Legislative Report

by Steve Panten

February is a great month for me to get re-energized and reconnected with ABATE. Just when I think winter is starting to wear on me and my energy level starts to drop a bit, I get to join other ABATE members at our Officer’s Training weekend. This is a great way to get fired up right before our Biker Day at the Capitol. This year was especially energizing because the day after I returned from Wisconsin Rapids, Mike Halvorson and I headed off to Washington DC. It was a great opportunity to meet with a Senator, a new Congressman and some wonderful and supportive staff members. We also got an opportunity to work with Rocky from the Motorcycle Riders Foundation and show him why Wisconsin IS the leading Motorcycle Rights Organization in the nation.

Mike and I had a great visit with Meghan from Senator Baldwin’s office before meeting up with Rocky. Senator Baldwin was very supportive of our anti-profiling resolution and really gave it the bi-partisan support that it needed. We got an opportunity to thank them for not only helping with the resolution, but also for joining Senator Johnson on the Senate Motorcycle Caucus. Working with the caucus is a great way to round up support for issues affecting motorcyclists all around the country.

After visiting Senator Baldwin’s office we met up with Rocky and visited with Senator Johnson and Carol from his office, as well as with staff from Congressman Steil and Sensenbrenner’s offices (Congressman Steil took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to join us as well). Again, showing why we are the leader, at each the offices that we visited the conversation turned into a discussion about the Federal Definition of a Motorcycle. Now I realize that many states already have an Autocycle Bill that they like, or that they were comfortable with, but Wisconsin is holding out for clear separation between a vehicle that you learned how to drive in driver’s ed class, and something that you learn how to ride in a Motorcycle Training Course.

It didn’t take long for Senators Johnson and Baldwin to see the problem and support a solution. Congressman Sensenbrenner offered support on the House side if we need it. Since both of our Senators are on the motorcycle caucus, they said that they would introduce and support a letter signed by caucus members and supporting senators that would ask NHTSA to relook at how these vehicles became motorcycles, and if that is truly the right place for them. By the time we left Washington DC, Rocky already had a letter drafted and was ready to forward it on to Senators Johnson and Baldwin to present to the Senate Motorcycle Caucus (it will also be sent to the Motorcycle Caucus in the House of Representatives).

On the House side we visited every office and personally invited our Representatives to join Congressman Grothman on the House Motorcycle Caucus. We expressed that because they represent parts of the motorcycle capital of the country, that it only makes sense for them to be part of the solutions. We were met with good enthusiasm and are hopeful that we were truly successful in our discussions. If we need another push, we intend to follow up during Bikers Inside the Beltway in May.

I guess that we were on a roll because Rocky wanted to take us into Congressman Burgess from Texas’s office to talk with Rachel, his Legislative Director. Burgess is Chair of the House Motorcycle Caucus and he was the driving force on our anti-profiling resolution in Congress. While we ran into a road block and didn’t get it passed last session, we were assured that he is committed to re-introducing it and working harder to find success. We also talked to Rachel about introducing the NHTSA letter to the House Motorcycle Caucus. It is very unusual for a Congressman or Senator to sit down with a group from a different state but give Rocky credit…..he is respected for what he is doing for us. It was a last-minute meeting we scheduled but momentum was on our side, so we took advantage of it. I am excited about the feeling that we had walking out of that meeting and hopefully we will see progress.

I hope everyone had a chance to get to Biker Day (or Lobby Day). Our success is directly tied to having as many members in the Capitol on that one day so we, as an organization, spend a boat load of money on busses to make it as easy as possible to get people there. I was encouraged by the excitement in the room during Officers Training (or maybe it was lack of sleep, but I hope that it was excitement). Our Legislative agenda is aggressive again and we have some large hurdles to overcome. We can only do this with a large grassroot effort. Like I said at OT, this is a grassroots effort and we need to be in the building where change can happen, talking to the people that can make those changes happen.

Thank you to everyone that was able to make it out to Madison. Thank You also to Mike Schwarzenbacher and the AMA District 16 for their very generous donation to help us offset the cost of the bus. The AMA District 16 realizes the value of what we are trying to do but also realizes that it is very expensive to put this all together. Last session, the AMA was one of the groups that testified in support of our Vehicle Data Bill and I hope they will step up if we need them again. Thank You.

Next month I am hoping to write about the progress that Biker Day produced. We need Legislators to sign onto our Autocycle Bill draft, our Vehicle Data Recorder Bill draft, and our Autonomous Vehicle Bill draft. That’s right….we have a draft for all three of our agenda items. This will be a great place for us to start at Biker Day.

That’s it.

Steve