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.
This week:
Four bills I authored were approved by the State Assembly.
I participated in a public hearing on redistricting.
I testified before a senate committee on my constitutional carry legislation.
And, authored and worked on amendments with colleagues on both sides of the aisle that were adopted by the State Assembly.
Have a great week,
This week's survey
Earlier this month, I proudly joined Senator Mary Felzkowski in authoring Senate Bill 619. This bill protects the freedom, liberty, and right of law-abiding citizens to put on a coat while carrying a firearm. Our Second Amendment rights are sacred and shall not be abridged by government intrusion.
Did you know thirty-four states allow open carry without a permit and twenty-one have passed constitutional carry? Wisconsin currently allows individuals to openly carry a firearm without a permit. Most Wisconsinites do not realize that once an individual carrying a firearm puts his or her coat, he or she is in violation of state law.
America's founding charter, the Constitution of the United States, makes clear that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Wisconsinites who want to exercise their constitutional right to carry a firearm should be able to do so without the additional burden of a concealed carry permit. Long-time NRA-licensed firearms instructor Jeff Johnston best elucidates the constitutional carry mindset when he wrote, "Learning how to properly use and carry a gun for personal safety creates or builds upon a mindset of respect for others, personal responsibility, self-awareness, and restraint."
After nine years and more than seven-hundred thousand concealed carry permits issued, responsible and law-abiding gun owners have made the case clear that Wisconsin is ready to move forward and expand state law to reflect the constitutional right to carry. Currently, twenty states, including our neighbor to the southwest, Iowa, have passed constitutional carry laws. In a study of eighteen peer-reviewed papers on the impact of concealed carry laws on violent crime, entitled, "Effects of concealed-carry laws on violent crime." The authors of the study found that limited evidence exists to prove shall-issue laws lead to an increase in violent crimes. In fact, researchers found the opposite: a direct correlation between crime rates and firearm freedom laws.
Additionally, Dr. John Lott, former president of the Crime Prevention Research Centerfound that violent crime rates decline when states pass shall-issue concealed carry laws. Dr. Lott's study was based off a statistical analysis of crime data for every county in the United States during the twenty-nine years from 1977 to 2005. Subsequent editions have incorporated more up-to-date data on violent crime statistics and depicted an analogous outcome: violent crime has declined in states with shall-issue laws.
According to Frank Miniter, editor-in-chief of America's First Freedom, A 2019 study by the Journal of the American College of Surgeons demonstrated "no statistically significant association between the liberalization of state-level firearm-carry legislation over the last thirty years and the rates of homicides or other violent crime."
Assembly Bill 619 allows for the concealed carry of a firearm without a license anywhere in the state where an individual is able to carry a firearm and simplifies state law, while also reducing the cost to citizens who choose to exercise their constitutional right to defend themselves and their families.
Wisconsin's current license structure limits those who follow the law and presents administrative and financial barriers to self-protection. With this bill, we make carrying more affordable and provide greater freedoms for those who obey the law, while simultaneously maintaining stiff penalties for criminals who commit crimes with firearms.
Additionally, under current law, "open" or exposed carry of a firearm is legal without a concealed carry license. However, current law prohibits individuals from carrying their firearm in a purse or under a winter coat unless they apply for an receive a concealed carry permit. By removing the requirement for a concealed carry permit, this bill aligns concealed and open carry laws. Furthermore, it affords those who choose to carry for self-defense a wider array of options for doing so. Law-abiding citizens will have the same right to carry discreetly they currently have to open carry.
Senate Bill 619 not only allows law-abiding citizens to carry firearms for self-defense, but also provides sportsmen and women the ability to carry a firearm, bow, or crossbow while engaging in activities such as operating on all-terrain vehicles or shining wildlife. This will help prevent "gotcha" tactics DNR wardens and local law enforcement sometimes use to cite hunters and landowners.
The right to keep and bear arms is guaranteed by our nation's founding charter and is further enumerated in Wisconsin's constitution to provide "the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose." It is with this constitutional provision in mind that Senator Felzkowski and I affirm the right of law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed weapon without a license. Ted Nugent said it best in his book, Ted, White, and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto, "Guns enable freedom, they always have."
Please, take a moment to answer this week's survey question regarding constitutional carry.
Earlier this month, the legislature released the Wisconsin Sporting Freedom package. I had the honor of authoring three bills in this package (one, relating to constitutional carry was addressed in the section above): mentored hunting, streamlining the state's turkey hunting requirements, and constitutional carry.
The Wisconsin Sporting Freedom package recognizes the impact Wisconsin's hunters and anglers have on the state. These bills promote policy reforms that will defend the hunt, allow greater opportunities for hunters and anglers, protect our rights, and make it easier to enjoy our God-given natural resources.
This series of bills will preserve and build upon Wisconsin's sporting heritage by:
Increasing the opportunity for hunting and fishing for Wisconsin residents
Reducing the regulatory burden on hunters and anglers
Providing oversight over Wisconsin's use of the money hunters and anglers contribute to resource management and hunting priorities
Supporting the economic impact activities like hunting and fishing have on Wisconsin's economy.
