This week's e-update, the fourth in a series of articles focusing on legislative and budgetary accomplishments from the current session, centers on corrections reform. Last week, the legislature approved a series of bills relating to correctional reform. I was proud to join my colleagues in supporting these important legislative initiatives.

The following represents a summation of correctional system reforms instituted during the 2017-19 legislative session:

• Created 53.75 new assistant district attorney positions beginning in July 2019 in 40 counties, including one position in both Ozaukee and Washington Counties

• Required counties to develop Secure Residential Care Centers for Children and Youth (SRCCCYs) to house juveniles from Lincoln Hills/Cooper Lakes facilities, which will be repurposed by July 2020. Smaller, local approaches to youth justice are effective in reducing recidivism, which improves public safety.

• Offered $20 million for sum sufficient grants of 95 percent of construction costs for county SRCCCYs

• Improved county facilities and programming to be in line with current best practices for juvenile corrections and rehabilitation

• Appropriated $30 million for an addition at Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center

• Awarded $1.1 million in grants to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections for the creation, operation, and upkeep of mobile classrooms to expand education and vocational opportunities to prepare offenders for reentry into society and help reduce recidivism

• Increased funding by $1 million for Windows to Works, a pre-and-post-release jobs program for medium and high-risk offenders

• Expanded and increased staffing for the earned release program for eligible inmates who successfully complete substance abuse treatment programs

• Provided funding for body-worn cameras for correctional officers who work in restrictive housing at the Department of Corrections' maximum-security prisons

• Combated straw purchasing in order to keep our communities safe

• Closed a loophole and ensured that individuals on probation and are illegally in possession of a firearm are subject to the same three-year mandatory minimum sentence as anyone who is prohibited from possessing a firearm

• Removed the three-year limit on the amount of time the Department of Corrections may place certain juveniles participating in the Serious Juvenile Offender Program in secured detention facilities.

• Allowed individuals to petition the court for expungement after successfully completing their sentence and do not commit a new crime for at least one-year

• Increased the mandatory minimum sentence for felony murder or second-degree intentional homicide if the individual has been previously convicted of the same time of crime

• Classified car jacking as a Class E Felony

As denoted, Assembly Bill 953 established a framework for small, regional Secure Residential Care Centers for Children and Youth facilities to house youths currently residing at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lakes. In January, Governor Walker announced plans to repurpose Lincoln Hills and Coper Lakes by 2020. Under this legislation, counties may establish SRCCCYs, partner with other counties to establish these facilities, or contract with another county or consortium to place juveniles under their supervision. The bill provided $40 million for sum sufficient grants of 95 percent of the construction costs of these facilities.

Senate Bill 54 addressed prosecutor shortages throughout the state and funded 53.75 additional assistant district attorney positions in 40 counties. Ozaukee and Washington Counties will each receive one new ADA position beginning in July 2019.

Lastly, Senate Bill 53 reformed the expungement process. Currently, at the time of sentencing, a court may order that a person's record be expunged when the sentence is completed. Senate Bill 53 eliminates the requirement for the sentencing court to rule on expungement and permits an individual to petition the court for expungement after completing his or her sentence. The individual must not commit another crime for at least one-year. Additionally, this legislation applies retroactively to those who previously committed a non-violent crime. These reforms are meant to help those trapped on the sidelines who have not been able to obtain employment due to one poor decision. For more information regarding corrections reform, see the press release I issued last week.

Public Libraries: A focal point of local communities

Public libraries are focal points of local communities, providing access to modern technology and allowing individuals to escape from the daily grind by engrossing themselves in a mystery novel, to name just a few. More importantly, public libraries are engines of intellectual growth, community development, civic pride, and partners in child development.

I agree with the American Public Library Association that these institutions are of paramount importance to local communities. The American Public Library Association posited that for the following reasons, libraries are among the most consequential locales in any community:

• They help revitalize struggling or depressed neighborhoods and downtowns

• Libraries are important partners in sustainability

• Special collections grow out of specific community needs

• Archives preserve historic artifacts, oral histories, digital history projects, and monographs relevant to community

• Libraries are places where people come to know themselves and their communities

• These institutions serve as catalysts for addressing social problems

• Libraries are are a part of the community's political life

• Library buildings as architectural structures are culturally relevant

• Libraries provide important business resources, especially for small local businesses

• Libraries serve as the "people's university"

• These institutions offer opportunities for remote access, making it possible for those who cannot get to the library to still access the library's cultural and educational offerings

• Libraries go beyond providing content to enabling patrons to create their own content

• And, libraries promote civil discourse

The following represented just a few of the myriad benefits public libraries provide to local communities.

This session, the legislature made it a priority to invest in public libraries, recognizing that libraries are repositories of knowledge.

• Funding for libraries increased by $500,000 in the 2017-19 biennial budget (Every $1 invested in libraries brings in a $27 return in value)

• Wisconsin's Public Library System assists 383 libraries across the "Badger State" (there are 17 library systems serving all 72 counties)

• 99 percent of public libraries offer FREE WIFI

• Public libraries promote economic development; 23 percent of those that visited a library within the last year have done so to apply for a job

• Libraries foster business development by providing courses in entrepreneurship and business marketing

• Technical, college, and university libraries serve more than 237,000 students in Wisconsin institutions of higher learning

• Youth summer reading programs encourage youth to become lifelong learners

• Wisconsin has one of the nation's largest and most active collections of electronic books and digital audio books

Public libraries are value to local communities and more than deserving of the funding increases appropriated in the 2017-19 biennial budget.

Meeting with local groups

This week, I had the opportunity to meet with developers and property owners throughout Wisconsin to discuss the benefits of economic development and Assembly Bill 770 that I authored with Senator Duey Stroebel (R-Cedarburg). This discussion, hosted by the Wisconsin Builders Association, allowed me to better understand the issues of greatest concern to members of Wisconsin's building and contractor communities.

Additionally, I had the opportunity to meet with constituents from the Wisconsin Library Association, when they visited the Wisconsin State Capitol for their legislative day. It is always a pleasure to converse with constituents about issues of greatest concern to them .

Participating in a panel discussion with Senator Tom Tiffany at the Wisconsin Builders Association legislative day

Discussing Assembly Bill 770 with members of Wisconsin's building and development community at their legislative day

Have a great week,

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