December 7, 2018

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Legislative Reforms

This November, the people of Wisconsin elected a split government, endorsing a system of checks and balances. Mr. Evers was elected governor with 49.6 percent of the vote, Mr. Kaul was elected attorney general with 49.4 percent of the vote, and, in contested State Assembly elections, Republicans won 58 percent of the vote, maintaining majorities in both the Assembly and Senate. I was honored to be elected with 60 percent of the vote in the 56^th State Assembly District.

I’ve known and respected Governor-Elect Tony Evers for many years, and I look forward to working with him in his new role.

I’ve been fortunate to hear from many of you, both in favor of and against the proposed bills. The discussion was lively in the legislature, across media outlets, and with folks like you.

I was dismayed by some “cut and paste” responses defaming the Republican Party or making false assumptions about my motives; however, I carefully reviewed each message, along with materials from our non-partisan advisors, before I came to my own conclusions on the legislation.

Why Introduce These Proposals Now?

We had a rare opportunity to make government more accountable to the people, and it would have been irresponsible to pass it up. In 2016, the people elected me to serve a full two-year term, not just until the results of the 2018 election in November were announced. I’m committed to doing everything I can to best serve all the people of my district and not just a single political party.

What about the Powers of the Governor and Attorney General?

The real powers of the governor and attorney general exist in the state constitution and are not up for discussion. Unlike what you may have heard elsewhere, the changes I support are not about limiting the powers of anyone, rather they are common sense reforms to make government more transparent and responsive to the public. I’ve advocated for and voted for many of these proposals before this week, and some have even previously been vetoed by Governor Walker. In fact, many of these reforms have been supported by the same Democrats who voted against them this week, simply because a member of their party will now be serving as governor.

There are two reasons you won’t see outraged political activists talking about the specifics in the legislation: the first is because the bill continues to keep Wisconsin government clean and open to the public and the second is because the changes are superficial and not really worthy of the false outrage being spun up.

Even Governor-Elect Evers has said, as reported in the Dec. 6 Appleton Post-Crescent, that the changes to his powers are only “superficial.”

It’s hard to fight against good legislation on a fair playing field, so instead they’ve resorted to lies about how we’re “performing a coup” by “subverting the powers of the governor and attorney general.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

Seven Real Reforms I Voted for

I pushed hard to implement state protections for individuals with preexisting conditions. This critical protection, which many Democrats campaigned on this year, failed in the State Senate when not a single Democratic senator voted for it.

The bill restricts bureaucratic state agencies’ ability to make their own pseudo-laws without legislative oversight.

Nominees rejected by the State Senate will no longer be able to continue to serve in the role they’ve previously been rejected for in the current two year legislative session.

Pardons of convicted criminals will be made publicly and not under the cover of state agency bureaucracy. Our bill pulls this process into the light of day by requiring these decisions to be posted online.

Everyone deserves an attorney in a court of law. Right now, if the attorney general declines to defend state law, the state lacks any legal representation.

If the attorney general isn’t willing to defend the laws of our state from federal overreach, the Wisconsin legislature should be empowered to give those laws their day in court. It makes no sense that one person, attorney general or not, should be the final arbiter over whether a Wisconsin law should be upheld. That is the place of the courts, but if it can’t reach the courts, justice cannot be served.

Setting a standard two week window for early voting is about allowing appropriate time for public deliberation on candidates before voting begins. It also ensures that no matter where you live, whether it’s a rural or urban community, voters will all have equal access to the ballot box. Every Wisconsin citizen should have the same access to the ballot box. Access to voting should not vary based on the town you live in.

I support placing certain voter ID changes into state statue because it ensures the process that has already been working as a policy will continue to protect our elections from fraud as a law.

If you believe the federal government is always right, then this wouldn’t be necessary, but I’ve heard far too many times about how the feds have let us down.

One current waiver Wisconsin has earned from federal code allows us to continue getting able bodied individuals into the workforce, in order to earn a portion of their state benefits.

Under our bill, Wisconsin will continue to serve as a laboratory of democracy, using hard won independence from federal policy mandates to implement programs that really work for the people of our state and avoid the cookie cutter federal programs that have failed our citizens over and over again. The state legislature, the branch of government most directly connected with the people, will now be involved in changes to federal programs implemented by state agencies.

As you know, I’ve been a vocal critic of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) since its creation. It took years to get the kinks of the system and operating on all cylinders. It would be devastating for us to tear this economic engine apart again. The minor changes made to the WEDC board will ensure and any reforms made must be negotiated and not rammed through by a single branch of government.

The US Supreme Court recently ruled that states are able to collect sales taxes from out-of-state retailers. State law already specifies that any future revenue from this source of sales tax must be used to reduce income taxes. Our bill ensures that these tax cuts will be carried out and not postponed.

Conclusion

Each of these common sense reforms deserved to be adopted without delay. I’ve been proud to support them in the past and I’m proud to support them today. I didn’t vote to take power away from anyone, I voted to keep power in the hands of the people.

Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting

On Tuesday, the Governor lit this year's Capitol Christmas tree, a 35-40 foot balsam fir decorated with ornaments made by students from across Wisconsin. The theme of this year's tree is "Wisconsin Dairyland."

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.