March 15, 2019

Working for you!

Discussing Our Differences

There may be no shortage of things that the new Governor and I disagree on; however, I prioritize sitting down and hammering out differences in order to find what we can work together on. This sort of mentality is sorely missing in politics these days, but I’m proud to say that here in Wisconsin we are striving to find common ground.

On Tuesday, when Governor Evers and I sat down, we discussed ways to support the important work charitable organizations do, how to increase college affordability, and the critical need to fix the roads in our district, especially by funding the Highway 15 bypass and an expansion of I-41 on the north side of Appleton.

I left the meeting feeling positive and I’m optimistic that Governor Evers and I will be able to work together on issues that bring us together, instead of focusing just on the issues that divide us.

Intervening to Protect the Unborn

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is engaged in a lawsuit challenging state law that restricts abortions and ensures when abortions are provided, they are done so only by qualified physicians.

I have little faith that Attorney General Kaul, who has been endorsed by and accepted money from Planned Parenthood, will adequately oppose his backers in court. He has already joined a separate lawsuit that would weaken federal rules that prohibit tax dollars from funding clinics that provide or referring patients for abortions.

This is why the legislature will be intervening in the Planned Parenthood lawsuit against Wisconsin, to defend our state laws and stand up for Wisconsin’s unborn children.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Each year, when my favorite holiday rolls around, I introduce a resolution to honor Wisconsinites with Irish heritage. You can read the full resolution by clicking here.

Evers' Outagamie Youth Prison Proposal

Without consulting local officials, Governor Evers announced this week that he would be placing a new youth prison in Outagamie County. Although I am not absolutely against consideration of such a prison, I am opposed to the governor’s process and I’m appalled that no local buy-in was sought.

Whenever we consider changes to the criminal justice system, it’s critical that we listen to the people who will be most affected.

Governor Tony Evers has talked a great deal about open and transparent government but this has been about as closed and obstructed a process as you can get.

I encourage you to the reach out to the governor and let him know what you think of the youth prison he is planning in our community by calling (608) 266-1212.

Wolf River Sexual Predator Placement

On Tuesday, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office held a public meeting regarding the placement of a violent sex offender in the Town of Wolf River. I was glad to see such a strong turnout of the community to discuss this issue and raise important concerns about the distance of the location from law enforcement, the cost to the state of housing this offender in our community, and the fact that such an abhorrent criminal is being released at all.

You can read the full bulletin posted by the Sheriff’s Office by clicking here.

Preventing Human Trafficking and Promoting Public Leadership

As chair of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, I held our first meeting of the session this week. We had a public hearing on AB 22 relating to truck driver education to prevent human trafficking. Later, we heard from invited speaker, Professor Ryan Owen, Director of the University of Wisconsin Tommy Thompson Center on Public Leadership to get an update on the work the center is doing across the state.

You can watch the full meeting by clicking here.

Winnebago Walleye Management Meeting

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is hosting public meetings in March regarding Winnebago System walleye management.

Meetings will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the following locations:

• Monday, March 18, Chilton - Engler Center for the Performing Arts, 530 W. Main St.; and
• Thursday, March 21, New London - Mosquito Hill Nature Center, N3880 Rogers Road.

Capitol Visitors

Thursday night my wife Lynn and I attended the 20th Annual Best Badge Awards, hosted by the Outagamie County District Attorney's Office. I'm pictured here with Brad Gehring, retired Outagamie County Sheriff, who recieved the life-time service award.

Members of the Neenah School Board Betsy Ellenberger, Carol Hollar-Zwick, and Lauri Asbury visited for Wisconsin Association of School Boards day at the Capitol.

Alissa Nuernberger and McKenna Bocik from the Fox Valley popped in for Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin's annual legislative day.

Tom Ferrugia, Director of Government Affairs for the Broadway League, Ashley Baldwin, Executive Administrative Manager of the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, me, and Maria Van Laanen, president of the Fox Cities Performing Arts are pictured on Arts Wisconsin’s Arts Advocacy Day.

Nathen Nysse of Hortonville stopped by on behalf of the Wisconsin Association of Professional Agricultural Consultants.

The folks from UW-Oshkosh stopped by to discuss their biennial budget request.

New Legislation

Here is the legislation I've co-sponsored since my last update. Click on the links to learn more about each bill or resolution:

Assembly Bill 76
Hours of instructional program for nurse aides.

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 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.