Who Else Is Going To Do It?

Welcome to December in Wisconsin! The cold and the snow are just starting, but fighting for the rights of motorcyclists will continue to happen, even in the cold, in the snow because who else is going to do it?

The most important day for motorcyclists in Wisconsin is on February 22^nd, 2024. That is when concerned bikers from across the state will gather in Madison to present our issues to the people that we sent there to represent us. Since 2024 is an election year, the Legislature will have a short session so they can get out and campaign. It looks like if we are going to have any success with getting what is important to us passed, we will have to have it done before the middle of April. Knowing how short that schedule is going to be we are going to have to be prepared for our Lobby Day. That means at Officers Training we are going to spend quite a bit of time on how to make sure our appointments are set up and that we have a thorough understanding of our issues.

When we learned about the bill drafts that would require all new gas stations being built to have fuel dispensing equipment that could dispense E25, we sent out a “Call to Action” asking our legislators to not sign on and support these bills but leadership still assigned them a bill number and assigned them to a committee for a Public Hearing. SB454 had a Public Hearing and ABATE was there to represent the motorcyclists in the state. There is a lot of confusion on this bill and its companion bill, AB455, and most of it revolves around what exactly is being required. The bill states that new stations on new locations need to put this equipment in and the State will give them a grant to offset the additional cost. In return, these stations must dispense a minimum of E15 for the next 5 years, essentially eliminating E10 or less. During testimony by people supporting this bill they repeatedly stated that just because they install dispensing equipment rated for E25, a station owner can dispense any fuel that they want…..how does that work if you have to dispense E15 for the first 5 years?

One other argumentative point that we presented is why would we want to give a grant to install fuel dispensing equipment for fuel that is illegal for us to use? There are over 525,000 people in the State of Wisconsin that have a motorcycle endorsement on their license, and they would all be contributing to this. If this is still being considered in February when the motorcyclists converge on Madison, we will definitely be talking about this. It is very important for all of us to understand that ABATE of Wisconsin is NOT opposed to higher ethanol blends, our fight is to protect the only fuel legal for us to use, E10 or less and these bills would be a step to eliminate this. We are going to continue to fight for this because who else is watching out for us?

We are working with a couple of legislators to redraft our Vehicle Data Protection Bill that was drafted in 2017. They are currently reviewing legislation that has been passed in the other 17 states that have already done this. Along with those, 3 states have addressed this through the courts, and they have a similar law in Europe. It’s frustrating that we started working on this in 2017 and Ford came in with their lawyers, lobbyists, and IT engineers and killed it while other states were passing it. Now is the time for Wisconsin to get it done and the motorcyclists are going to have to do it because who else will do it? It’s going to be a fight since Ford now says they can make more money off of the information collected and sold than they do off the car itself. Remember in 2017 when they testified that they do not collect the information and have no interest in selling anyone’s information?

We are still having conversations about our engine protection bills AB141/SB213 and AB142/SB212. We spoke with a few Republicans about our options and a few Democrat Legislators about what we need to do to get their support. Their response was that it goes against the Governors Green Energy Plan. What about what your constituents want? If this is not cleared up by Lobby Day, I expect our members to ask that very question while they are sitting in their Legislators office.

November is a great month because every year I get invited to speak at the AMA’s District 16 Annual Meeting to discuss what ABATE is working on. It is great to see them so engaged in what we are trying to do and for them to be surprised how successful we are. I know you heard this before, but ABATE members are very good at what we do and at this meeting, I get to brag a little about it. I want to thank the AMA for letting me speak and I always look forward to working with them on our issues or theirs.

Final thoughts from Steve before the year is over…. November and December are great times of year to spend with family and friends. I enjoy going to ABATE meetings in different areas, but it is especially enjoyable in December. 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 your local ABATE meeting. Enjoy your family, enjoy your friends, but most importantly, let’s take care of each other. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Steve