It All Happens on February 13th!

by Steve Panten

December is finally here! Days are short and cold, and it’s time to start on the upgrades you have been planning for your motorcycle.

Next month the new legislature will be seated, and the motorcyclists in Wisconsin need to be ready. The most important day of the year for motorcycling in Wisconsin is on February 13th. You guessed it, that is ABATE of Wisconsin’s Lobby Day in Madison, and we need all hands-on deck. As we saw last session, we have work to do if we want to protect motorcycling as we know it.

The new legislature will have many new faces. We have a long history of being able to work with both sides of the aisle since we are made up of members with all political beliefs. The one thing that we have in common is our voice when we are at the Capitol in Madison. We speak with one united voice, and that voice is to protect the lifestyle that we enjoy. With the changes in the legislature, we will need to build strong relationships with all new members, and we need to reaffirm our relationships with those that are returning.

On February 13th we are again going to ask for help in drafting a bill to protect the sale of combustion engine vehicles and equipment. This time we will be trying a slightly different approach with removing the part that limited the local government’s ability to restrict the sale of combustion engine vehicles and equipment part and stick to the State Legislature and Agencies. We heard from some legislators that was a sticking point for them not supporting our earlier bill. We will be looking for one bill to protect all vehicles and equipment rather than separating them like we had last session. Other tools that we are going to use include Ohio’s passage of H.R. 201 with bipartisan support. Their bill is close to what we will be looking for in Wisconsin.

We will also be able to use California’s decision to postpone the Public Hearing on including motorcycles in their combustion engine attack. That’s right, when California passed the CARB Standards requiring all vehicle sales to be electric by 2035, motorcycles were exempt. I like to believe it was the strong voice of the motorcyclists and the motorcycle dealer and independent shops network that got them removed. Well, this is the second time that the CARB Board postponed the Public Hearing, and this time it was stopped 90 minutes before the hearing started. Proof that a strong, united voice can have influence.

Next up will be asking for support with our Right to Repair bill language. I am hopeful that before Lobby Day we should have a final bill draft completed so we can circulate it for cosponsors. The language for this piece of legislature is like what is being considered in Washington DC with H.R. 906. We are watching actions happening across the country involving right to repair issues. Recently, McDonalds received a favorable decision by the copyright office over fixing their McFlurry machines. Who would have thought that a McFlurry issue could help us, but it did. McDonald was having trouble with their machines and the information needed to repair them could only be accessed by the manufacturer’s technicians. As you would expect, there was a backlog on getting these fixed so the US Copyright Office said that McDonalds could “unlock” the security measure and access the information that they need with their own technicians. This is the type of information that is valuable because it shows what could happen if we are not given the tools and technology to make repairs on our motorcycles.

The third topic that we will be bringing involves protecting E10 or less. Last session, the motorcyclists were able to stop a bill that would have made it illegal for all new gas stations to sell E10 or less. We were able to stop this bill because of relationships that we had with legislators in Madison. When Representative Novak found out how this piece of legislation would harm motorcycling, he pulled his bill from consideration. We want to thank Representative Novak again for understanding how important E10 or less is for us to remain on the road.

On February 13th, we will be looking for someone to author a piece of legislation that would require any business that receives incentives from the state to expand the sale of higher ethanol products to sell E10 or less as well. This would include funds directly from the state, or federal funds distributed by the state. All we are trying to do is to make sure that we have the right to buy the only product that we can legally use in our motorcycles without stopping any increase in ethanol that is being considered.

The road to success is clear. Responsible legislation drafted and the horsepower of the motorcyclists to move it. It will all start on February 13th with a strong showing in Madison. We need to pack the meeting rooms with motorcyclists and supporters from all political backgrounds to be successful. Please make plans to attend. Make sure you know who is setting up the meetings in your area and communicating to the membership when they are. We need to hit every office since many are new. We will be finalizing a bus schedule soon and we are working with the same hotel, Park Hotel, to get everything set up.

Final thoughts from Steve before the year is over…. We need to be ready to go once the holidays are over, but we also need to enjoy this time of year. Spend time with your family and friends. Attend a regional meeting to renew friendships or to make new ones. It seems this is the month that many members realize how important it is to check up on each other and what better place than at an ABATE meeting. Enjoy your family, enjoy your friends, but most importantly take care of each other and take care of yourself. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

That’s it.

Steve