Quigley: Well that's real tough . . .

Senator Kelley: Speak into the microphone please . . . the microphone.

Quigley: I think, Senator, I can handle it. I mean, I'm okay unless you want me to use it.

Senator Kelley: Use the microphone.

Quigley: Okay. That's fine. It's not a very big room. First of all . . .

Senator Kelley: Please state your name.

Quigley: Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Richard Quigley. I'm with the Helmet Law Defense League. I'm also here to Speak for Bikers Of Lesser Tolerance . . . BOLT. (Senator Kopp arrives.) Oh, my old friend Quentin Kopp! You finally got here Senator.

Senator Kopp: Yeah, I've just been taking a nap, doing nothing at all, I assure you. Mr. Chairman, may I ask the chair a question?

Senator Kelley:Certainly.

Senator Kopp: I had thought that there'd be a half hour for proponents and a half hour for opponents.

Senator Kelley: That's right, and we're going over a little on opponents' time. We went a little bit over on proponents.

Senator Kopp: So this gentleman is . . .

Quigley: Surprise Senator, I oppose the bill.

Senator Kopp: Oh.

Quigley: Now I got time! Sure, Hell yeah . . . (Jesus Christ).

Senator Kopp: No, I was asking.

Quigley: Oh no, it's okay Senator. So anyway . . . I guess we know where you're at. (This guy's really a character.)

Senator Kopp: Just wait a moment, because just for the record, isn't this televised? I was in the Judiciary committee for two hours on just two bills. And this committee is almost hitting two hours on one bill. Please proceed.

Quigley: Thank you. (Holding up a copy of the paperwork that was submitted -- Front to back: CHP Bulletin #59, the Easyriders injunction and on the back page, the All Commander's memo sent out by the CHP telling the area commanders how and what to lobby against AB-244.) Is the handout I brought . . . did somebody give Senator Kopp one of these, because I want to make sure he's got the right thing to throw in the trash.

Senator Kopp: Yes.

Quigley: The back page is a . . . I just threw this in here as a side-bar for you guys. I don't know whether you know that we pay the largest lobbying firm in the State of California with the taxpayers money, but this is instructions for the California Highway Patrol to lobby on behalf of the Governor's opinion in relation to 244. I'm not really complaining about it because he's lobbying my direction. I oppose the bill.

On the front is Bulletin #59. This is the real California helmet law. Now the real California helmet law, CHP Bulletin 59, is covered and defined in the pages behind it which is the Federal Injunction prohibiting Bulletin 59. But the CHP's never been affected by the law . . . anything more than Quentin Kopp has been affected by manners (referring to the fact that Kopp was carrying on another conversation during this portion of the presentation).

Anyway, I'm here to oppose this bill on two separate grounds. Just so that I make myself clear, I do not believe in mandatory helmet laws. I've never believed in mandatory helmet laws. However, comma, I do not believe that we are never going to accomplish anything if what we do is we narrow down the number of people that we endanger with helmets to just those under twenty-one years of age. You people will not begin to understand who you're killing if we limit the number of people mandated to wear these instruments of danger to those under twenty-one. So I would prefer that you either leave the helmet law where it is, and modify this bill, if at all, to include all automobile drivers . . . all roadway users. Now you got a helmet law that's fair, covers anybody and you're going to stop head damage across the world.

The other way that I would like to see you guys handle this bill, as opposed to . . . I mean if you . . . I don't approve of it as it is, the other one is run it down to the age of majority. I mean, we've got a Governor that doesn't care much more about the law than the CHP, but the fact of the matter is that if he wants to veto this little puppy, the fact that it discriminates against 18, 19 and 20 year old adults in an invitation to dance.

So, modified I may support a version of AB-244. As written I absolutely do not. Do any of you gentlemen have any questions at all?

Thank you very much for your time.

Senator Kopp: Thank you. Thank you. The chair will observe that that was a virtuoso performance.

Quigley: (Over his shoulder as he was walking away from the committee.) Thank you, Quentin Kopp, I love you to death.

Senator Kopp: Thank you. Any other opponents? I mean . . . wait . . . I'm playing catch-up. Thank you Senator Kelley for presiding. Has the time been consumed?

Senator Kelley: Yes.

Senator Kopp: Alright, this witness was supposed to be the last witness. Now the author, as a matter of personal privilege, has requested permission for former Assemblyman Richard Floyd to be heard for the proverbial minute.

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