This week, I had the opportunity to support reducing the tax burden for middle class families by voting in favor of a plan that will cut taxes for hard-working Wisconsin families. Assembly Bill 4 passed the State Assembly on a vote of 61-33. Unfortunately, none of my democratic colleagues voted in support of the legislation. The bill will reduce taxes for individuals making less than $100,000 per year, and families making less than $150,000. This cut will impact over 2 million Wisconsinites. The average reduction in taxes will equate to about $310 per family filing jointly. 

Additionally, the plan that passed will cut taxes without increasing the burden on our largest economic drivers in the State of Wisconsin, agriculture and manufacturing. These industries are major, family supporting job-creators, and we can't go backwards by placing a higher burden on these industries. 

Following passage of the legislation in the Assembly on Tuesday, Assembly Bill 4 passed the State Senate on Wednesday. It is now headed to the Governor's desk. 

Legislative priorities 

This week I had the opportunity to meet with the Majority Leader, Representative Steineke, to discuss my legislative priorities for the session. We had a great discussion about areas that we can find solutions for the people of Wisconsin. One of the major topics that we discussed is the ongoing opioid crisis, an issue that is impacting our entire state, but continues to uniquely hurt the Wausau area.

Over the past few years, Wisconsin Legislators have passed many bills aimed at aiding those suffering from substance abuse. The bills are part of an initiative called the HOPE Agenda, which you can learn more about here. Despite these positive improvements, opioids are still impacting kids, families, and individuals across the state, so we must continue to research ways to curb this problem. 

Another topic that Rep. Steineke and I discussed is very much related to the opioid crisis: foster care and out-of-home placements. New studies have been released in recent months that confirm what we have heard anecdotally for quite some time: the opioid crisis is causing the recent spike in out-of-home placements. While I am proud of the work we accomplished last session relating to foster care, these studies show that there is more to do; I am pleased that Assembly leadership agrees. 

Lastly, we talked about the issue of homelessness. Contrary to common belief, homelessness is not solely a Milwaukee and Madison issue. We have individuals and families across our entire state that are facing homelessness. It is crucial that we expand on the efforts made last session to reduce homelessness statewide. Created last session, the Interagency Council on Homelessness developed a plan late last year for curtailing homelessness in Wisconsin. The report can be found here. I believe many of these ideas will dramatically help our homeless and housing insecure populations. While Governor Evers has yet to give attention to this topic (the ICH website remains untouched and no new Chair or Director has been announced), I am hopeful we can find common ground in helping this vulnerable segment of our population. 

2017-2018 Blue Books & maps (paper highway maps or laminated maps) are still available in my office! The Wisconsin Blue Book contains information on all things Wisconsin: your elected officials; census information; the official state dog, tree, flower, etc.; government processes; and so much more! Contact me for your free copy today!