Expanding and Strengthening
Background Checks |
I’m a firm believer in the 2nd
Amendment right to bear arms. It’s a mistake whenever the
government infringes on the rights of law abiding citizens. I
also believe that our rights carry with them certain
responsibilities. When an individual has lost their right to
legally possess a firearm due to illegal actions or mental
illness, it’s our duty to enforce the law.
By requiring a Wisconsin background check for both long gun and
handgun purchases, which is more accurate than a federal
background check, we are doing our duty to ensure that guns stay
out of the hands of criminals.
The average Wisconsin background
check in 2017 was just four hours and nine minutes, but in that
time it checks more than twice as many data sources (12 versus
5) as the
current National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
The bill we adopted yesterday puts the power in our state’s
hands to enforce the law, and it will remain on the books until
the federal background check is as comprehensive as ours, at
which point our law will sunset.
School Safety
On Thursday we also passed the governor's
school safety package, which does the following:
-
Establishes Office of School Safety
within the Department of Justice (AB
1029)
-
Creates $100 million School Safety
Grant Program (AB
1028)
-
Requires mandatory reporting for any
threats of school violence (AB
1030)
-
Strengthens school safety plan
requirements (AB
1032)
-
Encourages cooperation between local
law enforcement and schools (AB
1033)
-
Amends the bullying statute to provide
prompt parent notification (AB
1031)
|
Finding a Better Detour |
The Department of Transportation (DOT)
proposed WIS 116 & Wolf River Bridge, Winneconne project detour
will cost businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars and is
simply unacceptable. The proposed detour, utilizing only county
roads and state highways, will require trucks coming from the
Winneconne industrial park to make a 30 mile east U-turn in
order to avoid Highway 116 closures.
I’ve been hard at work coordinating with
the Village of Winneconne Administrator Mitch Foster, the Town
of Omro, DOT, and the governor’s office to fix this issue before
our local economy suffers irreparable harm. For example:
-
Farrell Wagon, which is a supplier to
Oshkosh Truck, will be forced from a standard 12 mile trip
into an 80 mile round trip.
-
Midwest Specialty Products, a paper
converting company, estimates the increase in trucking cost
to be at least $250,000 during the project.
-
Covanta Environmental Solutions,
Multi-Conveyor, Proto-1 Manufacturing, and Switchgear Power
Systems will also be forced to take unnecessarily long
detours.
Local governments have shown a strong
ability to cooperate in finding reasonable alternatives. The
Village of Winneconne and the Town of Omro have proposed the use
of local roads for truck detour use, which would reduce the
detour from 29.6 miles to only 7.23 miles. This local solution
would utilize a single straight mile of Broderick Road, and
provide our local businesses with access necessary to keep their
operations open and thriving. I’m pushing for the governor and
DOT to implement this common sense solution, and I'm confident
that they will soon announce an agreement to accept the local
solution and pick up the cost of any damage done to local roads
during the project.
Coverage of the proposed detour can be
viewed online here:
http://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/construction-locks-local-businesses-into-a-shipment-nightmare/1059454228
|
Child Tax Credit |
I believe that government surpluses should go back to the people
and I was proud to vote for the child tax credit last night that
will put money back into the hands of parents who helped create
our tax surplus. You can watch the video of my Assembly floor
speech on this issue by clicking on the image below:
|
Capitol Visitors |
Winneconne Elementary
students on the left and Houdini Elementary students on the
right both visited on Wednesday.
Kristina Foshag of Ascension
Health in Greenville and Caila Weyenberg of Ascension Mercy
Hospital in Grand Chute visited for the Wisconsin Hospital
Association’s Advocacy Day
Folks from the Wausau area
Centergy visited on Wednesday
LynnDale Ihm, Eric Kostrzak,
Zachary Lillo, Rachel Williams, Jim Werner, and Ashley Gustafson
(not pictured) visited for Disability Advocacy Day. |
Podiatry Access Bill on the
Governor's Desk |
On Tuesday, the Senate adopted
a bill I authored to make podiatry care more accessible and
affordable for patients around the state. The bill heads next to
the governor’s desk for his signature before it becomes law.
