Legislative Report

by Steve Panten

ABATE of Wisconsin’s Annual Meeting is an important meeting for members of the organization. Every other year there is an election to vote for who you would like to represent you on the Board of Directors and other Officer positions. Occasionally it is necessary to have the membership vote on bylaw changes that the Board feels needs to be reviewed, and your only opportunity to vote is at the Annual Meeting. It is also your chance to review finances, talk with committee chairs and officers of the organization and what I feel is the most important part of the weekend, develop a legislative agenda for the next year.

This year during the Annual Meeting weekend, we are going to include an organized group ride to the Capitol in Madison in an effort to get officials in Madison to see that we are still out there, and we need to be considered when laws and regulations are being made. ABATE has been watching the state go from a motorcycle friendly environment to changes being made that will affect motorcyclists negatively. Most recently and most important is the decision to allow gas stations sell E15 in a multi-fuel dispensing nozzle. Despite efforts from ABATE, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, the AMA, and car clubs, our legislature decided to overlook the fact that the use of E15 in a motorcycle (or any small engine including boats, snowmobiles and ATV/UTV’s) is against Federal Law and voted to approve the distribution method.

Why this decision is so important to motorcycles is because we are noticing that decisions are being made by elected and appointed officials that will negatively affect motorcycling in our state, the home to Harley Davidson and Royal Enfield. We are not trying to debate the good vs bad opinions about higher ethanol gas, we are trying to make sure that a fuel type is available that will not negatively impact our vehicles according to owner’s manuals. There is a reason that some manufacturers of motorcycles and small engines say, in their owner’s manuals, that a consumer should not use gas with an ethanol percentage higher than E10, and it’s probably not because it will make it run better.

The ride on October 9th is our opportunity to remind elected and appointed officials in Madison that motorcycling in the State of Wisconsin is strong and needs to be considered when decisions are being made. Whether that be ensuring that we will have a fuel that will be safe to use in our older vehicles, or the bigger struggle, safe to operate around autonomous or driverless vehicles.

This ride is very important for protecting our future. It is OPEN TO ALL RIDERS so even if you are not attending the annual meeting festivities, you can join us on October 9th. We are going to leave from the Clarion Hotel at 626 W Pine St. in Baraboo at 1:30 in the afternoon. We are going to travel to Madison and circle the Capitol as a group. The ride will end at the CC Riders Clubhouse in Madison where you can stop for a refreshment, or you can move on to your next adventure for the day. Please plan on joining us, we need everyone’s help.

Before the ride we will be hosting a Summit on the Future of Motorcycling for motorcycle clubs, riding groups and riding clubs. This Summit will be held at the Clarion Hotel and will start at 12 noon, ending at 1:30 so we can join the ride. Because of the space available at the hotel, we are limiting attendance to only 2 members of any recognized MC, RC or RG. We wish that we could open this Summit to all motorcyclists, but we are limited on space that we can afford, so by offering attendance to these groups, we are trying to reach the most motorcyclists that we can. There are discussions about possibly holding a larger one next year but unless we charge for attendance, that might be tough to do. Even if you do not attend the Summit, or the ABATE annual meeting, PLEASE make plans to join us on the ride. We are hoping to be to the CC Riders clubhouse by 3:15. If you are a member of a MC, RC or RG and would like to attend the Summit, please reach out to me as soon as you can because space is limited (legis@abatewis.org).

At the Annual meeting is also when we set the legislative agenda for the next year. This is done with much discussion before the Board meeting on Sunday and this is your opportunity to bring up issues that you feel ABATE should be working on for the next year. We will use the information from this meeting to set our agenda for the motorcyclists Lobby Day in Madison, which will be on February 17th in 2022. Please mark your calendar and adjust your life accordingly to join us in Madison that day. There will be more information coming later, but here is your chance to schedule a vacation day (or sick day) to join the other roughly 500 motorcyclists that will be going.

As you can see, the ABATE Annual Meeting is always an important meeting for our membership and with the ride to Madison added this year, it is all the more reason to show up. Remember that even if you don’t attend the summit or the other festivities, you can still join us for the ride to the Capitol. In fact, it would be great to have you join us, and bring your friends.

I am already excited to write my article for next month. Between Meeting of the Minds that happened late in September, plus the ride to the Capitol and the discussions about our legislative agenda, I may need the whole front page for my article.

That’s it.

Steve