BIKER DAY HAS GONE VIRTUAL

by Steve Panten

Due to restrictions in Madison and rules at the Capitol, ABATE of Wisconsin’s Biker Day at the Capitol has gone virtual. This is an exciting opportunity for us to learn a new way to get our message out to the people that represent us in Madison. Our Regional Reps and Legislative Officers are working on scheduling virtual meetings and we will have the information available to the membership so they can join us. Virtual platforms like Zoom are very common nowadays and are an effective way to get our agenda to those that need to hear it.
The future of motorcycling in the State of Wisconsin is dependent on ABATE’s ability to educate our elected representatives on how to move FORWARD with responsible policies regarding transportation issues. Autonomous and connected vehicle implementation is developing at a pace that may require another gear on our bikes to keep up. Having successful meetings will be dependent on a couple things, the first is having all the information and the passion to present it. The second is showing up. Instead of meeting the busses and traveling to Madison, please join the meetings with your computer or phone. If you are not able to join that way, you can sit in with someone else. We were planning on meeting busses anyway, so let’s meet and have a virtual meeting. These are the times, and we can adapt!
We are not having much luck securing a lead for our profiling resolution yet, but I am hopeful that by Biker Day we will. If not, this is a priority for us. Motorcyclist profiling is on the rise and a resolution is a good way to educate law enforcement on how to prevent it. We are not trying to condemn law enforcement, but rather work with them to make sure they do not consider us criminals just because of what we ride, the clothes we choose to wear, or the places that we visit. Four other states have passed laws protecting motorcyclists from being profiled (Illinois is close to being the 5th) but we are hoping to stop it with a resolution. A resolution is not a law, but more like a warning shot sent to law enforcement stating that we know this going on and it is wrong.
SB170 – Paddlewheel Bill: Senator Jacque’s paddlewheel bill that we have been supporting, overwhelmingly passed the State Senate last month. Earlier in the month, ABATE testified in support of it at the Public Hearing and an Executive Session was called in the committee to vote on it the following week where is passed with one no vote. There was one other organization present to support this bill and no opposition which is great. Senator Jacque and Representative Murphy both presented the information and informed the committee that they have had discussions with Tribal leaders, and they are not going to oppose this piece of legislation which is crucial to its success. We are hopeful that this time, when the bill passes the legislature, the Governor’s office will have completed their homework and he signs it. If you remember last session, this same bill passed both chambers unanimously and it was vetoed by the Governor. This time, it did not have unanimous support in the Senate, but I am not sure anything will. Our next step is having a public hearing in the Assembly, which we are hoping will happen soon.
OK…on to other things. THANK YOU to all the volunteers that helped put together a successful STEAM Conference. As usual, Wisconsin hit it out of the park, and I think we put on one of the best STEAM conferences ever. The presenters did an incredible job understanding the topics they were talking about and presented it in a very entertaining way. Being a presenter at a conference like this is not an easy task. The attendees are the best of the best in the country when it comes to motorcycle issues. I was honored to be asked to be one of the presenters, but I was able to talk about Grassroots Lobbying, something that Wisconsin is the best at, so it was easy.
One final thing……while our Biker Day at the Capitol is not being held the way that it usually is, we can do it. In the past, our members have been able to show up in Madison when we need them, and we need you to show up virtually now. If you are not sure how you can join us, please reach out to your Regional Rep, your Area Rep, your Legislative Officer, your District Director, or myself. Please SHOW UP! Our future depends on it being successful now.
That’s it.

Steve