Legislative Report

by Steve Panten

I think October is a great time of year. Besides getting to see and feel the seasons change, it’s a great time of year for ABATE. October is when ABATE holds its Annual Meeting of the membership and we get to recognize a few individuals for going above and beyond for our organization. There are many members that deserve awards and recognition, so choosing which person gets an award is a difficult task. So first let me say Congratulations to everyone that did get an award and THANK YOU to everyone that does what they do with little to no recognition. It is because of you that we are successful.

Every year I get asked if I want to give an award to anybody for their legislative work. Like I said earlier….it’s very difficult to single out one person for their contribution to our success, so I do not give one out every year. I continue to be impressed with our members stepping up when asked to help to move our Legislative Agenda forward. This year I decided to recognize two people, one is a member and the other is a legislator.

My Legislator choice is probably obvious with the success we had in getting our ROW violations bill passed (Act 105). Representative Brandtjen is very supportive of everything that we propose and is a great springboard for me to bounce ideas off. She spent a lot of time on our ROW Violations bill and never gave up on it, even when I got frustrated. I would like to thank Representative Brandtjen for her support and I am looking forward to working with her in the future.

The member that I would like to recognize with a Legislative Award is Ric Mellon. Ric’s commitment to ABATE can be seen in many ways. He is a voice that is respected, and his actions are always with the motorcyclist’s best interest in mind. Ric has spent many hours behind the scenes working on autonomous and connected vehicle issues. He was the motorcyclist’s voice on the Governor’s Steering Committee on Autonomous and Connected Vehicles and his impact is noticed in the final report. Although the Committee has finished its work and disbanded, Ric’s work is not done. He has accepted a seat on another committee in Madison that will be looking into addressing what laws will have to be created or modified as these vehicles become more popular. Thank You Ric.

Another exciting thing that happens at our October meeting is when we set our Legislative Agenda for the next year. This agenda is very fluid and will be modified as our needs change throughout the year, but this is where we start for Lobby Day. We came up with the topics that will be going on the Lobby Day handout and I am feeling good about us being successful. We will see the return of the Autocycle language with new information to help us, and we will also see the return of the Vehicle Data Recorder bill. We have some great new talking points that should help us be successful.

The third thing that we will be addressing is Autonomous and Connected Vehicles. Wisconsin has been pushing this through at a rapid pace, but Ric has been able to get them to understand that implementing these vehicles into the normal stream of traffic creates some unexpected challenges. Truck Platooning is a great example of that. When I talk to Legislators and explain our concerns about the bill that they passed, a common response is “that’s not what we passed”. Legislators seem to be interested in correcting the simple platooning issue that they created, but we need them to understand the deeper impact….will this freight train of trucks even see a motorcycle before it drives over it? We will need to educate our representatives with everything that we learned about these vehicles. They have been hearing a one-sided story about how great a driverless car is, but do they truly understand that there has not been any documented material to show that these vehicles can “see” and respond to a motorcycle?

And another one of my favorite things about October is ABATE elections every other year. I am excited to see when there is more than one person willing to step for a position. This year it looked a little thin until we had seven people running as a write-in candidate for Board Member-at-Large. Congratulations to everyone that was elected and thank you for believing in me to serve on the board for another term. Chubby did ask me to continue as your Legislative Committee Chair and the newly elected Board approved his nomination. I look forward to trying to make the legislative process seem exciting for the membership and I will continue to try to improve on writing quality articles every month.

Ok….more business. We are having two more Grassroots Lobby Training sessions before the year ends. November 3^rd at R-Bar (1190 25th St., Cameron, WI.) and then on November 4^th at the Roadhouse (210 Milwaukee St. Johnson Creek). This will be your last opportunity of the year to gain confidence and become more comfortable when you talk about our issues to legislators or to other motorcyclists. I hope to see you there.

And one final thing…..Don’t forget about your opportunity to receive a “Write to Ride” patch. Show your fellow motorcyclists that you are a person that is willing to do your part to fight for your rights. All it takes is 3 responses to a letter or email that you send to any of your legislators. The answers that you get for responding to the MRF “Call to Actions” count also (it’s definitely the easy way to do it). You can forward the responses you receive to me (legis@abatewis.org) or mail it to the state office. No matter how you do it, once I receive the third response we will send you a patch. The idea behind it is to show the world that you are willing to take the time to fight for your rights. We are only successful because our members are active. And for that, I Thank You!

That’s it.