An Update on the Budget Process

Thank you again to everyone who attended my budget listening sessions in April. I truly appreciate hearing all of your ideas. Now that my listening sessions have concluded, I would like to give you a little update on where we are at with the state budget process.

Over the last month, members of the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) held public hearings throughout the state, similar to my listening sessions, to listen to Wisconsinites' thoughts and concerns about the Governor Evers' budget proposal. Having heard the views of people throughout the state and listened to hours of testimony from the state agencies, the committee is beginning its work of crafting the budget that will come before the legislature for consideration.

Traditionally, one of the first steps in this process is the removal of policy items from the budget.  Earlier this week, the co-chairs of the JFC released a memo outlining the budget procedures and listing a number of items that will be removed from budget consideration at the committee's meeting on May 9th.  It is important to note that removing policy items from the budget is not something new that the legislature is doing under Governor Evers.  Similar actions were taken by the JFC to the budgets submitted by Governor Walker.  Also, while the JFC will remove these items from budget consideration these ideas can be advanced through the legislative process as stand-alone legislation.

Over the next several weeks, the JFC will meet many times to discuss and vote on various parts of the budget with the goal of having a final version of the budget for the legislature's consideration sometime in June.  During this time, I will continue to communicate with members of the JFC about the 87th District's budget priorities.      

Hearing on Pro-Life Bills Next Week

I am excited to share that some important pro-life legislation will be receiving a public hearing next Tuesday, May 7th before the Assembly Health Committee.  I am proud to be a co-author of these bills and I am looking forward to hearing them on the health committee next week.  Below is some information on the bills that will be before the committee.

Assembly Bill (AB) 183 prevents the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) from certifying any provider under the Medical Assistance program that provides abortion services and requires DHS to decertify them, as well. AB 182 restricts abortions based solely on the race, color, national origin, ancestry, or sex of the unborn child or solely because the unborn child has been diagnosed with or has a potential diagnosis of Down syndrome or other congenital disability. AB 180 requires certain information regarding an abortion-inducing drug regimen to be provided to a woman that is planning to have an abortion induced by the abortion-inducing drug regimen. Finally, AB 179 requires doctors to treat babies who are born alive, after an attempted abortion, and to treat the child with the utmost professional skill, care, and diligence as they would any other newborn baby.

Under the Dome

St. Anthony Catholic School

I was happy to welcome the group from St. Anthony Catholic School in Athens the State Capitol on Wednesday. I showed them around the Assembly Chambers and brought them by my office.  Thanks for visiting!

Catholics at the Capitol 

I was pleased to see Gayle Johnson stop by my office on Tuesday afternoon. She was in Madison for Catholics at the Capitol Day with the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, advocating for priorities important to Wisconsin Catholics.   

Doctor Day in the Capitol

On Wednesday, I met with Alexa Temme and Dayle Quigley who were at the Capitol for Doctor Day. Alexa is from Medford, but is currently a medical student at UW-Madison, and Dayle is from Hayward and works at Hayward Area Memorial Hospital. We had a great conversation and spoke about issues important to their profession.

Around the 87th 

Winter Depot Project Fundraiser

Treeland Resorts hosted a fundraiser last Friday evening for the Winter Depot Project. I am looking forward to the day the 1905 railroad depot renovations are completed. It will then be used as a welcoming center, historical showcase, and trailhead for the Tuscobia Trail.

Meeting with DNR Staff at Flambeau River State Forest

I met with staff from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on Friday at the Flambeau River State Forest. It was a beautiful day to sit down with the agency's staff and talk about the state's land management practices and resources.

Taylor County Maple Fest

I enjoyed my Saturday at the 7th Annual Taylor County Lions Maple Fest at the Taylor County Fairgrounds in Medford. I tasted some maple syrup from some of the best maple syrup producers in the state. I was very impressed and am already looking forward to next year's Maple Fest. 

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.