Hearing on Foster Care Bill
On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to testify on AB 787, my bill to create a grant program for counties, non-profits, and tribes to fund initiatives that support foster families as they strive to provide normalcy for Wisconsin’s foster care population.

Wisconsin faces a shortage of foster care placements and a rising number of children in out of home care. We struggle to recruit and retain foster families, as even the most committed families’ face challenges in providing normalcy for the children in their care. This legislation will help us retain foster families and support foster children by providing flexible funding that may be used for necessary resources, specialized training to meet individual needs, and to cover expenses that help foster children achieve normalcy. Like other families, foster families face additional expenses for extra-curriculars, sports, and field trips, but foster care payments generally cover only basic care and support. Whether it covers the cost of a music program, fees and equipment to play football, or the money needed to go on a school field trip, these grants will enable foster families to ensure their foster children have the same opportunities as other children.

This bill was a part of the Foster Forward package of bills that came out of the Foster Care Task Force I served on last year. These bills are important first steps in improving the lives of children and families in our foster care system. The bills have received public hearings and are now moving on to receiving votes at the committee level.

Time for Attorney General Schimel to Hold Opioid Manufacturers Accountable
This week, 35 of my Democratic colleagues and I requested Attorney General Brad Schimel file a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical companies for their use of deceptive and fraudulent marketing practices to sell dangerous prescription drugs. These prescription drugs have led to an opioid epidemic, and the number of overdose deaths have doubled from 2006 to 2015. Between 2013 and 2015 alone, opioid overdoses have led to a total of 1,824 deaths in the Wisconsin.

Since 2013, the State Legislature has committed more than $14 million to combatting Wisconsin’s opioid epidemic through the Heroin Opioid Prevention and Education (H.O.P.E) initiative. The state has also seen increased costs for law enforcement, hospitalizations and emergency room visits, foster care placements and other services to children and families, first responders, court services, and other services as a direct result of opioid abuse.

The pharmaceutical companies that make these drugs have raked in big profits while creating a public health epidemic that has cost our state thousands of lives and millions of dollars. That is why Democrats are calling on Attorney General Schimel to stop dragging his feet and finally join the two thirds of Wisconsin counties, 7 states, and other jurisdictions throughout the country by filing a lawsuit on behalf of the people of Wisconsin to hold the pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in creating the opioid epidemic.

Click here to view a copy of the letter sent to Attorney General Schimel.
 

Last Week on the Assembly Floor
Here is a brief update on a couple of bills the State Assembly passed earlier this week when we were on the floor.

Assembly Bill 85
This bill, which I authored, will allow municipal officials to serve as election officials. Prior to 2016, it was not unusual for members of City Councils and Village or Town Boards to serve as poll workers on Election Day. The practice was discontinued after an attorney from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities provided a legal opinion that the practice is actually prohibited under state statute.

The City of Madison alone lost four highly experienced chief polling inspectors due to the new interpretation of current law. This bill will provide a common sense fix to state law by once again allowing local elected officials to serve as election officials, as had previously been the widely accepted practice.

The Senate version, Senate Bill 66, passed unanimously out of the Senate Committee on Elections and Utilities last year. It is my hope that the next time the Senate meets they will schedule Assembly Bill 85 for a vote so it can be sent to the Governor to be signed into law.

While this legislation will allow municipal officials to once again serve as election officials, you may wish to consider being an election official yourself. It is a great way to get involved.

Senate Bill 420
While most of the bills voted on by the Assembly on Tuesday had bipartisan support, this was not the case with Senate Bill 420. When it was first introduced, the bill provided that a minor could be employed in a family business without obtaining a minor’s work permit. The bill originally applied to minors between ages 12 and 15, and did not allow a minor under age 12 to work. Under the bill a family business is defined to mean a privately owned business that is owned, in whole or in part, by the minor’s parent, guardian, or grandparent.

When it passed the Senate, the bill was amended to allow a child of any age to work without a permit under the direct supervision of the minor’s parent or guardian in connection with the parent’s or guardians’ business, trade, or profession.

