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The Montana Senator proposes taxing out of state Cyclists

Montana state Senator Scott Sales is at it again, this time he's proposed an out-of-state riders fee of $25

Sales recently called cyclists “some of the rudest and self-centered people he'd ever encountered,"  is trying to pass an amendment to force visiting cyclists to purchase a $25 sticker to help fund the state's fight against an "invasive mussel"

What has invasive mussels got to do with cyclists? Users of motorized fishing boats, which unlike bicycles can actually spread the invasive mussel at the core of the bill, are exempt from a similar fee.

Melinda Barnes, executive director of Bike Walk Montana, fears Sales’ crusade will negatively impact the state’s bike-tourism industry. It's been calculated that cycling generates $377 million annually within the state.

“This is the third time this year that Montana has gotten national attention for the wrong reasons,” Barnes said. “People are starting to wonder what’s going on up here? It’s entirely possible that riders are just going to avoid coming to Montana altogether” 

Sales recently helped kill a bill mandating vehicles going under 35mph give riders three feet when passing and five feet when going even faster. Sales then proposed banning riders from two-lane roads with less than a 3-foot shoulder, requiring them to use reflectors on both their bicycles and their bodies, and force them to pay a tax to ride on the road. 

"I think it’s kind of ridiculous," fellow Republican Senator Steve Fitzpatrick recently said publicly.

Sales has said publicly cyclists need “to put some skin in the game” when it comes to road and recreation funding in the state. Some in his own party think his tax amendment targeting cyclists to help fund the state's fight against an "invasive mussel" is ridiculous and indicates Sales personal dislike of cyclists and cycling.

He's repeatly declined interviews and calls to respond to accusations that he's unfairly singled out cyclists as a group, that should be banned from riding on some state roads and be taxed separately from other road and recreational users. It's not clear as to the reasons of his focus on cyclists other than their failure to pay for road and recreation funding in the state.

Montana state Senator Scott Sales seems to love contraversy, in 2012 his wife Sandie, was convicted of embezzling at least $20,000 from her own mother. He lives in Bozeman, Montana and has 3 children Emma, Colten, Rachel. He is a Protestant and staunch Conservative.

SB363 is scheduled for a hearing in the Natural Resources Committee this Wednesday April 5th and will likely be voted on Friday April 7th.

Montana Looked to Ban Cyclists from Some Roads