Thank you for taking the time to read this week's e-update. I always strive to include information you find interesting and informative as it relates to my work in Madison and the 60th Assembly District.
My most important goal remains serving you, my constituents. Helping you find solutions to difficult problems when it seems like the state is unresponsive is the single greatest reward for my staff and me. I take constituents' input seriously and continually work hard on your behalf.
I always have your thoughts and concerns in mind when deciding whether or not to support legislation. Furthermore, I appreciate when you take time out of your schedules to contact me.
Have a great week,
This week's survey
Wisconsin is facing an unprecedented worker crisis, a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government's decision to pay individuals enhanced federal unemployment benefits. Businesses in the 60th Assembly District have been forced to shutter or drastically reduce their hours due to the inability to hire workers. Employers I have spoken with indicated that they receive hundreds of resumes per week, but few interviews, as individuals are merely sending in resumes to fulfill the state's unemployment insurance requirements.
Last month, the legislature passed and Governor Evers vetoed Assembly Bill 336, which would have terminated Wisconsin's participation in the federal enhanced unemployment benefit programs.
This bill had contained two main provisions: First, it would have directed Governor Evers and the secretary of the Department of Workforce Development to end Wisconsin's participation in the following federal programs:
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Program
And, the Mixed-Earner Unemployment Compensation Program
The bill's second provision would have prohibited the Department of Workforce Development from waiving the work search requirement for any reason that is related to COVID-19. President Bident has directed the Secretary of Labor to work with states to reinstate work search requirements for UI recipients.
Employers in the Sixtieth Assembly District are desperate for workers. Many of them have significantly raised wages, begun offering sign-on bonuses, and are desperate to hire additional workers. Unfortunately, they are unable to compete with the generous federal unemployment benefits that nearly double unemployment insurance checks. It is imperative that we return to regular unemployment insurance compensation programs and encourage able-bodied Wisconsinites back to work.
Despite robust statewide support for Assembly Bill 336, Governor Evers vetoed it. In his veto message, Governor Evers indicated he would veto Assembly Bill 336 for two reasons: He objected to interference and encroachment by the legislature on the executive branch's constitutional authority to administer programs; and it would eliminate benefits for individuals whose employers and occupations have been adversely affected by the pandemic.
Governor Evers wrote of his decision to veto Assembly Bill 336, "There is a lack of evidence to support the notion that eliminating supplement unemployment insurance benefits would bring more individuals into the workforce. Many of the most hard-hit areas are located in both rural parts of the state that had slower pre-pandemic job growth as well as urban areas with job sectors such as hospitality or tourism that had to adapt to profound changes in business operations"
I encourage Governor Evers to meet with business owners in the 60th Assembly District, as many of them would disagree vehemently with Evers' comments and decision to veto this important and common-sense piece of legislation.
Thank you for answering our most recent survey question regarding the state's biennial budget-writing process. In total, fifty-four individuals responded, with forty-eight percent supportive of preparing the budget using GAAP principles. In contrast, twenty-six percent of respondents supported using both the GAAP and cash accounting principles. Just seventeen percent of respondents supported the status quo, continuing to prepare the budget using cash accounting principles.
Nine percent of respondents voted "other." Responses include:
"We should use cash accounting to prepare the budget but GAAP for monthly /annual financial reports. This would limit overbudgeting and eliminating end-of-year fiscal purchases that would be made with next year's money."
"Reduce corporate welfare dramatically and use GAAP."
"Regardless, the state spends too much money on superfluous programs. The legislature should rein in spending before altering the method used to prepare the state's biennial budget.
Legislation
Since the release of my last e-update, I have introduced three new pieces of legislation.
Assembly Bill 399
Assembly Bill 399, which I coauthored with Senator Jerry Petrowski and has bipartisan support, cleans up two inconsistencies in statutes relating to interest paid on property tax refunds. The inconsistencies have negative financial impacts on city, town, and village taxpayers.
Under current law, the method for calculating interest paid on tax refunds differs significantly depending on which statute a property taxpayer uses to challenge whether or how much property taxes he or she owes.
