After passing out of the state senate, Sen. Adam Kline's (D-37) v, with only three Republicans voting no. The bill now heads to the house rules committee, where supporters say they're optimistic it will pass back on to the full house, which passed the house version of the legislation on a strong 59-39 vote.

The only vocal dissent came from Reps. Brad Klippert (R-8) and Jay Rodne (R-5). Clippert said he objected to the bill because it took away a judge's right to determine penalties on his or her own (the legislation mandates either a $1,000-to-$5,000 fine and loss of driving privileges or a $250 fine plus traffic school and community service).

"If, in fact, the judge determines that there has been negligent driving ... and someone has been seriously hurt or injured, the court should not be told that they must take the lesser penalty," Klippert said. "That should be up to ... his or her discretion."

Rodne (the same legislator who took a potshot at student bus riders earlier this week, telling them that once they'd grown up they'd want a car) opposed the bill on more obviously ideological grounds: He didn't think cyclists, pedestrians and wheelchair users should be treated differently than people in cars. "Rather than carving out a vulnerable user [definition] which the legislature will have to continually supervise and perhaps spend time adding to our definition as society evolves, I would rather just increase the penalties for negligent driving in the second degree," an offense that's already on the books, Rodne said.

David Hiller, advocacy director for the Cascade Bicycle Club, says that "unless something happens beyond our understanding, we would hope that [the bill] would enjoy the same level of support going forward" as it has in both houses so far this year. "There are so many people for whom this means so much, and we've made a personal commitment to them to pass this bill," Hiller added, referring to the survivors of cyclists and pedestrians who have been hit and killed by drivers who received little more than a traffic citation.