Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This week, the Capitol was full of people celebrating the 100th
anniversary of the Capitol building, and the Assembly was on the floor
on both Tuesday and Thursday. Read on for a full update on the final
Assembly session days of 2017.
Also in this newsletter, you will find an update on the Foxconn
contract, exciting news that Exact Sciences is expanding on the west
side of Madison, and information regarding tomorrow’s Veterans Day
ceremony at the Capitol.
If you have any questions or need assistance with any matter, please
feel free to contact my office.
Sincerely,
Lisa Subeck
State Representative
78th Assembly District
2017
Wraps Up in the Assembly
This week the full State Assembly met on Tuesday and Thursday.
Yesterday’s floor session was most likely the Assembly’s last day on the
floor for 2017. Unfortunately, Republicans have decided to end the year
with more for the special interests and without tackling the issues that
matter most to the people of Wisconsin.
Under the leadership of the Trump-Walker administration, Republicans
have made 2017 the year of the hand-out to corporations, billionaires,
and special interests. As if writing a $3 billion check to Foxconn, a
foreign corporation with a dubious track record, was not enough, they
paved over laws protecting our clean air, water, and land at the behest
of Foxconn, mining companies, and wealthy property owners. Lest the
average billionaire feel left out, the 2017 Republican budget was lined
with tax breaks for the wealthy.
When not catering to the whims of the wealthy in 2017, Republicans have
focused on an extreme social agenda that pleases their special interest
campaign donors by taking swipes at access to abortion and birth
control, rolling back gun safety laws that keep our communities safe,
and taking money from our neighborhood schools to send it to
unaccountable voucher schools.
Republicans have failed to address stagnant wages and have ignored
access to health care, education, and jobs. Tuesday night’s election
results made it crystal clear that the country has rejected the
Trump-Walker agenda, and the people of Wisconsin have done the same. It
is a mystery why legislative Republicans continue down the path of
Trump-Walker, ignoring the voice of the average Wisconsinite.
Democrats remain focused on investing in Wisconsin and its people. We
will continue fighting for a fair economy that works for everyone – not
just those at the top, investing in our future by providing strong
educational opportunities, and strengthening our local communities to
ensure hardworking Wisconsin families can achieve their dreams.
Highlights from this Week on the Assembly Floor:
Assembly Bill 275 passed. Underage drinking in Wisconsin continues to be
a significant concern. Current law prohibits an adult from knowingly
permitting or failing to take action to prevent the illegal consumption
of alcohol beverage by an underage person on premises owned or
controlled by the adult, but the law has loopholes. This bill expands
the prohibition to make it apply to property owned and occupied by an
adult who knowingly permits or fails to take action to prevent the
illegal consumption or is occupied by an adult and under the adult’s
control.
Assembly Bill 329. I was a co-author of this bill which prohibits
licensed educators, school boards, private school governing bodies, and
charter school operators from assisting a school employee, contractor,
or agent obtain a new job in a school or with a local educational agency
if they know, or have reason to believe, that individual committed a sex
offense with a minor or pupil. Administrative or personnel files could
still be transferred under the bill, and the prohibition would not apply
if law enforcement closed any resulting case or investigation without a
conviction. Under the bill, providing prohibited assistance is “immoral
conduct” for which the Department of Public Instruction may revoke an
educator’s license.
This week’s lowlights (and sadly there are many):
Assembly Bill 330 passed with the potential to weaken rules in place to
protect the public health, safety, and welfare. Under the bill, a
commission or board, including a credentialing board, that has not taken
action on a rule in ten or more years is prohibited from acting on the
rule unless a future change in law permits it. This legislation will
prevent boards from being responsive and making necessary adjustments to
rules that govern various professions and that protect consumers. The
fact that there are rules in place that have not been changed in ten or
more years proves that boards act in a thoughtful, deliberative manner
and consider the consequences of rule changes on license holders and the
public. This is legislation which appears to be part of a larger,
national agenda to undermine occupational licensure.
