NOISE LAWS DEFEATED

The Massachusetts Motorcycle Association has announced that a proposed noise ordinance in North Reading, MA that would have required an EPA Stamp on motorcycle exhaust systems and stricter noise controls has been defeated.

Prior to a recent meeting of town Selectmen, MMA Chairman Dave Condon met with MMA Member Bill McGarry, a local resident, to review the warrant and the pertinent Massachusetts laws. During an earlier town meeting, the legality of the EPA stamp requirement was discussed in detail and ultimately dropped, but an alternative proposal was amended into the Warrant which would have made noise levels and testing requirements stricter than those currently in Massachusetts General Law (MGL).

With significant support from McGarry, who attended both public hearings and spoke on behalf of the MMA and motorcyclists across Massachusetts, the Selectmen and North Reading Chief of Police recognized that the town cannot impose laws stricter than the Commonwealth -- instead, the town acknowledged that enforcement of the existing MGL coupled with appropriate education could be a far more effective tool, and by vote of the selectmen the warrant was removed from the town agenda.

Meanwhile, following much lobbying and testimony from local bikers, a hotly debated noise ordinance in Portland, Maine was unanimously rejected by the City Council and sent back to the Public Safety Committee for more work.

The proposal would have enforced the federal law that all motorcycles made after Dec. 31, 1982 must have mufflers with an EPA label certifying the exhaust system meets EPA standards. A biker riding a motorcycle within city limits without an EPA sticker on the muffler would have been fined $50. The ordinance would have been the first of its kind in Maine, and supporters said its adoption would have made it easier to pass a similar state law.

Opponents, including the United Bikers of Maine (UBM), said the measure would discriminate against motorcyclists and could cost the city tourism dollars by discouraging motorcyclists from visiting Portland.

Motorcycle noise continues to be a contentious and controversial issue across the country, with places like Boston and New York contemplating stricter laws.

Man... Don't know what the world is coming to. Noise ordinances.. EPA requirements on Bikes... What's next?