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In This Edition...


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Rep.Edming@legis.wi.gov
Website: www.repedming.com

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A Note from Rep. Edming

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Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read my e-update. I'm looking forward to sharing a bit about my week with you.

I'd like to wish everyone a happy National Forest Products Week! Tomorrow closes out a week of recognizing the value and importance of our nation's forest products and committing to conservation practices that help responsibly manage forests throughout the United States. To learn more about National Forest Products Week, visit the American Wood Council's website by clicking here

As always, if you would like to share your thoughts or concerns on any state issues, please do not hesitate to contact my office. I look forward to hearing from you.

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Drug Take Back Day

Do you have some prescription medication that you no longer need or that is outdated? Bring it to a drug collection site on Saturday. National Drug Take Back Day is tomorrow, October 26th. Visit the Dose of Reality website to find a collection site near you.

Nearly 9.9 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs in 2018. By properly disposing of the drugs, we are making sure that our drugs won't fall into the wrong hands. Just three years ago, this national initiative, hosted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), collected 731,269 lbs. (365.6 tons) of drugs. Last April, the event collected 937,443 lbs. (468.72 tons) of drugs.

As you may be aware, the opioid epidemic has hit our neck of the woods especially hard. I encourage you to take a look through your medicine cabinet and clean out any medications that have expired or that you no longer need. It goes a long way when everyone participates in this program, which has grown each year.

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This Week's Committee Hearings

Down in Madison this week, I met with some of my legislative colleagues for two separate committee public hearings on upcoming legislation: Sporting Heritage Committee and Consumer Protection Committee. I'd like to take a moment and tell you a bit about some of the bills we discussed. 

Sporting Heritage Committee

Assembly Bill (AB) 239

AB 239 relates to placing, possessing, or transporting a bow or crossbow in or on a motorboat, vehicle, all-terrain vehicle (ATV), or utility terrain vehicle (UTV). As many of you likely know, uncocking a crossbow is a dangerous task, as the potential energy stored in the bowstring could contain up to 100 foot-pounds of kinetic energy upon release. Current state law requires a person to uncock their crossbow, even though there may be no bolt nocked in the string, whenever the person is operating an ATV or UTV. This bill adds that those restrictions do not apply if the vehicle is stationary and that a cocked, but unloaded, crossbow may be outside the carrying case. As a co-author of this bill, I look forward to seeing this bill gain support soon and, hopefully, eliminate one of the unneccessary regulations on our hunters.     

AB 414

2011 Wisconsin Act 168 created a first-time license discount of $5.00 ($4.25 plus a $0.75 issuance fee) to recruit new hunters and anglers in Wisconsin. However, the bill left out 16 and 17 year-olds and those 65 years and older from this discount. Another bill I've co-authored, AB 414, aims to fix this mistake by lowering the current reduced license fee for these above mentioned groups from $7.00 down to $5.00. This bill would help to create more uniformity within our state statutes and further incentivize first-time hunters and anglers.

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Rep. Tittl, Rep. Edming, and Rep. Quinn

Consumer Protection Committee

AB 335

This legislation, AB 335, relating to prohibited practices of motor vehicle manufacturers, importers, and distributors and providing a penalty, would prohibit manufacturers from assessing surcharges on Wisconsin motor vehicle dealers as retaliation for utilizing Wisconsin law. 2011 Wisconsin Act 91 included a warranty reimbursement formula that called for manufacturers to reimburse dealers for repairs performed under the manufacturer's warranty at the same rate that customers who no longer have a valid warranty would pay for similar repairs. However, since Act 91 was put in place, some manufacturers have been assessing surcharges on their vehicles sold to select dealers who had requested to be reimbursed at the statutory reimbursement rate. Though I am still in the process of reviewing this legislation at this time, I was very interested in listening to the testimony on this bill from both the dealers and the manufacturers.    

AB 345

The final bill we listened to testimony on was AB 345, relating to immunity for motor vehicle sellers. After a private car sales transaction has occurred, many people don't realize that the seller is still legally liable for any accidents, parking tickets, moving violations, etc., until the buyer actually titles the vehicle in their name. The process of going to the local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and transferring the title is entirely dependent on the buyer, and sometimes it takes months for the buyer to actually do this. This legislation works to fix this error, so that the legal liability will transfer to the buyer on the day of sale, at the time of physical ownership transfers. Should a private buyer get into an accident, receive a parking ticket or moving violation, etc., then this proposal would give immunity to the seller. After listening to the testimony on AB 345 and talking with the author of the bill, I decided to sign on as a co-author of this legislation.

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Rep. Skowronski and Rep. Edming

Around the 87th

Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade
I was happy to join folks in Weyerhaeuser in celebrating the completion of their $1.2 million wastewater treatment facility upgrade. Congratulations, everyone!

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Upcoming Events Around the 87th

Check out the following events happening around the district:

Do you know of any events in the district that I missed? Contact my office and let me know, so I can include it in a future e-update and try to attend myself.

Happy Halloween

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Halloween this year! See below for trick or treating hours near you.

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Reminder: Blue Books Are In

Taylor the Bear has plenty of Wisconsin Blue Books left. As I mentioned in last week's e-update, feel free to contact me to request a free copy of this year's edition. We also have limited quantities of last year's Capitol Centennial edition, so let me know if you would like a box set. I would be happy to get these to you.

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Stay Up to Date

One of the best ways to stay up to date with what is going on in Madison is to sign up for the legislature's notification tracking service. This service allows you to follow legislative activity in Madison. Once you create a free account you can sign up to receive notifications about specific bills or committees as well as legislative activity pertaining to a subject area (i.e. agriculture, veterans). You can sign up for this service at notify.legis.wisconsin.gov.