Assembly Floor Session Wrapup

On Tuesday, the State Assembly was in session. We began the day in joint session with the State Senate for the annual State of the Tribes Address.  Each year, members of Wisconsin's 11 tribal nations come to the Capitol to provide an update on the state of the tribes in our state and share their priorities with the State Legislature. It was good to see members of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, including my friend Tweed Shuman, in Madison for the address. If you would like to watch the address, you can click here to watch on Wisconsin Eye.

Click on the picture above to watch the State of the Tribes Address and the floor session.

In addition to the State of the Tribes Address, the State Assembly also met in regular session to take up several resolutions and bills.  I would like to take a moment and highlight a couple of them for you.

The first one, Assembly Bill 10, would eliminate deductions for moving expenses for businesses that move out of the state or out of the United States. This closes a tax loophole in Wisconsin's tax code. I do not believe it is right to put the burden of a business's moving expenses onto the state's taxpayers. Fortunately, this legislation passed with a unanimous vote of the Assembly and will be moving on to the Senate for further action.

Senate Bill (SB) 19, another bill that passed the legislature on Tuesday, removes the "R-word" from Wisconsin's administrative rules and replaces it with the phrase "intellectual disability" and similar phrases. This builds on a state law passed in 2012, Act 126, which deleted the phrase "mental retardation" from Wisconsin state statutes. However, Act 126 did not instruct state agencies to delete the phrase from their rules. I am proud to co-author this legislation and I am pleased to report that SB 19 was approved by both the Assembly and the Senate on Tuesday, and now heads to Governor Evers' desk.  I look forward to him signing this bill into law soon.

Thank You to the Wisconsin National Guard

Oftentimes, the Assembly will recognize those in our districts who perform incredible, selfless acts as Assembly Hometown Heroes. During Tuesday's floor session, the Assembly recognized members of the Wisconsin National Guard for their service in a nine-month mission to assist U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the Arizona National Guard in securing the southwest border of the United States, and we had the opportunity to personally thank them for their service. These 189 brave men and women put their own lives on hold to volunteer in a mission they believe in.

While not directly interacting with individuals attempting to cross the border, they helped to stop over 12,000 people from illegally entering our country. They seized over 8,000 pounds of marijuana and more than 200 pounds of methamphetamines. These are drugs that will not be making it to our communities in the 87th District.

Not only did they assist in drug seizures and border security, but they also helped to train members of the Arizona National Guard. Many members of the Wisconsin National Guard also worked weekend shifts because they believed the hard-working men and women of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol would enjoy some well-deserved weekends off.

We should be very proud of our dedicated men and women of the Wisconsin National Guard. Thank you so much for your hard work and selflessness in your performance of this important mission!

Under the Dome

Wisconsin Land Title Association

While I was on the Assembly Floor on Tuesday, my staff met with Sarah Hedtke and Michael Brandner, both from Medford.  They were down in Madison as members of the Wisconsin Land Title Association.  They shared their legislative priorities for this session, including the creation of a remote online notary system and private road maintenance agreements.

Meeting with Pat Sturzl

I was pleasantly surprised Wednesday morning when Pat Sturzl, District Administrator for the Bruce School District, came to my office to say hello. During our chat, we discussed education funding and other issues important to the school district.

Meeting with Wausau and Hayward Lakes Convention and Visitors Bureaus 

Wednesday afternoon, I had the chance to talk tourism with the Hayward Lakes and Wausau Convention and Visitors Bureaus. It was great to hear from Sherry Beckman of Hayward and Richard Barrett of Wausau about what is important to the tourism industry in their areas and what we can do to grow tourism in our state.

Meeting with Sawyer County EMS

Soon after, I met with Jim Onarheim from Hayward, a member of the Sawyer County EMS. I enjoyed chatting with him about the needs of the ambulance services and EMS teams in Sawyer County.  

Meeting with Wisconsin Hotel & Lodging Association

My next meeting switched the topic back to tourism. I met with Cheryl Treeland of Treeland Resorts in Hayward who is also a member of the Wisconsin Hotel and Lodging Association. We discussed transportation funding, the personal property tax, and other issues important to the lodging industry.  

Meeting with Wisconsin Dairy Business Association

During my busy Wednesday, I met with members of the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association to discuss matters important to our state's dairy producers.

Around the 87th 

Meeting with the Western Taylor County Library

On Monday, I visited the Western Taylor County Library in Gilman. I was glad to see what these folks have been up to lately and it was great seeing the benefits their library provides to the people in their community. 

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.