February 1, 2019

Working for you!

State Budget Projections Best in a Generation

According to a new report from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Wisconsin will be going into the next state budgeting process with the strongest financial position in a generation. Based on new revenue projections, the state is expected to have $2.4 billion available for the next state budget, the highest amount in over twenty years. The state ended the fiscal year with a surplus of nearly $700 million, and the rainy day fund is 190 times larger than it was in 2010 at over $300 million. All of this was achieved with the sound financial decisions made over the past eight years, a record I hope our state will continue to maintain under the next budget.

Sources: Jan. of odd year Legislative Fiscal Bureau revenue estimates and odd year gross ending balances in the billions of dollars.

Foxconn and Job Growth

News reports this week offered a bit of whiplash on the Foxconn project as naysayers jumped on early reports that Foxconn would not be moving forward with the original television manufacturing plant, opting instead for a technology hub. While political leaders were quick to place blame, reports today indicate that Foxconn will be constructing the facility that it originially committed to.

Regardless of how the news pans out, I fully expect Foxconn to create thousands of jobs in Wisconsin that will transform our economy for the better. I’m thankful that we were smart enough to write up a contract that holds them to this and doesn’t release payroll tax incentives until they meet those goals.

Nationally, news pundits were surprised when the economy showed an increase of 304,000 jobs in January, while they were predicting job decreases due to the federal shutdown. Instead, we had one of the largest one month job increases in recent memory. Wisconsin is on the forefront of this growth and will continue to be if we maintain the pro-growth initiatives advanced under Republican leadership.

Dairy Recognition

I recently received the Dairy Business Association Legislative Excellence Award based on the issues I championed and supported during the 2017-18 legislative session. I’m proud that my professional experience in the dairy industry enables me to be a steadfast advocate for Wisconsin dairy farmers.

Pictured with me are former DBA President Mike North (left) and current DBA President Tom Crave (right).

Listening Sessions

Getting feedback from people like you is a critical part of being able to do my job successfully. I was happy to speak with the folks who braved the weather to turn out at my listening sessions in Winneconne and Greenville this past Friday.

I’ll be holding additional listening sessions on the state budget and my legislative priorities in the future. If you have an idea about where I should hold my next listening session or if you’d like to invite me to speak with your group, please reach out to my office.

My recent listening session at the Village of Winneconne Community Room

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.