I believe this bill takes our state in the wrong direction, opening up the door for abuse of the system. When children aren’t in school they need to have time to do homework, complete chores around the home, play and simply relax.

Clean Government Under Attack
Barring last minute changes, the Wisconsin State Senate is going to hold confirmation votes on the appointment of Michael Haas as the Administrator of the State of Wisconsin Elections Commission and Brian Bell as the Administrator of the State of Wisconsin Ethics Commission on Tuesday, January 23.

Both of these gentlemen received unanimous and bipartisan support from the respective Election and Ethics Commission members. Despite the unwavering, bipartisan support, the Republican members of the State Senate are determined to reject the appointments on January 23.

As a public official, I take our elections and ethics laws very seriously. I absolutely support the ability of the people, whose job it is to monitor and investigate accusations of wrongdoing, to do their jobs without having to live in fear of being retaliated against by officials.

If Republicans succeed in denying Mr. Haas and Mr. Bell the ability to serve, it will send a clear message to their successors that Republicans consider themselves to be above the law. In the future, any investigations of misconduct or enforcement actions taken by these Commissions will cause commission staffs to be subject to similar retribution. For the sake of clean and open government, I hope that there are some Republican Senators who will put the good of the state above party and join with Democrats in supporting the appointments.

Next Week in the Assembly
Here are a couple bills that will be on next week’s Assembly Agenda:

Assembly Bill 308
This bill will change the composition of the Council on Worker’s Compensation. Historically, Wisconsin has led the nation in the development of Worker’s Compensation law. In fact, the first Worker’s Compensation policy was written in Wausau, Wisconsin. One of the reasons our worker’s compensation system has been cost effective and met the needs of employers and injured workers has been due to the system that was put into place to make modifications to the law. Every legislative session, the Worker’s Compensation Advisory Council submits a bill to the legislature to make modifications to the law. The bill is the product of a process wherein representatives of business and labor gather information, and then meet to debate potential changes and ultimately develop a bill that can be supported by all parties.

Assembly Bill 308 undermines the ability of workers to be effectively represented by removing representatives of organized labor from the council. These representatives are able to develop the knowledge and expertise necessary to understand the complexities of the system and effectively negotiate on behalf of all workers in Wisconsin – union and non-union members alike.

Assembly Bill 771
This bill seeks to limit the ability of Madison and other municipalities to create, implement and enforce rental inspection ordinances. This legislation is being pushed by landlords and is specifically designed to prevent widespread inspections of rental properties. Under the bill, the power of municipalities to collect fines and fees for inspections is limited. The bill creates a system where inspections will be conducted after a complaint is received – opening the door for tenants to face retribution from landlords.

In neighborhoods throughout Madison and in other areas of Wisconsin, homeowners, renters and responsible landlords are working hard to improve and maintain properties and strengthen their communities. Passage of Assembly Bill 771 will undermine those efforts.

Visit to Camp Createability
Yesterday, I had the privilege of touring Camp Createability, a video and entertainment program for individuals with Autism and other disabilities. Camp Createability is providing children, teen, and adults with Autism or other disabilities with individualized instruction and hands-on experience in the arts and entertainment field through summer camps, workshops, training and tutoring programs and a working studio for video and digital media. Participants learn foundational skills like cooperation, listening, taking direction, and negotiation all while being exposed to trades like animation, set design, script writing, acting, dancing, singing, prop/set building, wardrobe, make-up, budgeting, directing, filming and editing.

Camp Createability started in 2012 with only 12 individuals participating in their programs, now they are serving more than 60 individuals in our community. It was great to visit and see the incredible they are doing for individuals with disabilities in our community.

Fun Wisconsin Fact
In 1985, the State of Wisconsin designated the trilobite (Calymene celebra) as official state fossil. Calymene celebra were discovered in Wisconsin during the 1830s, and is a fossil commonly found in our region of the United States. Since first discovering trilobites, thousands have been discovered, many of them right here in Wisconsin.

To learn more about trilobites and see different types of trilobites you can visit the UW- Extension Gelogical and Natural Survey’s website by clicking here.