December 18, 2015

 

Please click on the photo (above) to watch my Christmas message from the Capitol!

 

In my most recent newsletter, I promised to share a photo of the fully-decorated Capitol Christmas tree.  In this video (above), you can see the final product in the background, loaded down with handmade ornaments donated by schoolchildren across the state.  I am standing on the Capitol's first floor, but the bottom of the tree actually stands an entire floor below me on the ground floor of the rotunda.

 

Sheboygan County got an early Christmas present this week in the form of good news about State Highway 23.  Newly revised traffic data compiled this fall continues to support the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's (WisDOT's) recommendation for expansion to four lanes all the way from Fond du Lac to Plymouth.  WisDOT and the Federal Highway Administration told the federal court this week that they continue to stand firmly behind both their methods and their recommendations for expansion, and they provided the new Fall 2015 traffic data to the court as further evidence in support of the expansion plan.  I expect this legal battle to be wrapped up early in the new year, in time for work to resume next summer.

 

As always, I encourage you to follow my updates on social media or contact my office directly with your questions.  Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

 


Spreading HOPE


 

 

Last week, Governor Scott Walker signed Assembly Bill 427 into law.  This is the eighth new Wisconsin law from the Heroin and Opiate Prevention and Education (HOPE) Agenda.  The new law, explained here, allows certain pharmacies to make Narcan available without a prescription.  When a person is experiencing a heroin overdose, Narcan is a drug that can counteract the effects of the heroin and save that person's life.

 

Earlier in 2015, the state legislature unanimously approved a law to allow trained emergency personnel to administer Narcan to individuals who have overdosed.  That law has already saved dozens of lives across the state and offered people a second chance to live.  I expect the new law signed this week to provide this second chance to even more Wisconsin citizens.  There are further HOPE Agenda bills moving through the legislature; you may learn more by visiting the HOPE Agenda's page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HOPEAgenda.

 

 

 

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Room 18 North, State Capitol ● PO Box 8952 ● Madison, WI 53708
(608) 266-0656  ●  Rep.Katsma@legis.wisconsin.gov  ●  www.repkatsma.com