Executive Summary



Issue Area 1: The Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles has not taken an active part in the Motorcycle Safety and Education Committee since November 1997.



The Motorcycle Safety and Education Committee met five times between December 1996 and November 1997. However, no meeting has been held since November 1997. According to the Commissioner of DMV, a meeting has not been called since November 1997 due to "Lack of attendance of citizen members..." New appointees to the Committee have never been contacted to schedule or attend a meeting.



Citizen members report that meeting attendance is problematic. They are self-employed and the time away from their own businesses is costly. The Statute does not provide for reimbursement to citizen members of actual expenses, nor does it provide per diems for attendance.

Issue Area 2: The Motorcycle Safety and Education Committee is in Violation of the Open Meetings Law



The Administrative Law Division of the Secretary of State's Office found no record of meeting notices filed by the Motorcycle Safety and Education Committee. The Open Meeting Law applies to all public bodies and guarantees public accountability. By failing to notify the Secretary of State of its meetings, the Committee failed to conduct a single open meeting as defined by statute.