This week's survey

In December 2019, Congress passed a 2,000-page spending bill containing a provision increasing the age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21. Despite having 90 days to make it official, the Food and Drug Administration acted swiftly. As of this writing, it is now illegal for individuals under 21 years of age to purchase tobacco-related products. 

Countless news outlets have covered stories of young people utilizing vape and tobacco-related products. In some respects, it has become an epidemic throughout Wisconsin schools. While Wisconsin has yet to increase the age in which one can purchase tobacco-related products, it has been a topic of conversation during the current legislative session.

I am interested in your feedback and input on whether or not state action is necessary to address the vaping epidemic. Legislation was introduced earlier this session by Representative John Spiros and Senator Howard Marklein to increase the tobacco purchase from 18 to 21. I did not sign on to the bill as a cosponsor, as I am weighing the pros and cons of government involving itself in this issue.

Please, take a minute to answer this week's survey question regarding an increase in the age to purchase tobacco-related products. 

Click here for my survey

Survey Results

Thank you to everyone who answered our last survey question relating to the licensure of dental therapists. In total, 102 individuals answered, with 51 percent supporting the establishment and licensure of dental therapists, and 36 percent opposing their creation. 13 percent of respondents selected "other." Responses include:

"Anything that can be done to lower the cost of dental care, should be considered."

"Pay dentists a reasonable amount to treat Medicaid patients and the problem would subside without the need for lesser trained therapists."

"Incentivizing dentists to treat Medicaid patients through fair reimbursement would be a superior model to lowering the standards of care. The current reimbursement model does not cover dentists' expenses to treat Medicaid patients."

"Wisconsin should allow dental therapy with only an optional certification. We need to eliminate all of the mandatory licenses."

Water Quality Task Force Press Conference

Last year, I was appointed to the Speaker's Task Force on Water Quality. The Task Force was created to gather information and make policy recommendations to better assess and improve the quality of both surface and groundwater in Wisconsin. The committee held 14 public hearings in communities throughout the state to solicit input on how to best deal with these issues.

This week, the Water Quality Task Force released a package of bills, taking into account feedback provided by experts and concerned citizens, relating to a myriad of issues ranging from increased funding for Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation staff to a nitrate optimization program. The package was introduced as a press conference, earlier this week. 

I am co-authoring two bills generated by the task force, LRB- 4360 relating to biomanipulation projects to improve the water quality of lakes and impoundments, and LRB-3915 relating to county conservation staffing. What is more, Senator Marklein and I have authored LRB-4984 relating to municipal flood control and the riparian restoration program. In addition to legislation, the task force produced a 38-page report outlining our ideas for improving water quality and safety. 

LRB-4360

Biomanipulation is the deliberate altering of an ecosystem by humans through adding or removing species. These interventions typically seek to control the populations of predators and prey until a desired balance can be achieved. 

An issue with many of the impaired lakes and impoundments in Wisconsin is the excessive amount of phosphorus they contain. This attracts phytoplankton and bottom-feeding fish--both of which cause algae blooms. As more nitrates wash into the bodies of water, the populations of phytoplankton and bottom-feeding fish increase, causing the algae blooms to grow larger. This vicious cycle continues until the body of water is eventually uninhabitable. A biomanipulative solution could be the introduction of game fish. Game fish, it is hoped, would help reduce the populations of bottom-feeding fish and allow for zooplankton to grow. 

LRB-4360 would allocate a one-time lump sum of $150,000 to the Department of Natural Resources to create one or more pilot projects across the state to study biomanipulation. Grants awarded under this program may cover 90 percent of the costs of biomanipulation projects. This initiative will provide valuable insight into the prospects of biomanipulation as a solution to the problem of excessive nutrients in static bodies of water. Only those on the Impaired Waters list would be eligible to apply. 

LRB-3915

At all 14 Water Quality Task Force public hearings, representatives from each county's conservation department spoke to the local water quality challenges they face. One of the most frequently heard suggestions made at the hearings was to increase state funding for county land and water conservation staff. These individuals are the "boots on the ground" and work directly with farmers to develop relationships and assist in a variety of ways including land and water resource management plan implementation, cost-share grant administration, farmland preservation program administration, navigation of state and federal grant programs, and advising farmer-led Producer Led Watershed Groups. 

LRB-3915 authorizes an additional $2,960,000 in Fiscal Year 20-21 for a total of $12.4 million annually for the County Conservation program. In order to receive funds, a county must commit to maintain or grow the number of conservation staff in the respective counties. 

