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Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has signed a bill into law that will waive the requirement that all motorcyclists wear helmets.
The new law takes effect Aug. 28 and will exempt motorcycle riders who are at least 26 years old. Riders who choose not to wear a helmet will need health insurance coverage.
The change doesn’t apply to riders with instructional permits.
The new law also will mean law enforcement can’t pull over motorcyclists just to check if they’re following helmet laws.
Parson last year vetoed another bill that would have gutted the state’s helmet requirement for motorcyclists. He told lawmakers that he vetoed the wide-ranging bill because of an unrelated section that dealt with suspending driver’s licenses because of failure to pay court fines.
Missouri lawmakers have long tried to repeal the state’s helmet requirement. They also succeeded in 2009, but that bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat.
The bill signed by Parson also gives the Missouri Highways and Transportation Committee the authority to form a public-private partnership to build an ultrafast Hyperloop track connecting St. Louis and Kansas City.
Hyperloop technology involves a tubular track through which a train-like pod carries passengers at speeds up to 640 mph.