The following is an overview of the bills contained in this package:
Senate Bill 563, authored by Senator Patrick Testin and Representative Jeff Mursau, ensures Wisconsin hunters have an opportunity to hunt non-native bovids, some of which are already being raised on Wisconsin game farms. The bill requires farm-raised game bovids to be fenced in the same manner as farm-raised and white-tailed deer. Senate Bill 563 was approved 20-12 during the October 25, 2021, Senate floor period.
Senate Bill 609, authored by Senator Rob Stafsholt and Representative James Edming, would increase the number of pheasants being planted to two-hundred thousand and improve the identification of properties where the pheasants are planted, increasing access to hunting. The Senate approved this bill 20-12 during its October 25th floor period.
Senate Bill 610, which I authored with Senator Howard Marklein, modifies administrative rules relating to the hunting of wild turkeys to combine hunting zones and seasons to just two zones and two seasons (down from the complicated and restrictive seasons that makes it difficult for many hunters to participate), and to modify the youth hunting restrictions. The senate approved this proposal 20-12.
Senate Bill 611, which I co-authored with Senator Jerry Petrowski, would allow an individual under eighteen years of age to satisfy the in-person field testing requirement for the hunter's safety program by participating in a mentored hunt. Senate Bill 611 was approved 19-13 by the Wisconsin State Senate.
Senate Bill 612, authored by Senator Eric Wimberger and Representative Elijah Behnke, establish a quota of one-hundred thousand brook trout to be raised by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. This bill was passed 19-13 by the senate.
Senate Bill 613, authored by Senator Howard Marklein and Representative Alex Dallman, would require the DNR to prepare a report identifying ways to consolidate or eliminate hunting, fishing, and trapping approvals in an effort to reduce the number of licenses the agency is required to issue. This bill was approved by the senate 32-0.
Senate Bill 614, authored by Senator John Jagler and Representative Clint Moses, would increase transparency and accountability by requiring the DNR to develop a biennial work plan establishing priorities and goals for habitat work on lands managed by the DNR and measures progress on established priorities and goals. This bill was approved by the senate 29-3.
Senate Bill 615, authored by Senator Howard Marklein and Representative Gae Magnafici, would require the DNR to prepare a report that identifies public access opportunities on all lands managed by the DNR, acquired under the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, and open managed forest lands. This bill was approved by the senate 28-4.
Senate Bill 617, authored by Senator Howard Marklein and Representative Alex Dallman, requires the DNR to prepare a report identifying opportunities for partnership with the private aquaculture industry for increased stocking of desirable fish in lakes and streams. Senate Bill 617 was approved 32-0.
Senate Bill 619, which I authored with Senator Mary Felzkowski, guarantees Wisconsinites would be able to exercise their constitutional right to carry a firearm under the rights already afforded to them by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Senate Bill 620, authored by Senator Mary Felzkowski and Representative Paul Tittl, requires the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to authorize the hunting of sandhill cranes by individuals who have completed a sandhill crane hunter education course and who possess the appropriate approval by the DNR to help manage the state's growing sandhill crane population.
Participating in the Sporting Freedom Package press conference
Meeting with rock musician and hunting advocate, Ted Nugent, to discuss the Sporting Freedom Package.
Participating in a press conference announcing the Sporting Freedom Package.
Participating in a press conference with my fellow bill authors and Ted Nugent.
2021 First Responder of the Year
The "First Responder of the Year" award was established in 2019 to recognize the brave men and women who serve in our emergency services. State representatives from each legislative district seek nominations from their communities and select one individual who best exemplifies community service, selflessness, and dedication. Recipients receive a legislative citation recognizing their achievements and are honored in a public ceremony with other recipients from across the state on the Assembly floor.
My office received several nominations, all of them more than deserving of this honor. I am proud to announce that the 2021 60th District First Responder of the Year is Office Tony Becker of the Port Washington Police Department.
Office Becker, who helped remove a Port Washington resident from his home during a September house fire, was honored by the Wisconsin State Assembly, at a public ceremony on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. Thank you to Officer Becker and all of the other individuals in our local communities who dedicate their lives to keeping our communities safe.
Presenting the First Responder of the Year Award to Officer Tony Becker of the Port Washington Police Department.
New Legislative District Maps
Every ten years, the United States Census Bureau publishes updated information regarding population changes. This information is used by states to redraw local, legislative, and congressional districts so that each district has approximately the same number of people.
The Wisconsin legislature, according to our constitutional and statutory duty, has undertaken the task with requests for additional input from numerous public advocacy groups, including the People's Maps Commission, and Wisconsinites from across the state. The new district maps, introduced late last week, are the next step towards crafting final districts which meet every criterion required by state law, the United States Supreme Court, Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the constitutions of Wisconsin and the United States.
For the first time in history, citizens have been able to submit maps directly to the legislature for consideration. This new opportunity afforded Wisconsin residents the ability to draw their own statewide map, regional plan, or community point of interest (COIs) through the draw your district website.
The people of Wisconsin seek transparency, checks and balances, and cooperation in how their districts are drawn. The legislature took into account plans submitted from citizens all over the state and considered submissions from Governor Evers' People's Maps Commission, so we are confident these maps are fair for all Wisconsinites.
