Shir Haberman
hamptonunion@seacoastonline.
Motorcycle Noise Bill
http://www.seacoastonline.com/
Public can speak on motorcycle noise bill
2/5/2012 NORTH HAMPTON — Excessive noise coming from motorcycles passing through local communities has been an issue for some Seacoast residents for many years. Tuesday, those residents will have an opportunity to do something about the problem when the Transportation Committee of the New Hampshire House meets to consider a bill submitted by Rep. Michele Peckham, R-North Hampton.
The legislative committee will meet at 10 a.m., in Representatives Hall at the Statehouse in Concord, to take public testimony on the proposed bill. Committee members may vote on whether to recommend passage of the bill to the full House.
Peckham's bill is short and to the point. It seeks to lower the maximum noise produced by a motorcycle from the current 106 decibels to the federal standard of 82 decibels.
"No person shall operate or use a highway motorcycle registered in the state of New Hampshire and manufactured on or after Jan. 1, 2013, unless the motorcycle is equipped with a factory installed exhaust system, or equivalent, that bears the required applicable federal Environmental Protection Agency exhaust system labels ... ," the bill reads. "The exhaust system shall not produce a sound level in excess of 82 decibels ... when measured in accordance with federal testing procedures."
The bill also prohibits anyone from tampering with a motorcycle exhaust system in a way that causes it to make noise in excess of 80 decibels and makes the 82 decibel noise level a criteria for registering a motorcycle built after the first of next year in the state. The bill does not attempt to set a noise level for competition motorcycles.
Violations of the noise limit would result in not less than a $350 fine for the first offense and $500 for each subsequent offense, the bill states.
Peckham said because the bill allows motorcycles built before 2013 to continue to operate at current decibel levels, the impact of her legislation may not be felt immediately. However, she said a grace period was necessary in order to appease motorcyclists and dealers whose opposition has had three similar bills proposed in the in the past four years killed by the Legislature.
"The motorcycle community and motorcycle dealers are telling us that if we pass (this kind of legislation) and make it effective (for all motorcycles) in January, it means that every single motorcycle on the road is basically out of compliance, and all those individuals will have to remove their mufflers and replace them with EPA-compliant mufflers, which is a great expense to these people," Peckham explained. "So what I've done with this legislation is, basically, make the legislation effective on Jan. 1, 2013.
"That grandfathers every motorcycle on the road today (that is compliant with the state's 106-decibel standard and) allows motorcycle dealers time to deplete their inventories," she said.
Peckham's bill is an outgrowth of a North Hampton town ordinance that was passed overwhelmingly by the voters in that town at their 2010 Town Meeting. However, Seacoast Motorcycles Inc., a Harley-Davidson dealership located on Lafayette Road in that community, immediately filed a motion to enjoin the town from enforcing the ordinance.
In its suit Seacoast Motorcycle claimed that since the state has enacted a specific decibel allowance for motorcycles, no community has the authority to set a lower limit. The dealership also argued that the ordinance adversely impacted its ability to do business in New Hampshire.
In a decision rendered on Dec. 9, 2011, Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Kenneth McHugh agreed.
"The court agrees with the plaintiff and finds that the subject of motorcycle noise is preempted by the state and that, since the state has not authorized the town to regulate motorcycle noise, the town has no legal authority to adopt or enforce the ordinance," McHugh wrote in his decision.
With the option of controlling motorcycle at the local level removed, the only mechanism left is to change state law, and several other local state representatives have joined Peckham in that effort. They include Patrick Abrami, R-Stratham; William Smith, R-New Castle; and James Waddell, R-Hampton.
Peckham is also urging those Seacoast residents who supported the attempt by North Hampton to enact a motorcycle noise ordinance — or who sought a similar one in their communities — to show up at the Feb. 7 hearing in Concord and get behind her legislation.
"We really need people's support to come to Concord and testify," Peckham said.
