Legislative Report

By Steve Panten

Motorcycle Friendly State?

Wisconsin is open for business but it may be closing its door on motorcycling. Our state has been considered by many around the world as a very motorcycle friendly state with many events bringing together members of the motorcycle community. And now that is in jeopardy. In the past few years we have been successful in taking on issues like unenforceable noise ordinances and prohibiting group rides and now we face a new challenge. I know that it’s hard to believe, but being on a motorcycle in Wisconsin is now opening you up for the possibility of being pulled over by certain law enforcement agencies… it’s happening!

In parts of our “motorcycle friendly” state of Wisconsin we are seeing an increase in operators being pulled over for very minimal violations (like not using your turn signal when you move into the right lane to make a turn) and having your name recorded as a motorcycle driver in a certain area. Most of the time, if you have a clean driving record and do not have any reason to be apprehended, you are let off with a verbal warning. Why is this happening? We are not sure of that answer yet but we are trying to get the bottom of what this is going on.

Right now, this all seems to be happening in only one part of the state but we would be foolish to believe that it’s not going to spread. If you have any instance of this going on, please let me know about it. We will need real world examples of law abiding citizens being stopped and harassed to put together an argument that motorcycle profiling is going on, and something needs to be done about it. Whether that is in the form of a Joint Resolution on the state level, or getting a bill passed requiring law enforcement to properly train their members on when they are improperly putting a motorcyclist in a category as a criminal, will need to be decided. We will keep all of our options available and we will continue to do what we can to prevent our state from being known as a state that you don’t want to tour or vacation in.

Lobby Training: I have many members ask me “how can we get this bill passed?” or “what is the next step for us to keep a bill moving?” well, now is your chance to learn what it takes to get a piece of legislation to go from being an idea we have, to becoming a law. Our Grassroots Lobby Training dates are set. We will have a 5-hour seminar on the legislative process and how important it is for our members to be involved in it. The dates are set but in some areas, we are still finalizing locations and times. Please join us one of the following locations. You are invited to attend any seminar but please let the district directors know so we can properly plan for lunch.

DISTRICT 1: November 4th in Jefferson

DISTRICT 2: Join seminar in district 1 or 3

DISTRICT 3: October 21st at the Oconto Falls Library starting at 11am

DISTRICT 4: Sept 8th at ABATE Acres (stay overnight and join us for the Board meeting the next day)

DISTRICT 5: Join us ABATE Acres or another area

DISTRICT 6: November 3rd at the R-Bar in Cameron

DISTRICT 7: Join us at District 4 or 6 or another area

DISTRICT 8: September 29th at The Junction House in Monroe

Last month ABATE of Wisconsin was well represented at the annual STEAM conference. This year it was held in Albert Lea Minnesota and I would like to thank ABATE of Minnesota for putting together a great conference. The break-out sessions were new topics and very well put on. I had a great opportunity to network with some people that will be able to help provide us with information that worked for them to get their bills passed.

Our Write to Ride patch is complete and the rules are set. This patch will be available to any member that writes a letter or sends an email about one of our issues to their legislator. (See image here for the patch design.) An important part of communicating with the legislators is asking for a response to your letter/email. You will need to get a response from the legislator to be eligible to receive a patch. Once you send me 3 responses, we will mail out a patch to you. Sounds like an easy way to get a great patch to show other motorcyclists that you are doing your part to help motorcyclists rights in Wisconsin.

One final thing. Congratulations to Kirk “Hardtail” Willard for being elected into the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame as a Freedom Fighter. Hardtail has dedicated a large portion of his life to fighting to protect the rights of motorcyclists both on a state and Federal Level. Growing up through this organization, I learned a lot from Hardtail and this recognition for his hard work is well deserved. Congratulations Hardtail!

That’s it…