Legislative Report - May 2025

Steve Panten

It’s Been a Busy Month

We are full speed ahead! Last month we had a Public Hearing for our Consumers Choice bill (AB161) protecting all engine types in new products, and ABATE members were there to testify in support of it. In fact, there was little opposition at the Public Hearing, which was great to see. Our testimony focused around allowing consumers to make a choice of product or equipment based on their own research and budget, and not on policies drafted elsewhere.

Similar to last session, our message was well received by the Republicans on the committee but again, we faced opposition from the Democrats. The committee held an Executive Session on AB 161 the next day and it passed out of committee on a 5-1 vote. The one vote in opposition was the only Democrat in attendance, Representative Sinicki. She was vocal in her opposition during the public hearing as well, so we did not expect her support. Unfortunately, during the Executive Session, the other 2 Democrats on the committee, Representatives Kirsch and Roe, did not attend to vote so we can’t call them out for voting against it.

We would like to thank Representatives Swearingen (Chair of the Committee), Green (Vice Chair), Moses, Wittke and Piwowarczyk for their support in voting to move this piece of legislation on to the full Assembly for a vote in the future. We are still waiting for the Senate to introduce their version of this bill since we had it redrafted, and we look forward to working with the committee it will be assigned to.

AB135/SB129 are our Right to Repair bills introduced by Representative Penterman and Senator Jacque. We are seeing some heavy hitters stepping up to support, and to oppose it. Our support is coming from LKQ, (large aftermarket parts retailer), National Federation of Independent Business, Sierra Club Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Property Taxpayers, Inc. The opposition is coming from big players as well, Harley Davidson, Polaris, General Motors, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (they support our bill AB161), WI Automobile and Truck Dealers Association, and a few other groups related to auto sales.

One other group that is opposed to it is the Wisconsin Collision Repair Professionals (WCRP), but they at least gave us the respect of reaching out to see how we can work together to change the language and possibly get their support. We met with them, and Representative Penterman’s office, to learn what would need to be changed to gain their support. In summary, their issue comes from a concern that the language would allow insurance companies to require them to use aftermarket body panels and other structural body components. In my past life I am aware of the issues with aftermarket body panels not fitting correctly, rusting right away, and just all-around being of poor quality. We asked where in the bill it says that they cannot use OEM parts and what portions of the bill would need to be changed so they would feel more comfortable. After turning down their request to just put a blanket statement in that “collision repair would be exempt”, they did offer some language changes. ABATE of Wisconsin’s Legislative Committee discussed how these changes would affect the goal of the bill, and we did agree to some of the changes. We submitted our suggested changes to Representative Penterman, and to Husch Blackwell for their input hoping to come to a satisfactory resolution.

Having the WCRP on board would go a long way in helping us get others to reconsider their opposition. For clarity, we turned down their request to made it “exclude collision repair” because it would open the door for other groups to want to be excluded. We already have the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) reaching out to the bill authors asking for them to exempt motorcycles, which is what happened in Massachusetts. There will be more on this, but I am hoping that we can come to an agreement and get this bill moving.

And finally, protecting E10 or less. We have been working with Representative Novak (a good friend of ours) on understanding the language of his bill draft to require new gas stations to install distribution equipment that can handle E25, and they would receive a grant to help offset the cost. The grant is $1,000 per piece of equipment with a max of $15,000 per location, but then they would have to sell a minimum of E15 for the first 5 years. It’s that last part that is causing confusion. Do all nozzles have to sell a minimum of E15 like we read it, or does it mean they can still sell E10 or less as long they sell a minimum of E15 at the pump, like others read it. Well, we have an answer and ABATE is correct…. sort of.

Leg Council, the lawyers in the bill drafting room, wrote a letter of clarification stating that every new station must install distribution equipment that is rated to handle E25. If they get a grant for it, they need to sell a minimum of E15 at every nozzle for the 5 years, but….there is nothing that says they have to take the money. They would still need to install the higher ethanol distribution equipment, but if they don’t request grant money for it, they can sell E10 or even E0. ABATE of Wisconsin is still opposed to this because it penalizes stations that want to sell the only gas legal for us to use, so we are going to work with Rep Novak to see how we can come together on this.

Other exciting things going on? Did you do the Call to Action from the Motorcycle Riders Foundation for H.R.2165, Choice in Automobile Sales bill or H.R.1566, Right to Repair? These are Federal versions of what we are working on in the State. Let’s flood our Congress members inbox with emails from constituents asking them to sign on and support these bills. Having the energy from a nationwide push for this legislation can only help us in the state. You can find the Call to Actions on the MRF’s website mrf.org/alerts, or we have it on our Facebook page. No computer, no problem, just find someone that has one and you can send your own email.

In May, a group of committed and dedicated ABATE members will be traveling to Washington DC for the MRF’s Bikers Inside the Beltway event. This is our Lobby Day on the Federal level so we are looking forward to meeting with every Wisconsin Congressperson, and Senate member’s office to discuss what is important to the motorcyclists in the State, and how they can help.

OK…that’s enough. Time for final thoughts. I hope you got an opportunity to attend the free Motorcycle Safety Training Summit at Wisconsin Harley in Oconomowoc, or the free, Knock the Rust Off event hosted by the members of 1F last month. These were 2 opportunities to brush up on your riding skills with experienced trainers and both were free to attend. What a great opportunity. Even old pros can use a little training to make sure your focus is in the correct place while cornering or braking. Next time you see an event like this, just stop in to check it out. For either one of these events you could just stop in and watch the training, hopefully get on the course to run the exercise, and feel more comfortable for the (hopefully) long riding season in Wisconsin.

Steve