LRB-4984

LRB-4894 that I authored with Senator Howard Marklein, revises the language in NR 199, to allow for a broader distribution of project funding for the Municipal Flood Control Grant Program. Current rules require the list of eligible projects to be considered in priority order. The first four eligible activities include the acquisition and removal of structures which not only affect a municipality's tax base, but also lead to funding being direct away from other eligible activities such as erosion control and construction of water collection and retention structures that may have additional positive impacts on water quality. 

This bill removes the priority order in NR 199 and requires that cost-effectiveness and loss of tax base are considered when awarding grants. The bill does not change the list of eligible projects or the purpose of the grant, only the process by which funds are awarded.

If you have any feedback on these proposals, please contact my office. 

Housing and Real Estate Committee

This week, I testified on behalf of Assembly Bills 691 and 705, before the Assembly Committee on Housing and Real Estate. 

Assembly Bill 691

Assembly Bill 691 clarifies that the practice of using the sale price of real estate as the sole basis for increasing the assessed value ("chasing sales") is prohibited.

Wisconsin's constitution requires all property tax assessments to be conducted uniformly, so as to prevent lawmakers from giving preferential treatment to some taxpayers at the expense of others. Article VIII, Section One, states, "The rule of taxation shall be uniform..." As the Wisconsin Supreme Court has recognized, the purpose of the "uniformity clause" is "to protect citizens against unequal, and consequentially unjust taxation."

Although the practice of "chasing sales" is outlawed by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, assessors regularly increase the assessed value of a property based on its recent sale price.  In a sampling of 24 communities around the state, an analysis by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in 2014, found that at least five percent of the new assessments were identical to a property's selling price. In Racine County, for example, the assessor admitted to using the sale price to establish the assessed value for 20 of the properties that sold in the two communities she assessed.

While sale price is important information to consider in the assessment process, Wisconsin's "uniformity clause" prohibits the sale price from being the sole basis for an assessment. Other factors related to the sale must be considered, including days on the market and the sale prices of comparable properties in the neighborhood, to name just two examples.

Assembly Bill 691 is a much-needed, common-sense proposal that I look forward to the legislature passing and Governor Evers signing into law. 

 Assembly Bill 705

Assembly Bill 705, makes a technical change to 2017 Wisconsin Act 317, that I authored with then-Senator Frank Lasee, relating to the preparation of court documents by pro bono attorneys.

Many volunteer legal clinics allow self-represented litigants to consult with a volunteer lawyer, for free, to obtain the lawyer's assistance in drafting a court filing. Doing so allows attorneys to do pro bono work on a limited scope as time and resources permit. 

A major change beginning in 2017 was implementation of the Eviction Defense Project in Milwaukee County. Initially, tenants in court for eviction cases would consult with a pro bono volunteer attorney and would be provided with a check-the-box pro forma document containing more than 30 defenses to the eviction complaint. The tenant would sign this document and check various boxes--presumably upon the advice of his or her voluntary attorney--but landlord plaintiffs or their attorneys considered some of these alleged defenses specious and doubt arose as to whether a particular defense had actually been recommended by the pro bono attorney or whether the tenant had merely checked additional boxes to "make their eviction defense answers, look good."

It was that practice by the Eviction Defense Project which led property owners to seek the legislative change requiring pro bono attorneys to disclose their names on documents drafted for a defendant in an eviction action.

Assembly Bill 705 would require the pro bono attorney to provide his or her name and State Bar number only in contested cases. Doing so preserves the legislature's intention to have attorneys reveal their involvement in the small percentage of serious, non-routine cases, without requiring disclosure in the majority of pro bono matters.

On January 17th, a public hearing will be held on a petition to the Supreme Court regarding the preparation of legal documents by pro bono attorneys. 

State of Wisconsin Blue Books

My office still has copies of the 2019-2020 State of Wisconsin Blue Books available. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please click the following link. My staff and I will make it a priority to ensure that your copy arrives in a timely fashion. 

60th District Events

The following are events that will be held this week in the 60th Assembly District. If you have any upcoming events you would like included, please contact my office.

Drop-in and Draw at Gallery 224, January 10, Port Washington

Winter Yoga Workshop in Saukville, January 11, Saukville

Cedarburg Cultural Center's Center Stage Concert Series: WhiskeyBelles with WheelHouse, January 11, Cedarburg

Chicken Comedy with Roger Radley, January 11, Port Washington

Papermaking with Tori Tasch, January 11, Port Washington

How Trees Grow, January 12, Saukville

Tarot Reading: Exploring Pathways at Wellspring, January 12, Newburg

Stay up to date

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