulating a petition to change the CPSIA should contact our grassroots team at grassroots@ama-cycle.org. For more historical information, please click here to see a video of AMA’s President Rob Dingman. Read the AMA’s comments to the CPSC here. Read the U.S. House of Representatives Bipartisan letter to the CPSC here. Read the U.S. Senate Bipartisan letter to the CPSC here. Click here to read the CPSC’s response to the Senate letter. To read the stay of enforcement from the CPSC, please click here. For an abridged version of the stay of enforcement, click here. The CPSC issued its final rule pertaining to the lead content limits on certain materials or products of the CPSIA. To read the final rule, click here. Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (26-TX) sends letter to Chairmen Henry Waxman and Bobby Rush requesting a hearing on the problems in implementing the CPSIA. To read the letter, click here. Read the AMA’s letter to the National Association of Attorneys General and its response. On May 14, 2009, Acting Chairman Nord testified before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Small Business. Read her testimony here. Sean Hilbert of Cobra Motorcycles submitted a statement for the May 14 hearing. To read his statement, please click here. For more details about the bill (H.R. 1587) to exclude OHVs from the CPSIA, click here. To view the CPSC report to Congress regarding the CPSIA, please click here. Language regarding the CPSIA as passed in H.R. 3288, the Consolidated Appropriations Act. To view the language, please click here. To view testimony from Chairman Inez Tenenbaum and Commissioner Nancy Nord of the Consumer Product Safety Commission before the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, please click here for Chairman Tenenbaum’s testimony and click here for Commissioner Nord’s testimony. Click here to download a PDF version of the CPSIA. Click here to download a PDF version of the Consumer Product Safety Enhancement Act. On Jan. 4, 2011, Rep. Denny Rehberg and several of his colleagues sent a letter to the CPSC seeking to delay enforcement of the so-called lead law that effectively bans the sale of kid-sized dirtbikes and all-terrain vehicles. To view the letter, click here. Click here to see H.R. 412, the Kids Just Want to Ride Act of 2011. On Jan. 27, 2011, the AMA sent a letter to the CPSC requesting the commissioners accept the proposed option to extend the current May 2011 deadline for youth-model ATVs and dirtbikes. On Jan. 31, 2011, the AMA and ATVA sent a letter of support to Rep. Denny Rehberg regarding H.R. 412, the Kids Just Want to Ride Act of 2011. To view the letter, click here. On Feb. 8, 2011, the AMA sent a thank you letter to Chairman Tenenbaum for voting to extend the stay of enforcement to Dec. 31, 2011. On Feb. 15, 2011, the AMA sent a letter to Chairman Bono Mack and Ranking Member Butterfield requesting Congress to act to permanently exempt youth-model motorcycles and ATVs from the negative and unintended consequences of the CPSIA.