On Thursday, my Assembly colleagues and I held a press conference to announce a major new initiative, which will reduce taxes on Wisconsin's middle class families. The proposal uses the recently announced budget surplus to fund the cuts, rather than raising taxes on our local farms and businesses. 

Our plan delivers $340 million in tax cuts to individuals earning less than $100,000 per year and families earning less than $150,000 per year. According to one of Wisconsin's nonpartisan service agencies, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, a median income family filing jointly will see a reduction of approximately $310 in net taxes. 

Our plan allows Governor Evers to fulfill an important promise that he made to taxpayers, while allowing the Assembly and Senate to continue our work of easing the tax burden on hard-working Wisconsin families. You can view my full statement on the proposal here. 

 Meeting in the middle

With the newly elected statewide officials and legislators officially sworn in, things are really picking up in the Capitol! This week I had the opportunity to hear from Governor Evers and Lieutenant Governor Barnes during caucus on their priorities for the session. I also was able to sit down one-on-one with Governor Evers to discuss my legislative priorities for the session. I am excited and hopeful for the coming session, because these two discussions reiterated that there are many areas that we can find common ground. Governor Evers and I agree that we need to continue previous efforts on fighting homelessness; improving our child welfare system; and combating the drug epidemic that is ravaging our state. These are some of my highest priorities, and I am confident we will be able to achieve more for these vulnerable populations. 

Committee Membership

Late last year, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced the standing committees and their republican membership for the 2019-2020 legislative session. Additionally, Minority Leader Gordon Hintz announced the democrat members for each committee earlier this year. As I have previously mentioned, I was named Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Children and Families, and I couldn't be more excited about it! I will also serve as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Jobs and the Economy, which is a committee that I sat on last session. Additionally, I will continue serving as a member on the Committees on Aging and Long-Term Care, Mental Health, and Workforce Development. I was newly appointed to the Committee on Corrections and the Committee on Community Development, which is a new standing committee this session. I am thrilled to be serving on all of these committees, and I can't wait to begin diving into these issue areas, and the corresponding problems that are facing our state. 

My January Office Hours have been scheduled for Monday, January 28th at 1:00pm! I will be heading to The Ugly Mug, so come on over at 1 o' clock to grab some coffee and chat about your concerns or priorities this session! I would love to hear from you! As always, if you are unable to make it to my office hours, you are welcome to submit comments online or set up a meeting so that we can talk on-on-one! 

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!