Under sec. 734.35, "Recovery of Unlaw Taxes," which is used, for example, to claim that the property was exempt from taxation, the community must, when refunding taxes, include interest at the rate of .8 percent a month from the date on which the individual filed the claim. This equals a 9.6 percent annual interest rate.
Property owners seeking to claim an overpayment of property taxes caused by an alleged over assessment of the property, must proceed under a different statute, sec. 74.37, to obtain a refund of extra taxes paid as a result of an excessive assessment. When communities refund property taxes to owners under this section, the interest on refund payments is calculated at the average annual discount rate determined by the last auction of six-month U.S. Treasury bills.
The interest is typically much higher under sec.74.35 than under 74.37. From 1987 to 2007, the interest rates were the same under both statutes, .8 percent per month. In 2007, the legislature passed Act 86, which made several changes to the process for challenging property assessments, including modernizing the interest amount under sec. 74.37. The interest rate specified in sec. 74.35 has not been changed or modernized since 1987.
Assembly Bill 399 makes the interest calculation under both statutes, identical, by tying the interest rate to the aforementioned six-month treasury bills.
Second, Assembly Bill 399 requires all taxing jurisdictions, including counties and school districts, to contribute to the cost of interest payments on property tax refunds. Under current law, all local taxing jurisdictions contribute proportionately to the cost of the tax refund, but only the city, village, or town pays the interest on a refund. This bill allows the city, village or town, to collect from each underlying taxing jurisdiction, its proportionate share of the interest paid on property tax refunds.
Assembly Bill 431
Assembly Bill 431, which I coauthored with Senator Mary Felzkowski, relates to the sale of Department of Transportation surplus property.
Often, when the Department of Transportation prepares for a state highway project, the agency purchases the property from local landowners that abut the highway or is located where a new road will run. While some of this land is subsequently used for projects, such as adding new lanes to highways, a substantial portion of it becomes surplus land and is held by the state until it can be sold. This surplus land, while held by the DOT, serves no purpose and keeps these acres off the tax rolls.
As of May 2021, there were nine-hundred-eighty-one surplus land parcels held by DOT, totaling, 1,751 acres. Out of these parcels, only eighty-eight were considered marketable, totaling two-hundred-twenty-three acres. These eight-eight parcels are marketable because they possess easy access and can be sold to the public. Unfortunately, this means that more than 1,500 acres are currently being held in limbo by DOT as non-marketable since these properties do not have access and can only be sold to the abutting property owners.
The purpose of Assembly Bill 431 is to establish a process for selling property categorized as "unmarketable." DOT will be required to identify and attempt to sell these unmarketable parcels at least every two years to the owners of adjacent property. When DOT attempts to sell these parcels, they must accept sealed bids and sell the property to the person who offers the highest bid. The goal is to sell these properties as soon as possible and get them back on the tax rolls.
Parcels held by the state that sit unused, do not benefit anyone. This bill will create a path for getting "unmarketable" properties back into the hands of landowners, benefitting them, the state, and local communities.
LRB-3818
LRB-3818, which I coauthored with Senator Andre Jacque and introduced in a previous legislative session, ensures that parents who hold a concealed carry permit do not accidentally violate the law when picking up or dropping off their child in a school parking lot.
Under current law, an individual is generally prohibited from possessing a firearm on the grounds of a school. Several states, including our Midwest neighbors, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, have already enacted legislation allowing parents with concealed carry licenses to be able to transport their children to and from school.
Events
The following events will be held this week in the 60th Assembly District. If you have upcoming events you would like included in my weekly e-update, please contact my office.
One of the best ways to date with what is happening in Madison is to sign up for the legislature's notification tracking system. This service affords you with the opportunity to track legislative activities in Madison. Upon creation of a free account, you can sign up to receive notification about specific bills of committees as well as legislative activity pertaining to a subject (i.e., health care, education, etc.).
If you have any comments regarding the subject of this E-Update, please feel free to contact me.
Rep. Rob Brooks State Capitol, Room 216 North P.O. Box 8952 Madison, WI 53708 Toll-Free (888) 534-0060 or (608) 267-2369 Rep.Rob.Brooks@legis.wi.gov| Read Online |