Under current law, physician
assistants and advanced nurse practitioners are not allowed to
perform care associated with podiatry, even if they are
specifically trained to do so and supervised by a podiatrist.
AB 582 clears away this unnecessary roadblock to affordable,
accessible, and quality care for podiatry patients.
AB 582 was requested by podiatrists from across our state,
represented by the Wisconsin Podiatric Medical Association. To
keep up with the need for specialized health care, physician
assistants and nurse practitioners have begun playing an
increasingly valuable role in patient care. Both professions
require years of specialized education and national
certifications that allow them to work alongside physicians. |
Tornado Awareness Week |
April 9-13 is Wisconsin’s Tornado and
Severe Weather Awareness Week. Wisconsin Emergency Management,
the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Wisconsin
Broadcasters Association (WBA) have once again teamed up to
sponsor the statewide tornado drills scheduled for Thursday,
April 12.
Schools, businesses, families, and
individuals have two opportunities to test their emergency plans
during the April 12 statewide tornado drills. The drills are
part of the annual spring severe weather campaign to encourage
everyone in Wisconsin to be ready for possible tornadoes and
severe weather.
According to the NWS, Wisconsin averages 23
tornadoes annually. Last year, there were 23 tornado touchdowns
in the state. While most were either EF0 or EF1, the state did
record an EF3 on May 16, 2017. The tornado followed an 83-mile
path across Polk, Barron, Rusk, and Price counties, killing one
person and causing widespread damage. The state also experienced
an outbreak of 10 tornadoes on June 14, 2017, across Shawano,
Winnebago, Outagamie, Brown, and Waushara counties.
A mock tornado watch will be issued
April 12 at 1 p.m., followed by a statewide mock tornado warning
at 1:45 p.m. Many radio and TV stations across the state
will issue the test tornado warnings. In addition, mock alerts
will be issued on NOAA Weather Radios and many communities will
sound their tornado sirens to test their emergency severe
weather plans. Later, a mock tornado warning will be issued
at 6:45 p.m. to give families and second-shift workers a chance
to practice their emergency plans.
The tornado drill will take place even if
the sky is cloudy, dark or rainy. If actual severe storms are
expected in the state on Thursday, April 12, the tornado drills
will be postponed until Friday, April 13 with the same times. If
severe storms are possible Friday, the drills will be cancelled.
Any changes will be issued to local media
as well as posted on the ReadyWisconsin website at
http://readywisconsin.wi.gov. Updates will also be
posted on Facebook
www.facebook.com/ReadyWisconsin, Twitter
www.twitter.com/ReadyWisconsin, and Instagram
www.instagram.com/ReadyWisconsin.
|
Firewood Quarantine |
The entire state of Wisconsin will be
placed under quarantine for emerald ash borer, the Wisconsin
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
announced today. The quarantine will be effective Friday, March
30.
Until now, quarantines have been imposed
county by county, but now that EAB is in 48 of the state’s 72
counties, officials have decided a statewide quarantine is
warranted. However, they still discourage moving firewood within
the state.
Quarantines require businesses handling ash
wood, untreated ash products and hardwood firewood to sign
agreements specifying how they will reduce the risk of moving
EAB into non-quarantined areas, and prohibit moving firewood
from quarantined areas to non-quarantined areas.
With the entire state under quarantine,
wood can move freely between counties within Wisconsin.
Businesses that move regulated items out of state will need to
work with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to
confirm interstate requirements. These are items such as ash
wood with bark still on it, larger ash chips, and any kind of
hardwood firewood.
Firewood restrictions will remain on state
and federal lands. Kuhn recommended that campers and other
tourists buy wood near the campgrounds or cabins where they
intend to burn it, or that they buy firewood that bears the
DATCP-certified mark, meaning it has been seasoned or
heat-treated to kill pests.
