On Tuesday, I was pleased to join my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in supporting Assembly Bill (AB) 76. The bill, introduced by Representative Petryk, would bring the hours of instruction for nurse aides in line with federal law. It was recently heard in the Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care and this week we had the opportunity to move this common sense legislation out of committee. The vote was 6-2 in favor of recommending the bill for passage by the entire Assembly. 

AB 76 is critical legislation for healthcare workers and for healthcare consumers in our state. The bill is intended to assist in reducing the worker shortage by getting Wisconsin requirements back on an even playing field with our neighbors. Under current law, a person pursuing a Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) license in the State of Wisconsin must complete 120 hours of instruction, including 32 hours of supervised instruction to receive a license.  Wisconsin's requirements are over 50% higher than federal law requires for instruction and double what federal law requires for supervised instruction. 

I was proud to offer my support by voting in favor of this bipartisan legislation. It will allow CNA's to become trained more quickly, while still protecting our healthcare consumers; there is no evidence that states already in line with federal law have a lower quality of CNA care. Additionally, under the legislation, CNAs from our neighboring states and beyond will have better opportunities for employment when they move to Wisconsin. I look forward to the opportunity to support this legislation once more, when it comes to the full Assembly for a vote.

This week, I hosted a meeting with Representative Ramthun (Campbellsport) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to discuss the Governor's budget recommendations relating to their agency. As the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Assembly Committee on Children and Families, we met with folks from the Department to talk about their portion of the budget, so we can better understand their budget priorities for the upcoming biennium. We had great conversation about how we can better assist our kids and families in Wisconsin and the financial resources needed in order to do so.  

In case you missed it, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau released their memo on the non-fiscal policy items contained in the budget. Shortly after, the Joint Committee on Finance announced which items they intend to remove from the budget before beginning to vote on sections of the budget. They also announced which items will be taken up during the first executive session on May 9th; the memo regarding these decisions can be found here.

Constituent Spotlight

On Wednesday, I met with Carolann, a constituent who was visiting with the Wisconsin Chapter for Music Therapy. The group visited legislative offices throughout the Capitol to inform their Legislators about what music therapy is and how it helps patients.  I learned a lot from Carolann about this specific form of therapy and how it is used to create positive health outcomes based on the patient's individual needs. Thanks for visiting, Carolann! 

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!