How is AAA's John Townsend Lying today?

From the City Paper

In an email, John Townsend, an AAA Mid-Atlantic manager, said many had concerns since "there was never a public hearing on the measure, short-circulating the democratic process."

That's odd, because when you read the Committee Report on this bill it reads

That bill is the predecessor to the one that is being considered now, and in most ways is the same. No one from AA, including John Townsend, bothered to show up to that hearing. I guess it wasn't that important to him. 

 

Comments

[SJE]

I'm shocked!

[Kolo Jezdec]

Did he actually write "short circulating..." or is this an error by a City Paper reporter?

[Tom Calcagni]

No lies…Just facts. Your contention in a recent posting that AAA’s John Townsend was not correct or truthful when he wrote, “There was never a public hearing on the measure,” (Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of 2016) is, itself, incorrect.

In your posting, you quote from the DC Council’s Witness Listing and Hearing Record about the Bicycle and Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of 2014. You state correctly that there was a public hearing on that bill. You also contend, “That bill is the predecessor to the one that is being considered now, and in most ways is the same.” They are not the same. The names and titles are different and, in key respects, the impacts of the bills are different. While you may disagree with this interpretation of the legislation, the fact remains that the second bill is significantly different from the first, and there was no public hearing held on the current bill.

According to an explanation of the Council’s legislative process on its own website, “Legislation that has not been passed by the Council by the end of a council period dies in Committee. Similar legislation can be introduced in the next council period.” http://dcclims1.dccouncil.us/lims/faq.aspx#17

That is exactly what happened with the Bicycle and Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of 2014. It “died” when the previous Council session expired in 2014. That is why a new bill, with a different name (Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of 2016) and bill number had to be introduced in 2015.

If you read the public record related to the legislative activity on this measure, you will see clearly that no public hearing was held on this new bill. (https://trackbill.com/bill/dc-b4-motor-vehicle-collision-recovery-act-of-2015/743437/

No lies…Just facts.

[me]

LOL "short-circulating"

[DE]

Correct on a technicality then but still a misrepresentation.