Another lowlight was the passage of Assembly Bill 497, which could
endanger our wetalnds. As we have seen with flooding events in Wisconsin
and elsewhere in the United States, the filling of wetlands can have
catastrophic consequences. We ought to be addressing legislation that
protects the wetlands we have and protects them in the future. This is a
bill that allows utilities to operate in the same manner as other
entities that have been issued a wetland individual permit by the
Department of Natural Resources. Rather than having to take mitigation
steps if the temporary and permanent filling of a wetland for a project
exceeds 10,000 square feet, utilities will not have to undertake
mitigation steps unless there is permanent fill of more than 10,000
square feet of wetland. Rather than focusing on having lower standards
that are equal for all business entities and allow for the gradual loss
of wetlands, legislation should focus on having higher standards apply
for all projects that impact our wetlands.
Senate Bill 109 passed on Thursday and is the latest in a series of
“Race to the Bottom” bills Republicans have offered to diminish training
and quality standards in licensing. Nationally, there is a movement on
the part of far-right groups to undermine occupational licensing laws
that are in place. Senate Bill 109 makes numerous changes related to the
licensing of barbers and cosmetologists. The significant changes are not
industry driven or sought by persons who provide barbering and
cosmetology instruction. The changes do increase the potential for the
public to be harmed by the improper use of chemical treatments and from
infections. This comes on the heels of a bill to reduce training for
nursing assistants and on the same day Republicans passed another bill
to diminish apprenticeship training for some building trades.
These are just a few of the highlights and lowlights from the Assembly
floor this week.
Click
here to read more about what happens each week in the Capitol in our
“Under the Dome” updates.
Foxconn
Boondoggle Contract Approved
During the Assembly floor session on Tuesday, Assembly Democrats offered
a resolution which would have required the Wisconsin Economic
Development Corporation (WEDC) to post the proposed FoxConn contract on
the WEDC website. A motion to bring the resolution to the Assembly floor
failed on a party line vote with each Republican member voting to keep
the contract terms out of public view.
After pressure from Wisconsin Democrats, WEDC Secretary Mark Hogan
released the contract to WEDC Board members on Monday morning. Board
members had an opportunity to conduct a minimal, cursory review of the
contract terms but were prohibited from taking it upon themselves with
expertise whose review could have provided valuable insight.
While my Democratic legislative colleagues on the WEDC Board,
Representative Dana Wachs and Senator Tim Carpenter, voted against the
contract, it was approved by the WEDC Board on Wednesday.
The FoxConn deal is the largest taxpayer giveaway by a state to a
foreign corporation in our country’s history. A Legislative Fiscal
Bureau analysis concluded the state would not recoup the $3 billion
giveaway until 2043 at the very soonest. You and I should have been able
to review the contract. The fact that Republicans fought to keep
contract a secret does not bode well for Wisconsin taxpayers.
Exact
Sciences Expansion Coming to Vacant Spectrum Brands Site
This week, Exact Sciences held a groundbreaking for their new facility
at the site that formerly housed Spectrum Brands on the southwest side.
Exact Sciences is well-known for their Cologuard DNA-based test to
screen for colorectal cancer. The non-invasive screening test pioneered
by Exact Sciences is ordered by a doctor and sent to the patient’s home.
The patient collects a stool sample and sends it in for testing. Results
are sent to the doctor in about two weeks.
Work at the site will involve remodeling the four-story building at 601
Rayovac Drive that had housed Spectrum Brands’ headquarters and the
removal of an adjacent building which will be replaced by a parking
ramp.
In addition to expanding in our community, the company has also said it
is going to conduct an internship, apprenticeship, and training program
aimed at youth and unskilled adults in nearby neighborhoods in
partnership with the Urban League of Greater Madison’s Park Edge/Park
Ridge Employment and Training Center.
Veterans
Day
Tomorrow is Veterans Day, a time to honor our friends, family and
neighbors who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Please join me in
honoring and thanking those who have served our country.
The Madison Veterans Council is hosting its annual Veterans Day ceremony
Saturday in the first-floor rotunda of the state Capitol. The “Honoring
All Who Served” event begins at 9:30 a.m. with music from VFW Post
1318’s Volunteer Band. Brian Zeigler, board chairman of Badger Honor
Flight, will deliver a keynote speech followed by a moment of silence at
11 a.m.
Other guests will include Gold Star parents Ruth and Kermit Hugo;
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin; John Rohrer, director of the Madison VA
Hospital; Madison Police Chief Mike Koval; and staff representing U.S.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan.
