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In This Edition...


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Rep.Edming@legis.wi.gov
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A Note from Rep. Edming

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Thank you for taking the time out of your busy week to read my weekly e-update. I was glad to see the governor sign some of my bills this week. Read about this and more below. As a reminder, Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend on Sunday at 2:00 a.m. Don't forget to spring your clocks forward one hour.
As always, if you have any thoughts or concerns you'd like to share with me, please don't hesitate to contact me. I appreciate hearing from you.

E-Update Signature

New Laws of the Land

Recently, a number of bills that were approved by the legislature were presented to Governor Evers for his consideration. This week he signed many of them into law, including some I have been working on. I'd like to take a moment to tell you about these bills and the positive impacts they will have on the 87th Assembly District and the rest of our state. 

12 New Circuit Court Branches - Assembly Bill 470

Yesterday I was at the District III Court of Appeals in Wausau for the signing of Assembly Bill (AB) 470, which I've discussed a few times in past e-updates. This important piece of bipartisan legislation I authored with several of my legislative colleagues creates a total of 12 new circuit court branches around the state. Annually, over the next three years (2021-2023), four new circuit court branches will be created and allocated by the Director of State Courts.

I began looking at this issue a few years ago when I sat on the bench for the day with Sawyer County Judge John Yackel.  I saw the impact the drug epidemic was having on the criminal justice system in Sawyer County and that the caseload demand was simply too much for one judge to handle on their own. As I learned more about this issue I soon discovered that there were other counties around the state in the same boat, including Marathon.  With this important bill now law, I hope to see counties like Sawyer and Marathon come up with a plan for a new judge in their counties and submit them to the Director of State Courts to be considered for one of these new circuit court branches.

Judge Yackel pushed hard for AB 470 and I was glad to have him join me in Wausau for the bill signing.  Yesterday also happened to be his birthday and I think the signing of AB 470 was an awesome birthday present. Happy Birthday, Judge! For more on this bill signing, you can read my press release by clicking here.

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Gov. Evers signing AB 470

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l to r: Sen. Petrowski, Rep. Edming, Judge John Yackel, Sen. Bewley

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l to r: Judge Rod Smeltzer (Dunn County), Judge John Yackel (Sawyer County), Rep. Edming, & Judge James Morrison (Marinette County)

Helping Our Farmers - Senate Bill 387

On Tuesday Governor Evers signed Senate Bill (SB) 387. If you've been keeping up-to-date with my e-updates this session, you've likely read about this bill a couple of times (click here) and the importance it has to farmers in our neck of the woods. This bipartisan bill fixes our state's manufacturing and agriculture tax credit (MAC) by including crop insurance payments into the definition of "production gross receipts," which is used to calculate the credit. Before this bill, farmers who recouped part of their losses through crop insurance payments might have to pay income taxes on that reduced profit and could not count those proceeds towards claiming the MAC. Now, with the signing of SB 387 into law, farmers will be able to do so. I am thrilled to see this bill signed into law, and I look forward to continuing to help out our farmers where we can. Click here to read my press release on the signing of SB 387.

 

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Summer Camp Regulatory Reform  - Assembly Bills 435 & 437

Also on Tuesday, the governor signed a couple of bills that are a part of a package of legislation I've talked about in a past e-update, the Summer Camp Regulatory Reform Package.  These bills work to eliminate some of the red tape that summer camps have to go through in order to stay in operation each year. One of these bills was AB 435. This legislation creates separate standards in Wisconsin's commercial building code for recreational and educational camps, due to their unique uses. AB 437, which the governor also signed into law, allows health services staff at camps to maintain medical records, such as each time medication or treatment is administered, electronically. Before AB 437, it was still being recorded in bound books with preprinted pages. As a co-author of these bills, I am glad that our summer camps will now be able to operate with a little less unneeded regulation.

 

Another bill I've authored, AB 428, and one that I've co-authored, AB 458, are also a part of the legislative package. Summer camps often have a tough time finding volunteer physicians to staff their facilities in the summertime because of the temporary licensure process in our state. These physicians often are licensed in another state and would only be staffing the summer camp for a few weeks. AB 428 would allow physicians who are licensed in another state or territory of the U.S. or a foreign country or province to practice at a camp in Wisconsin for up to 90 working days per year. To qualify, the licensure standards where the physician is licensed must be substantially equivalent to Wisconsin's standards. Along with that, the doctor would only be allowed to treat campers and staff. AB 458 works to address the same problem, but with nurses. These bipartisan bills have already passed the Assembly and are currently awaiting action by the State Senate. I hope to see the Senate take action on these bills before  their final regular floor period in March. If you would like to read my testimony from the Assembly public hearing on AB 428, click here.

 

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 Ice Shanty Removal Reminder

I hope all the anglers in the 87th Assembly District had a successful ice-fishing season. Spring is fast-approaching, which means it will soon be time to take your ice shanties off the ice, even if the ice is still pretty solid. Click here to read a press release by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources that includes deadlines for ice shanty removal for all of the state's inland and surrounding waters.

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Under the Dome

Meeting with the Wisconsin Nurses Association

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to sit down with Ben Meier from Medford, a Senior nursing student at the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, representing the Wisconsin Nurses Association. We discussed several topics, including AB 694, which would require hospitals to have a policy requiring written and verbal informed consent before a medical student may perform a pelvic exam on a patient who is under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious. After our discussion, I decided to sign on as a co-author of this legislation. 

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Rep. Edming with nursing student Ben Meier from Medford

Meeting with Wisconsin Agribusiness Association

The Wisconsin Agribusiness Association asked me to come and speak to some of their members on Wednesday afternoon and share my thoughts about this legislative session from a rural perspective. I was happy to have the chance to speak to them and answer some of their questions.

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Meeting with Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association

I was pleased to meet with Jim Beattie from Bevcomm and Jean Pauk from TDS representing the Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association on Wednesday. We talked about the next legislative session and further broadband expansion, as well as AB 344, another piece of legislation I've co-authored, which the governor signed into law on Tuesday. This bill will make it less expensive for small, local internet providers, like those in the 87th Assembly District, to put more fiber in the ground. AB 344, now 2019 Wisconsin Act 128, removes a tax on the fiber used in broadband expansion projects. I look forward to seeing this legislation help to bring more broadband to northern Wisconsin.

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Rep. Edming with Jim Beattie (Bevcomm) and Jean Pauk (TDS)

Around the 87th

Medford School District's Annual Legislative Meeting

On Monday evening I attend the Medford School District's Annual Area Boards of Education Legislative Meeting.  I sat on a panel with some of my legislative colleagues and discussed issues important to area schools including education funding, virtual school student participation in interscholastic athletics, and increasing the minimum retirement age under the Wisconsin Retirement System. I believe we had a productive discussion and Governor Evers even stopped by for part of the event. I appreciate him coming up to visit the 87th Assembly District and hear from the folks in the Northwoods.

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Farming the Green

On Saturday, I stopped by the Sawyer County Farm Bureau's 3rd Annual Farming the Green pool tournament. It was great to see everyone and take in some of the pool action.

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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.

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.