October 9, 2015

Volume 1 Issue 17

State Representative Janel Brandtjen:

GAB Reform is Long Overdue:

If the Government Accountability Board (GAB) has been a lot of things, non-partisan is not one of them. The list of blatantly partisan decisions, rulings and positions are too numerous to list here in a weekly update. However the recent disclosures regarding GAB Director Kevin Kennedy’s ties to Lois Lerner and the IRS scandal on top of the gross mishandling of the now infamous John Doe investigation calls for immediate reform.

Since its debut in 2007, the GAB has failed to regularly audit the voter rolls to remove any felons, failed to audit electronic voting equipment, and regularly failed to promulgate rules as statutorily required.  They followed no formal procedure for processing complaints brought to the board and the board's staff regularly went outside the approved fee schedule when assigning fines. In short, the entity that was in place to uphold our laws broke more laws than they enforced.  I find that to be indefensible.

The GAB will be divided into two commissions, one dealing with elections and the other dealing with ethics. Each will have 6 members.  Democrats and Republicans will have an equal number of appointments on each commission.

I have been and remain a very vocal supporter of GAB reform.  I am disappointed that we have waited this long.  I am however, looking forward to closing this chapter in Wisconsin’s history.  

Sanctuary Cities in Wisconsin:

I have teamed up with State Representative Dave Murphy from Greenville to introduce a bill that prohibits Cities, Towns, Counties (basically all political subdivisions in Wisconsin) from declaring themselves above the Federal Immigration Laws.  We are all perplexed and frustrated with the immigration policies of the United States. Right now we have an immigration policy that is counterproductive. The current policy punishes workers looking for work, rebukes families looking for a better life and penalizes people who are waiting in line for visas. The main problem is an unsecured border. The only people happy right now with the present border situation are drug dealers, gun runners and of course, those looking to take advantage of our welfare system.

The bill would prohibit political subdivisions from adopting policies that violate current Federal Immigration laws. Cities. Towns, Villages and Counties that do not follow the federal laws would be subject to law suit and would be in danger of losing substantial amounts of shared revenue. See the bill here.

CONGRATULATIONS JUSTICE REBECCA BRADLEY

Appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Walker.

God Bless Wisconsin! 

***********************

       Congratulations:Reich Tool & Design Celebrating 50 Years!