Elections
Commission Postcard: Not Junk and Not a Scam
If you receive a postcard from the State of Wisconsin Elections
Commission, it is not junk mail or a scam. The Commission is in the
process of sending out 343,000 postcards to voters who may have moved
within Wisconsin or out-of-state in order to determine which registered
voters to remove from poll lists and to advise other voters of the need
to re-register at their new address.
The cards are being mailed first class and will be forwarded to persons
at their new address. People who have moved within our state - even if
they only moved from one apartment to another in the same building -
will need to re-register at their current address. Voters can register
online up to 20 days before an election at the
MyVote Wisconsin website if they
have an up-to-date Wisconsin driver license or state ID card. Voters can
also register by mail up to 20 days before an election, after which they
may register at the clerk’s office until the Friday before the election,
or at their new polling place on Election Day.
If you receive a postcard, but did not move, please mail the postcard to
your local municipal clerk, whose address is on the card, and your
registration will continue unaffected. Since the Election Commission
receives information from the Division of Motor Vehicles, among other
government agencies, actions such as simply registering a motor vehicle
at the address where it is kept could result in your receiving a card if
that address is different from your home address.
Should you mistakenly receive a card addressed to someone else at
another address, please do not discard it. You can simply place the card
back in the mailbox, or outgoing mail, for your mail carrier to pick up
and deliver correctly.
Click here to register online,
check your registration status, or learn when you will have the next
opportunity to vote.
Elver
Park Farmers Market
The first year of the Elver Park Farmers market was a great success. Due
to the success and plans to expand next year, the farmer’s market
organizers are looking for a paid Market Manager. If you or someone you
know is interested please pass along the job description and contact
information below.
Description
This is a part-time position of between 7 and 10 hours a week while the
market is operating and up to 30 hours helping to get the market
organized, starting this spring. There will be volunteers to help with
some of the duties of running a market, but the major responsibility
falls on the manager.
Responsibilities
-
Soliciting vendors to participate in the Elver Park market.
-
Ensuring that the vendors follow the rules in the handbook.
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Setting up, supervising and cleaning up after each market.
(Volunteers may be available to help).
-
Handling the Food Share program at the market and handling all the
paperwork required by the Food Share program.
-
Ensuring that the market complies with the Elver Park rules and
conditions set up by the Park Department.
-
Helping with advertising the market, primarily placing signage.
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Working with the Core Team, which will offer advice and help.
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Other duties as assigned.
Supervision
This position reports to the leadership team which will work primarily
on finding sponsors, creating advertising and marketing and writing
grants.
Compensation
The market manager will have to work as an independent contractor,
Compensation is
around $3000.
If interested in the position please send an email to info@madwest.org.
Please attach resume and any references.
Something
Special from Wisconsin Offers Holiday and Gift-giving Options That are
‘Uniquely Wisconsin’
With the most wonderful time of year just around the corner, many
shoppers are preparing for the gift-giving season. As you shop your
local stores for holiday ingredients and unique gifts this year, keep an
eye out for the Something Special from Wisconsin™ sticker.
It’s easy to spot: this oval logo has a bright red background and white
and yellow lettering, allowing you to easily identify a Something
Special from Wisconsin™ product. This sticker carries a meaningful
message, for when you see it you can be assured that at least half of
the product’s ingredients, production, or processing has come from right
here within our state.
The Something Special from Wisconsin™ logo can be found on everything
from meats and cheeses, sweet syrups and candies, to soaps, candles,
lotions, wreaths and more. With more than 480 participating companies,
you can easily add local flavors and items into your holiday
celebrations.
Since 1983, the Something Special from Wisconsin™ program has been
trademarked through the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and
Consumer Protection. Click
here to find more information and you can give thanks to our local
farmers and agribusinesses all year long.
Fun
Wisconsin Fact
On October 14, 1912, the assassination attempt of Theodore Roosevelt
occurred in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Roosevelt gave an 80 minute speech in
the Milwaukee Auditorium before being treated at Milwaukee hospital.
Because the bullet did not cause harm to any internal organs, Roosevelt
carried the bullet in his chest for the rest of his life.