Legislative Report - April 2026

Steve Panten

Surprised and Disappointed – SB 831

After an extremely successful Lobby Day, it’s interesting for me to see what the Legislature does next. This year, even with our strong attendance at the Public Hearing, the Senate Transportation Committee decided to hold an executive session on SB 831, the bill to allow Level 4 and Level 5 Autonomous Vehicle Testing, and it passed out of the committee. That means it can be scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor.

The Public Hearing was packed with motorcyclists who sat for almost 2 ½ hours while the committee did other hearings, and our bill got moved to last for the day. We waited. All 50 of us sat in the room, respectful as we listened about all sorts of things that we don’t care about, but we wanted to be heard on the issue of autonomous vehicle testing. When it was our turn to speak, we came at it hard, with facts, and a vast knowledge of our concerns. To be honest, I was so confident that we did our job, I did not think it was going to get a vote in front of the Committee. I was wrong. I was surprised to hear they were holding a vote and more surprised that it passed.

Let’s talk about the vote. The Committee held a paper vote which meant that they did not want to schedule a meeting and do a voice vote, so everyone just voted on a paper ballot from their offices. I like to think that it is because they knew that we would fill the meeting room again, but either way, it was disappointing. The vote was 3 -2 with the 3 Republicans voting yes and the 2 Democrats casting no votes. Again, I was surprised. At the hearing there were questions about liability being asked to Leg Council (the lawyer in the room) that he could not answer, so I felt that even with a vote, it would not pass.

I reached out to Senator Tomczyk, Chair of the Committee and a yes vote, to find out what is going on, now here is where politics is being played. He said that leadership, Senator LeMahieu, asked the chair of the committee to hold the vote and get this bill, along with others, out of committee. Senator Tomczyk said that he voted to move it out of committee with the understanding that it would get a “no” vote from him on the Senate Floor. We have seen this in the past where a bunch of things get moved out of committee in the 11th hour, just to sit on the calendar with no vote happening, but this was a pretty serious issue. As I am writing this article, the Senate is scheduled to be on the floor one more day and so far, there is no discussion about bringing this for a vote. If we can get through this one more day, it should be dead until next session.

We continue to learn about politics and how to be successful working with both parties. As much as I think we ARE good at it, I continue to be surprised by the actions of the Legislators. What I do know is that we have been successful for almost 52 years now because our members show up when we need to. When we learned the vote in committee happened and it passed, we sent out a Call to Action for our members to reach out to their Senators, and encourage them to vote no. Here we could have done better. The response to the call to action was fewer than I had hoped, especially after we did so well at the Public Hearing. I am encouraging everyone to please, respond to the Call to Actions, we need the help. If all our members did it, we could be even more successful. I understand there is an issue with some people not getting the Call to Action in their email, but it is usually because it is a mass email, and it went into your spam filter. If you are not getting them, please reach out to Marie at the State Office, abate@abatewis.org or call her, and ask her to make sure that your email is correct (she likes to hear from members.)

So, after the Legislature adjourns, what is next for ABATE? Well, we have a couple things. First, remember when I said that we were working with a group called PIRG, or Public Interest Research Group on Right to Repair Legislation? They created a survey to send to independent repair shops in an effort to gather information on how important this issue is to small businesses in the State. We are going to support that research and, soon you will be getting emails asking you to send it to the shops in your area. I looked at the survey, and we can support what they are asking and look forward to seeing the results. So that is coming as soon as the Senate adjourns, and we know that we do not need to be concerned with driverless cars on Wisconsin roads for a little while.

April 7th is Spring Election Day in Wisconsin. This is a Primary Election to select the candidate for each party that will be on the ballot in Fall. Know the candidates and make an educated decision on who you think can best represent you, and motorcyclists across the state. In this election you will be narrowing the field for US Congress Members, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Wisconsin Assembly members and State Senators in odd number Districts, Supreme Court Justices, among other state and local positions. This is going to shape our future in the state, and we need to be diligent about learning about the candidates, and making sure you vote. Remember the saying “Bikers Vote?” Please make sure that’s true.

April 25th is our Future of Motorcycling in Wisconsin Summit for motorcycle clubs, riding clubs and riding groups only. This time it will be held in Portage, and we are asking each group to limit the number of attendees to 2 due to space. If you know of an MC, RC, or RG that you think would benefit from attending, please reach out to me for an invitation. So far, we have space available so let’s try to fill the room.

Final thoughts…..Lobby Day…..Last month’s article was rushed because Betty was kind enough to hold the newsletter from going to the printer until after Lobby Day, so I want to reflect for a minute this month. We would not be successful without the members and supporters showing up for the most important day for motorcyclists in the State, so thank you for making this day a priority. If you did not make it this year, we will see you next year. It would also not be successful without all the help and support from our State Office and some members that really go above and beyond to make sure it is successful. Lobby Day also costs money…a lot of money….so thank you to Hupy and Abraham, the AMA District 16, and the St. Croix Valley Riders for their donations to help offset the cost. Together we can create a safe and enjoyable environment for motorcycling in Wisconsin.

That’s it.

Steve