Local Transportation Grants

The State Legislature allocated millions of dollars in local transportation grants in the 2019-2021 budget, $75M of which was signed into law by Governor Evers ($15M of which he vetoed). This week, the administration announced that 152 Wisconsin communities will receive grant awards from the Multimodal Local Supplement (MLS). 

Statewide, 84 towns, 34 cities and villages, and 34 counties will receive funding from the program. I am grateful that our area will receive grant awards for projects in Marathon County (County Road WW), the Village of Rothschild (on Birch Street) and the City of Schofield (on Ross Avenue). The total new investment in our community through the local transportation grants will amount to almost $1.8M.

Over the next decade lawmakers, business owners, and many others will use 2020 Census data to make critical decisions about how to allocate resources. Numbers from the census show which communities need new schools, clinics, roads, and more services for families, older adults, and children.

The results will inform how billions of dollars in federal funding are appropriated to programs like Medicaid, Head Start, block grants for community mental health services, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

This census will be the first time that you can respond online (although you can still answer by phone or mail, too!). Keep an eye out for your invitation to reply, which will be delivered between March 12th and March 20th.

New Wisconsin Circuit Court Branches

Assembly Bill 470, which will create 12 new circuit court branches, was signed into law in Wausau on Thursday. This legislation marks the largest addition to the circuit courts in over two decades-- a much needed increase as our court systems struggle to keep up with the influx of new cases. 

Now 2019 Wisconsin Act 184, the legislation will allow for the implementation of the new branches four at a time, on a rolling basis, for terms beginning on August 1 in 2021, 2022, and 2023. 

The bill requires that the Director of State Courts allocate the branches to counties based on need, submission of a resolution, and whether the county has an established infrastructure for the branch. The bill also allows the Director to require a county to establish (or apply for a grant to create) a drug court as a treatment and diversion program.

Thank you for visiting!

While things are slowing down in Madison, I had the opportunity to meet with Jeff from Northcentral Technical College, who was visiting with the Wisconsin Association of Student Financial Administrators. We had a great conversation about the importance of Wisconsin grant and scholarship programs, and their benefit to students in our state.