The Wisconsin State Assembly, this week, passed, unanimously via
voice vote, Senate Bill 12 relating to multi-jurisdictional
health department consolidation, that I coauthored with Senator
Duey Stroebel. This legislation will now be sent to
Governor Scott Walker for his signature.
Senate Bill 12 allows counties and
municipalities to consolidate health departments and affords
counties with greater flexibility in financing these entities. Initially, county-county and
city-county consolidation were included in the bill language,
but an amendment was offered and passed to include city-city and
multiple municipal local health departments. Governing
bodies for consolidated health departments were required to use
either equalized valuation or a per capita determination to
prepare their budget for the following year.
Ozaukee and Washington counties, Shawano and Menominee counties,
and several northern Milwaukee suburbs, chiefly, Bayside, Fox
Point, and Whitefish Bay have already merged and are operating
successfully without employing either of the previously
mentioned budget methodologies. As a result, I authored
Assembly Bill 27 (Senate Bill 12), which permits entities
interested in consolidating health departments to formulate a
budget using their method of choice. Furthermore, Senate
Bill 12 allows more local control for those governing bodies
that seek to consolidate health departments. So long as
these entities can agree on a budgetary method, they should be
allowed to use the process of their choosing.
Participating in a media availability regarding Senate Bill
12.
HOPE Agenda bills
This week, I joined my colleagues in supporting legislation that
brings more tools to Wisconsin in the fight against drug abuse
and addiction. The State Assembly overwhelmingly approved
nine bills to expand treatment options and prevention programs
to help attack the opioid epidemic that has become ubiquitous in
recent years.
I am confident that these bills will profoundly impact
Wisconsin, as we continue to fight the opioid
epidemic. We have focused our efforts on expanding
Treatment and Diversion (TAD) programs, improving access to
wide-ranging addiction medicine opportunities, and partnering
with law enforcement to fight drug trafficking.
These nine bills are part of the Special Session on Opioid Abuse
called by Governor Walker. The legislation also continues
the Assembly Republican efforts on the Heroin, Opioid,
Prevention and Education--or HOPE--Agenda. The legislature
overwhelmingly approved seventeen HOPE Agenda bills that became law
during the past two sessions.
While this legislative package will go a long way towards
combating this epidemic, there is still more work to be done.
I look forward to continuing a strong partnership with the
medical community, law enforcement, my fellow elected officials,
and recovery advocates as we continue fighting this epidemic.
Waste Heat Bill
This month, Senator Roger Roth (R-Appleton) and
I introduced Senate Bill 144, relating to resources eligible for
for renewable resource credits. On Wednesday, April 5,
2017, a public hearing was held in the Senate Committee on
Elections and Utilities.
In foundries, mills, and factories throughout
Wisconsin, heat is created as a byproduct from all industrial
processes that involve combining raw materials into a useable
product. Too often, heat energy is inadvertently vented
through smokestacks and wasted. Senate Bill 144 designates
heat energy as a renewable resource as defined under Wisconsin's
Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). Including this new
collection technology under RPS, will encourage more industries
and manufacturers to promote heat-waste collection procedures to
lessen utility expenses and potentially use the recovered heat
for future energy generation. I look forward to discussing
and debating this legislation with my Assembly colleagues.
Testifying before the Senate Elections and Utilities
Committee on behalf of Senate Bill 144.
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