On Wednesday, June 19, the Assembly wrapped up its portion of the state budget process. The budget is one of the most critical pieces of legislation passed each session. The final version in the Assembly was over 1,400 pages, and while I do not agree with every provision, I think Assembly Bill 40 (AB 40) as passed keeps Wisconsin moving forward. There are many positive provisions for rural districts like ours, and I am proud to put my support behind it.

As you may have heard, I was not present to cast a vote on AB 40, as I am recovering from medical treatment. However, I want to assure you that the voices of the 67th Assembly District were indeed heard. After hearing what you said in my listening sessions, my district-wide survey, and the letters and phone calls to my office, I joined with my colleagues to effect real change that improves upon the Governor’s original proposal. In reality, the vote on the Assembly floor comprised a tiny fraction of the work done on the budget – the real reforms were made prior to that. Both before and during my recovery, my legislative colleagues and I successfully lobbied the Joint Finance Committee to augment funding in areas like public schools, domestic abuse prevention, transportation aid, and county conservation departments. We were also able to get a provision removed that would have made it easier for foreign entities to buy Wisconsin land.

Although not perfect, I think time will show that this budget puts Wisconsin on the right fiscal track.

While I may not always see eye to eye with some of you on every issue, I hope you all will continue to keep in touch with my office about state issues that are important to you as the legislative session moves forward.

The Senate concurred in the budget this morning as passed by the Assembly, and it will now go to the Governor for his signature.

During their April 24 meeting, the state's Natural Resources Board voted to make policy and other decisions more transparent and open to the public. From now on, you can watch their monthly meetings live through their website when you click on the "webcast" link under the "Related Links" tab on the right side of the page. With all of the beautiful natural resources throughout our district, I thought you might find this to be a useful site.