Democrats Propose Restoring Full Power of Attorney General

In a move to remove impractical constraints on the Attorney General and let him do the job that Wisconsin voters elected him to do without legislative interference, Democrats this week introduced a bill to restore full powers to Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul. 

Last December, Republican legislative leaders passed laws to thwart the powers of incoming Democratic Attorney General Kaul.

The unprecedented power grab was decried by citizens across Wisconsin and the nation. The Republican move, during a special session of the legislature, was widely criticized as a petty response to the election of Democrats to all four top statewide elected offices.

The Democrats’ proposal would restore the full powers of Attorney General Kaul, which they say is necessary to he can conduct business for the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Their bill would repeal the provisions of the lame-duck law that requires Kaul to request approval by the legislature’s budget committee for settling or dropping lawsuits and his authority to allocate lawsuit settlement funds.

Democratic lawmakers argued that the constraints on Kaul have created chaos by failing to provide a procedure to handle settlements. Kaul has warned repeatedly that the state of Wisconsin could be at risk of losing out on millions of dollars in settlement money if this situation is not resolved.

This week, the issue erupted when Republican lawmakers refused to approve a process for guaranteeing confidentiality regarding lawsuits. Instead, they proposed hiring a partisan attorney, at taxpayer expense, to sign a confidentiality agreement on behalf of the 16-member state budget committee. 

Democrats responded by introducing a bill to undo the unworkable restrictions on the Attorney General set up during the lame-duck session last December.

Although the Democratic bill has no chance of passing in the Republican-controlled legislature, Democrats think it is important to advance the bill to call attention to the issue.

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September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

This week, I circulated a resolution designating the month of September as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.  Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all gynecological cancers and is most common in postmenopausal women.  It is often referred to as the ‘cancer that whispers’ because the symptoms are subtle and often overlooked, making it difficult to diagnose.  I hope this resolution raises awareness across the state, and I am urging all of my colleagues to support it.

Additionally, I am working closely with the Wisconsin Ovarian Cancer Alliance (WOCA). Their mission is to provide education, support, and funding of research for ovarian cancer throughout Wisconsin. Together, we are working to raise awareness of this deadly form of cancer.

WOCA organized a legislative advocacy day where I met and spoke with survivors of ovarian cancer, who emphasized the importance of early detection.  Too often, ovarian cancer goes undiagnosed until the disease has reached an advanced stage and has likely already spread to other parts of the body. 

Risk factors for ovarian cancer include age, a family history, genetic markers (BRCA or Lynch Syndrome), previously had another type of cancer, history of infertility, hormone replacement therapy, and obesity.  Symptoms include bloating, pelvic/abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, and urinary urgency or frequency.  With detection being difficult in the early stages, it is important women be aware of these symptoms and risks.

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Adoption Task Force Wraps Up

The Adoption Task Force held its last hearing this week. We heard final recommendations from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and had the opportunity to ask them questions. They addressed a number of issues we heard about at hearings we held earlier in the summer in locations across the state. 

We are finalizing our recommendations and will soon have a package of bills to be introduced to the full Legislature.  Watch for information on our proposals in future newsletters.

It is an honor to have serve as vice-chair of this task force. Additionally, I appreciate the hard work done by all of our task force members, staff, experts, and members of the public to help us improve how our system works for some of our state’s most vulnerable children.

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Draft Water Management & Conservation Program Input Wanted

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is looking for comments through October 15^th on Wisconsin’s 2019 Draft Water Management and Conservation Program.  This water efficiency program review is a required part of the Great Lakes Compact, a formal agreement between the eight Great Lakes States to work together to manage and protect the Great Lakes.  With this review period, the other seven Great Lakes states as well as members of the public can review how Wisconsin is implementing this Compact.  Public opinion can help inform the DNR before they submit the final program review to the Compact Council in 2019.  Wisconsin is fortunate to have a 659 mile frontage on the Great Lakes, making it important to focus on conservation.

Click here for the PDF of the draft water management program, or search the DNR website for “Great Lakes Compact.”  Comments can be emailed to DNRWaterManagementProgram@wisconsin.gov.

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Wisconsin Fun Fact
Safety Belts: A Wisconsin First

Saving over 15,000 lives a year, it’s hard to imagine a time before seat belts, and this safety feature actually holds two Wisconsin firsts.

In 1949, Wisconsin-founded car company Nash Motors became the first company to provide seat belts.  By the late 1950s an engineer at Volvo designed the three-point seat belt people know of today, securing both the chest and hips with a single belt.  As more companies began to offer seat belt accessories in their cars, scientific research began affirming their value in saving lives--amidst critiques that the belts would prevent escape from submerged cars. 

In September 1961, Wisconsin Governor Gaylord Nelson signed a bill into law requiring seat belts in the front seats of cars.  Every Wisconsin car model built in starting in 1962 had to be outfitted with approved safety belts.  Ultimately, this Wisconsin first was adopted across the United States seven years later when seat belts became mandatory in 1968.  Seat belt usage became mandatory in Wisconsin in 1987.

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