Other recommendations for property owners:
-
Watch ash trees for signs of possible
EAB infestation: Thinning in the canopy, D-shaped holes in
the bark, new branches sprouting low on the trunk, cracked
bark, and woodpeckers pulling at the bark to get to insect
larvae beneath it.
-
If your property is within 15 miles of
a known infestation, consider preventive treatments. Whether
to treat depends on several factors: the age of the trees,
the size of the trees, and the number of trees. Treatment
costs vary depending on size of the tree and whether you do
the treatments yourself or hire a professional.
-
Consider planting species of trees that
are not susceptible to EAB.
-
Contact a professional arborist for
expert advice, and visit
emeraldashborer.wi.gov for detailed information.
Emerald ash borer is native to China and
probably entered the United States on packing material, showing
up first in Michigan in 2002. It was first found in eastern
Wisconsin in 2008.
County-by-county quarantines for gypsy moth
still exist. For additional information on firewood movement,
visit
https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/MovingFirewood.aspx.
|
Required Training for
Produce Growers |
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture,
Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) will host several required
food safety trainings for Wisconsin produce growers as part of
federal produce safety rules. To determine if your produce farm
needs to participate, use DATCP’s
online tool or
“Is my farm covered by the new Federal produce safety rules?”
fact sheet. The produce safety rules are part of the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act.
Based on the amount of produce sales
determines when the training must be completed. Growers with
produce sales annually of:
-
More than $500,000 must complete
training prior to this year’s growing season.
-
$250,000-$500,000 must complete
training before the 2019 growing season.
-
Less than $250,000 must complete
training before the 2020 growing season.
At least one supervisor or other
responsible person from the farm must complete the training.
Farms eligible for a qualified exemption or an exemption are not
required to take the training. More information about exemptions
can be found on the
DATCP website.
Trainings are being offered on the
following dates:
-
Tuesday, April 3: Neville Public
Museum, 210 Museum Place, Green Bay
-
Thursday, April 12: West Madison
Agricultural Station, 8502 Mineral Point Road, Verona
-
Tuesday, April 17: Clarion Hotel
Northwoods Ballroom, 2703 Craig Road, Eau Claire
For growers who do not need to complete
training until 2019 and 2020, additional trainings will be
provided in the future.
Classes will run 8 a.m.-5 p.m., with
check-in from 7:30-8 a.m. Cost is $60 per person and includes
lunch. To register, email
safeproduce@wi.gov or call (608) 224-4511. Instructors from
DATCP, University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison, UW-Extension, and
industry and farmer organizations will cover use of manure as
soil amendments; contact with domesticated and wild animals;
worker training; health and hygiene; equipment, tools, and
buildings; water; and food safety plans.
Wisconsin ranks 11th in the nation in
number of produce farms, and second in number of organic produce
farms. There are an estimated 1,100 Wisconsin farms that will
need to meet the federal produce safety rules. |
Upcoming Events |
Check out upcoming events near us by visiting the
Wisconsin Tourism website or
https://appletondowntown.org/upcoming-events/
and if you run into me while
you’re out and about be sure to stop and say hi! |
"Like" Representative
Murphy's Facebook Page
|
I have a Facebook page so I can continually engage with you on
important topics facing the state. Please like it by
clicking here! I use Facebook to update constituents more frequently on
my work in Madison and the 56th Assembly District. I look forward to
using this as another way to connect with constituents and encourage you to follow it and watch for
regular updates.
|
"Like" Representative Murphy's
Official Facebook Page
|
Welcome!
I live in Greenville, but have an
office at the State Capitol in Madison. If you are in
downtown Madison, please feel free to stop by and say
hello! Just go to the information desk in the rotunda,
and they can direct you on how to find my office, 318
North. At the bottom of each e-update, you'll see my
office contact information.
If your school or group plans to tour the Capitol
building, please let me know in advance. I'd
love to visit with you for a few minutes and take a
group photo.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.
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