This week's e-update, the sixth in a series of articles focusing on legislative and budgetary accomplishments from the current session, centers on tourism and hunting/fishing reform. This session, the legislature appropriated a significant amount of money on promoting the benefits of Wisconsin to non-residents. Tourism is a $19 billion industry and the driving force behind many local economies. I was proud to join my colleagues in bolstering the state's tourism industry.

The following represents a summation of tourism-related accomplishments and appropriations from the 2017-19 legislative session:

• Appropriated $34 million for the Department of Tourism (visitor growth exceeded 107.7 million in 2016, a six-year increase of 15.2 million visitors)

• International travel to Wisconsin in 2016 increased by $100 million over 2015

• Wisconsin's tourism economy generated $1.5 billion in state and local revenue and $1.1 billion in federal taxes

• Each household in Wisconsin would need to be taxed an additional $650 per year to replace the revenue tourism generates for state and local economies

• Tourism directly supports 193,500 jobs in Wisconsin

• Wisconsin's tourism industry supports 35 percent of all recreation jobs and 23 percent of all food and beverage jobs in Wisconsin

• In fiscal year 2016, the Department of Tourism funded 57 joint effort marketing projects, awarding a total of more than $1.1 million. Visitor expenditures, driven by the marketing from these projects, exceeded $35 million.

Hunting and Fishing reforms

Like tourism, the legislature enacted a number of legislative initiatives, this session, relating to hunting and fishing reform. Hunting and fishing are among the most beloved activities in Wisconsin. As a hunter and fisherman, I was proud to join my colleagues in making it easier for every Wisconsinite to enjoy these activities. The following represents several of the most important hunting and fishing reforms that occurred during the current legislative session:

• Deer tag reform--Hunters are no longer required to attach a deer tag to the back of their jackets and keep the tag with the deer until venison is consumed. Wisconsin hunters are, however, still required to carry proof of a deer tag/deer license, but different forms of identification are permissible.

• Legislation signed into law by Governor Walker permits Wisconsinites to hunt woodchucks and groundhogs and classifies species as furbearing animals

• The age requirement for participation in the Hunter Mentorship Program was eliminated; both the hunter and mentee are now permitted to carry a firearm

• Reformed the cumulative preference points for Class A bear hunting licenses

• Directed the DNR to issue wild turkey permits to disabled veterans and/or Purple Heart recipients without using the cumulative preference point system

• Established a uniform end date for open hunting and trapping season for pheasant, gray partridge, and for wild turkey hunting in the fall, and for deer hunted solely by archers

Broadband expansion

Ensuring that residents of Wisconsin's Sixtieth District, especially those residing in rural communities, have access to fast and reliable broadband internet, has been one of my priorities as your state representative. This session, the legislature increased funding for broadband internet expansion by $10 million.

Fast, reliable broadband internet access is paramount in today's technology-driven world, and an increase in broadband grants helps more communities, students, schools, and businesses achieve their full potential.

For information regarding the Wisconsin Public Service Commission's Broadband Grants Expansion program for fiscal year 2018, please visit their website.

Alice in Dairyland finalists to be announced

The 71st Alice in Dairyland finalists will be announced by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection on Friday, March 16, 2018. Following the official announcement, the current Alice in Dairyland, Crystal Siemers-Peterman, and the candidates will be available for interviews and photographs.

Over the following eight weeks, the Alice in Dairyland candidates will prepare for the three-day Alice in Dairyland Finals, which will be held from May 17-19 in Adams County. The final interviews include agribusiness tours, media interviews, an architectural topics discussion panel, individual interviews and candidate presentations at the Finale Program. The 71st Alice in Dairyland selection will be announced live at the conclusion of the Finale Program on May 19, 2018, at the Adams-Friendship Fine Arts Center in Adams, WI.

Alice in Dairyland is Wisconsin's agricultural ambassador and travels thousands of miles across the state presenting to students, completing media interviews and attending community events to promote the state's agriculture industry. Candidates completed an application and a preliminary interview. Alice in Dairyland is a full-time public relations employee of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and serves a one-year term.

Have a great week,

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