BIKER DAY AT THE CAPITOL HAS BEEN CHANGED TO MAY 11, 2021

by Steve Panten

With the Capitol still being closed and the restrictions in Madison that would prevent us from in-person meetings, the ABATE Legislative Committee decided to move Biker Day to May 11th. We are hopeful that by then more people who want to be immunized will be, and people will feel more comfortable with face-to-face meetings.
Just because we moved the date, it does not mean that we are not busy. Senator Jacque, along with Representatives Mursau and Murphy are again circulating a bill draft for making paddle wheel raffles legal. Last session this piece of legislation passed the Senate and the Assembly unanimously but was vetoed by the Governor due to some questions on how it would impact the Indian gaming pact. We are hopeful that by the time we get to the point of having a vote on this bill draft those questions will be answered. The paddle wheel bill was not on our legislative agenda this year, but Senator Jacque understands that this is a benefit to ABATE. We would like to thank the Senator and Representatives Murphy and Mursau for introducing this.
Recently, ABATE of Wisconsin sent out a “Call to Action” to contact your State Senator and Assembly member and ask them to sign on as a cosponsor to LRB-0906/1, the paddle wheel bill. Did you make the call or send the email? Our effectiveness is directly tied to showing up when needed. In this case, there is not even a need to show up, just send an email or make a call. The more representatives that we have signed on to any piece of legislation the easier it is to move it the through the process, so this is a very important first step. If you did talk with them and they had any questions or concerns, please let me know so I can better understand what the feeling is about this in Madison. If you did not get a chance to contact them, it’s not too late to ask them to support it. The sign-on period ended on February 25th, but you can still let them know that this is important to groups across the state.
Since we decided to move Biker Day, or Lobby Day if you would rather, we are going to get started on our Legislative Agenda. I am going to work with Dave Dwyer on finding someone to author an anti-motorcyclists profiling resolution in the hopes of having a draft before our new date in May. It would be great to have this done before riding season, but I am not seeing that happen, so having a draft for us to push would be valuable. The State Legislature is going to be very focused on getting a budget done before the June 30th deadline so most legislation is going to be on the back burner.
We are moving one month closer to our “The Future of Motorcycling in Wisconsin” summit for motorcycle clubs and riding groups. This is not an open meeting so if you know of a club or riding group that would be interested in attending, please let me know – legis@abatewis.org or 262-933-2086. Since this is our first summit and space itself is limited, we are limiting attendance to 2 members of any club or riding group. The event is on May 1st and we plan on discussing the trends that we are seeing in transportation and where – or IF, motorcycles are included in it. Although nobody in Madison wants to admit it, the future of transportation in Wisconsin is not addressing how to include motorcycles. The ABATE Board of Directors approved funds for an event this size but opening it up to individuals would be much more difficult for ABATE to pay for.
I would like to thank AMA District 16 for their generous donation of $1,000 to help offset the cost of our Biker Day at the Capitol. The AMA has been supportive of us behind the scenes. If we need them to show up and testify on behalf of a piece of legislation, all I have to do is call them. Mike Schwarzenbacher is the representative of AMA District 16 that I generally work with, and he is an ABATE of Wisconsin member. Mike attends their annual meetings and puts in the request for the donation. Thank you to Mike, and the members of AMA District 16.
One final thing. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation is again holding its annual Bikers Inside the Beltway event on May 18th. This is a great opportunity for ABATE members from Wisconsin to travel to Washington DC to lobby our Federal Representatives. Lobbying in DC is much different then lobbying in Wisconsin, so if you are interested in attending, please let me know. We only have 8 scholarships, one for every congressional district. Even if you don’t get a scholarship, you are more than welcome to come along with us.
That’s it.