Legislative Report

by Steve Panten

Every year I look forward to our annual trip to Washington DC to join Motorcycle Rights Groups from other states, for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s Bikers Inside the Beltway event. This year we had 11 ABATE of Wisconsin members, representing all 8 state Congressional Districts in the state make the journey. I would like to thank and name them for taking the time out of their busy lives to represent the motorcyclists in the state. The attendees were; Hardtail, Dave Dwyer, Joe Stanek, Steve Price, Seven and Cathy, Ric Mellon, Dr. Vern, Bob and Linda April and then there was myself. This group did a great job presenting the MRF’s legislative agenda to our elected officials. Before I get into more about the event, I need to thank Shannon Bunnell for scheduling our meetings. Shannon has been doing this for a few years now and it she does an amazing job. Just to let you know the challenges she faces, she schedules 10 meeting, which could be in 5 different buildings and she needs to allow enough time for us to get to all of them in one day. Thank You from all attendees Shannon!

Next month I will have more to report about how successful the Lobbying efforts were overall, but I am happy to report that the meetings with the Wisconsin Legislators went very well. We got a chance to discuss profiling, Autonomous Vehicles, The EPA’s position on modifying motorcycles and of course…ethanol mandates.

Profiling – Our position on profiling is simple. Recommend that all law enforcement agencies provide training on what profiling of a motorcyclists is, and provide a written plan to prevent it.

Autonomous Vehicles – We are looking for companies to provide proof of testing that a self-driving car can recognize and avoid motorcycles (I know….we shouldn’t have to ask this but, we do…).

Modifying Vehicles – In the past, the EPA has said that you cannot modify your motorcycle even for racing. This was removed from EPA recommendations but they have said that they can consider this in the future. We are looking for language to prevent them from continually trying to sneak language in a bill somewhere.

Ethanol – Just like self-driving cars, we will not be able to prevent the expansion of E15 (nor are we interested in taking on that fight) but rather find a way to make sure that gas with a rating of E10 or less will always be available to consumers. We are also looking to address the labeling of E15 at the pumps. It is illegal to use E15 in your motorcycle but it does not spell that out on the pumps label. Why not?? The label recommends that it not be used in older cars or air-cooled motors but it never states that it’s illegal to use in a motorcycle. If a consumer is not educated on the effects of using it, they could destroy their motors.

Like I said, The Wisconsin Legislators and their staff members were very interested in what we brought to them. It helps them when they hear from citizens that are affected by the decisions being made by government agencies and we are happy for the opportunity to meet with them.

In the State we are continuing to learn more about how motorcyclists are being profiled and how extensive this practice is. As expected, we are realizing that this is a problem in many parts of the state and it is not being addressed. We have met with a few different Sheriff’s agencies to talk about the problem and make them aware that we are willing to work with them to ensure that a motorcyclists’ is not looked at as being a criminal because of what they wear or drive. See Chubby’s report in this issue.

Next up we will be looking for members who are interested in attending the Meeting of the Minds Conference. The dates are September 20-23 in Denver Colorado. Please let me know by the end of June if you are interested in attending.

That’s it!