8/28/2015

Capitol Update

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Senator Marklein’s 2015 Fall Legislative Survey
As families prepare to return to school and we get ready for fall, I am seeking your input as I prepare for the fall legislative session.

Below you will find a link to a 10 question survey to seek your thoughts on a number of relevant legislative issues and concepts that we will be discussing in the coming months. This survey is one of the many tools I use to learn more about the preferences of the residents of the 17th Senate District.


This survey is available online at http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/17/marklein or please feel free to print out a copy from the link below and return it to me at PO Box 7882, Madison, WI 53703 or via fax at 608-282-3557. Please submit your survey by October 30, 2015.


I look forward to receiving your input!

 

For a PDF version of the survey, click here.

 

In the District

 

Great Steak Out!
Last week, I had the opportunity to help serve at the Green County Cattlemen’s Great Steak Out that is held at the Green County fairgrounds in Monroe. We served up some juicy ribeye steaks and I had a great time meeting people. I even got to take my picture with Green County Royalty!
 

*Green County Beef Princess, Madison Katzenberger of Monroe, Senator Howard Marklein, and Green County Beef Queen, Grace Tollakson of New Glarus

 

Loganville and Mauston Summer Parades
Summer is quickly wrapping up, but Representative Ed Brooks and I had great weather for parades in both Loganville and Mauston last weekend. I always enjoy seeing so many people come out for these parades.
 

*Senator Howard Marklein at the Loganville Fireman’s Parade

 

Congratulations, Oshkosh Corp!
The U.S. Army has awarded Oshkosh Corp. a contract that could be worth up to $30 billion and provide years of work to thousands of Wisconsin employees building a new type of armored truck in Oshkosh.


The Army plans to buy up to 50,000 of the vehicles, at a cost of about $250,000 each, while the Marine Corps would purchase 5,500. In addition, there could be years’ worth of parts and services for the multipurpose vehicles, which are meant to replace thousands of military Humvees.


Defense industry analysts say it's the largest military vehicle contract in the foreseeable future, and the competition for it was intense. Oshkosh beat out a team made up of Lockheed Martin Corp. and BAE Systems Plc, as well as bidder AM General LLC, which built Humvees.


Vehicle production will start slowly, but the contract will provide a big boost for the company's defense division, which employs about 3,000 people, as well as for hundreds of suppliers.


The Chief Engineer at Oshkosh Corp. is Kent Schulte. Kent graduated from Richland Center High School in 1991 and then graduated from UW-Platteville with an engineering degree. Kent’s parents, Steve and Norene Schulte, live in Richland Center, and Kent’s wife, Julie is from Viola and graduated from Kickapoo High School. This is a great example of getting a quality education and working hard to achieve your dreams.


Congratulations to Kent Schulte and Oshkosh Corp.’s entire team!
 

Congratulations, Platteville High School!

This week, Newsweek released America's top high schools. These rankings assess schools based on a broad range of data to determine which institutions do the best job of preparing students for college. Some of the schools featured a gold star next to their name, which indicates that it meets their equity measure by helping low-income students score at or above average on state assessments.

 

I am proud to report that Platteville High School was ranked #200 in the top 500 schools in the nation AND had a gold star next to their name!

 

You can check out the full list of high schools here.

 

Helpful Information

 

Revenue Numbers: Fiscal Year 2015
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) recently released a report detailing general purpose revenue (GPR) taxes collected by the agency for the 2015 fiscal year.

General purpose revenue (GPR) tax collections increased 4.3% in fiscal year 2015 (FY15) compared to the prior year. The actual revenue collections are 0.5% more than the Legislative Fiscal Bureau's (LFB) January 2015 estimate of $14,469.8 million.

The following table shows the GPR collections for the 2015 fiscal year.
 

General Purpose Revenue (GPR) Collections, FY 2015
Fiscal Year 2015 Unaudited Final
Amounts in Thousands ($), rounded
 

 

Actual

FY 2014

Jan 2015

LFB Estimate for FY 2015

Final

FY 2015

Variance

from Estimate

Individual Income 7,061,390 7,350,000 7,325,817 (24,183)
General Sales and Use 4,628,338 4,880,000 4,892,126 12,126
Corporate Income/Franchise 967,184 935,000 1,004,926 69,926
Public Utility 360,965 377,900 387,804 3,904
Excise Taxes 698,687 682,200 699,060 16,860
Cigarette 573,036 556,500 569,547 13,047
Tobacco Products 67,693 69,300 71,916 2,616
Liquor and Wine 48,992 47,600 48,767 1,167
Beer 8,966 8,800 8,830 30
Insurance 165,765 176,000 165,448 (10,552)
Miscellaneous 65,771 68,700 72,005 3,305
Total 13,948,099 14,469,800 14,541,186 71,386

*Source: Department of Revenue

 


 

*Senator Marklein is pleased to provide this legislative E-Update to the constituents of the 17th State Senate District. Please feel free to share this update with other interested citizens and taxpayers. You are receiving this update because you have either subscribed or contacted Senator Marklein directly.

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State Capitol - Room 8 South - Post Office Box 7882 - Madison, Wisconsin 53707 - Phone: (608) 266-0703