Legal Notices Bill

I am proud to announce that my bill relating to newspaper legal notices was passed this week by both the Senate and Assembly.

Under current state law, most local units of government must publish the agendas and minutes of their meetings in a newspaper. Newspapers must meet certain requirements in order to be considered eligible to receive compensation for printing those legal notices.

My bill, AB 47, intends to make government operations more transparent by giving additional community newspapers the opportunity to secure revenue through the publishing of legal notices.

The internet has created numerous challenges for the newspaper industry and many papers have gone out of business. Many people are unwilling to pay for a newspaper subscription when they can get their news for free online. This bill recognizes that new business models are emerging, such as low-cost newspapers, to compete in the modern marketplace.

By having more newspapers become eligible to be compensated for publishing legal notices, we expect to increase competition, which should help lower taxpayer costs. Plus, local governments will have the ability to choose the newspaper that will best reach the largest amount of residents.

Moreover, AB 47 takes advantage of modern technology by requiring all newspapers to also publish their legal notices on their websites. The legal notices section must be available to the public at no cost.

 We need to have more transparent governments across our state, and I strongly believe AB 47 will help get us there.

My bill is now headed to the governor's desk to be signed into law.

Worker Shortage

It was recently reported that U.S. job growth for the month of April fell far below what was expected, with the country gaining 266,000 jobs. Experts were predicting an increase of 1 million jobs, which marks the largest estimation difference since at least 1998.   

There are many reasons as to why we are experiencing a worker shortage, but one of the most significant factors appears to be the enhanced federal unemployment benefits.

According to Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce – the state’s chamber of commerce and largest business trade association – the expanded unemployment program is creating a strong disincentive to work and is making it difficult for businesses to find enough employees.

On the national level, there are 8.1 million jobs available. This is the highest in our history. In Wisconsin, there are almost 110,000 jobs that are unfilled. WMC says the inability of employers to find workers has "reached a crisis level in Wisconsin."

The seasonal worker shortage we see in Door County is made worse by the uncertainty in the J-1 Visa program, which allows students from other countries to work here for the summer. A lack of affordable housing for our workers is also a notable contributor.

To help alleviate the lack of workers in the state, WMC is asking Gov. Evers to end our participation in the enhanced federal unemployment benefits. There are also talks of trying to reinstate the job search requirement for those on unemployment. That was waived at the beginning of the pandemic.

The purpose of unemployment payments is to provide temporary relief to residents while they are between jobs. Because of the additional federal benefits and the job search requirement no longer being enforced, that is not happening in all cases at the moment.

Now that everyone who wants the COVID-19 vaccine can get it, we need to do all we can to address our state's worker shortage and get people back to work. Our economy is poised to make a dramatic recovery, but it will depend on an adequate labor supply. 

Legislative Assistant

I would like to introduce you to Henry, my new legislative assistant.

Henry is temporarily replacing my most recent legislative aide, Joe, who had to leave my office in April due to being deployed. Joe is expected back in about a year.

Henry recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in political science and history with a certificate in public policy. His hobbies outside of the office include rowing for the UW men’s varsity team.

Henry is looking forward to serving you and helping you with your needs.