With the introduction of the maps as legislation, Wisconsinites will now have the opportunity to thoroughly review and provide comment on congressional districts, state senate districts, and state assembly districts as part of the public hearing process. This additional input will continue the open, transparent process as bills move through the legislature.
The legislature made it very clear through Senate Joint Resolution 63 that the criteria used to create maps are consistent with the traditional and legal frameworks that guide redistricting. The transparent efforts to engage the public and enshrine our intent through an official action of the legislature is designed to give everyone in Wisconsin confidence in the process and additional opportunity for unprecedented public input.
For further information on the history of redistricting in Wisconsin, the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau published an in-depth guide, explaining the law, principles, and process.
This week, the Wisconsin State Assembly passed more than fifty bills on a myriad of issues ranging from workforce housing to abortion. Four bills I authored were passed during this week's floor sessions.
Tuesday, October 26, 2021 floor session:
Assembly Bill 68: Real Estate Disclosure Reports
Assembly Bill 65, of which I am a cosponsor and has broad bipartisan support, makes four updates to Real Estate Disclosure Reports (Wis Stat. Ch. 709).
1. State statutes are inconsistent as it relates to the return of earnest money to the buyer in cases where the buyer has the right to rescind the offer.
2. Currently, when completing the condition report, some sellers simply"x" out the entire report section. This is problematic as it does not answer the questions posed to the seller or provide the buyer with complete information. This bill clarifies a seller must complete all fields in the condition report otherwise the report will be considered incomplete.
3. Currently sellers are confused about whether or not they have to disclose public right-of-ways on the disclosure report. Sections 3 and 6 of the bill clarify that the question applies only to private right-of-ways.
4. Federal law imposes a withholding tax on foreign sellers when they sell real property under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (FIPRTA). Individuals purchasing U.S. real estate from foreign sellers are required to withhold fifteen percent of the amount realized to ensure IRS taxation of the gains realized on the sale. If the buyer is the responsible party he or she may be held liable for the tax if the buyer fails to withhold the proper amount or is a "foreign person" as defined by FIPRTA. The bill requires the seller to disclose whether or not he or she is a foreign person for purposes of federal taxation. This is an important designation for federal tax purposes.
These changes to the real estate disclosure reports will provide clarity to both buyers and sellers and ensure greater transparency throughout the process.
Assembly Bill 115: Apprenticeship Tuition Tax Deduction
Assembly Bill 115, of which I am a cosponsor and has widespread bipartisan support, provides a tax deduction for tuition paid by individuals in the registered apprenticeship program. While in a registered apprenticeship program, an individual works for an employer while simultaneously taking courses in their field, usually run by the local technical college. This bill is targeted towards apprentices who pay their own tuition, not those benefitting from employer-sponsored tuition.
Assembly Bill 156: Workforce Housing Tax Credit
Wisconsin continues to struggle with a workforce housing shortage. Assembly Bill 156 seeks to address this shortage by encouraging the construction of new housing complexes through the establishment of a Wisconsin Workforce Housing Tax Credit.
The program allows individuals to claim a nonrefundable credit to offset their income and franchise taxes if they have an ownership interest in a housing development whose occupancy is at least twenty-five percent middle-income units; the tax credit is necessary for the feasibility of the development; the housing development has a restrictive covenant that requires it to remain a housing development and not to be used for the purpose for at least fifteen years; the tax credit is issued in accordance with a qualified allocation plan established by WHEDA.
Additionally, Assembly Bill 156 allows WHEDA to allocate fifty percent of the annual credit allocations to developmental projects located in municipalities with fewer than one-hundred-fifty residents and caps the credit amount WHEDA may issue in a given year at $42 million unless funds from previous years were not allocated.
Assembly Bill 208: Private Roads Bill
Mortgage lenders such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are beginning to deny loans to buyers on private roadways unless a maintenance agreement between neighbors exists. It is a long-standing court precedent that property owners are responsible for some maintenance of a private roadway.
Assembly Bill 208 allows buyers to obtain loans by outlining the general framework of a maintenance agreement without requiring any action by the owners of these properties.
Assembly Bill 281: Pharmacy Technician Registration
Pharmacy technicians are a vital part of the pharmacy industry, providing assistance to thousands of Wisconsinites on a daily basis. Pharmacy technicians retrieve and transport medication, prepackage and label drugs for dispensing, transfer prescriptions to patients, to name just a few.
Assembly Bill 281, of which I am a cosponsor and has widespread bipartisan support, requires the registration of pharmacy technicians. Under current law, pharmacy technicians are not required to register with any governing body, including the pharmacy examining board.
In the area of licensing it is often best to start with the least restrictive license. This bill exemplifies that mindset by utilizing a registration system designed to identify those acting in these capacities and provide pharmacists, businesses, and the public with peace of mind.
The bill does not change the scope of practice or the entry requirements related to pharmacy technicians. Rather, it requires these individuals register with the pharmacy examining board.
Assembly Bill 290: Reimbursement of Pharmacists under the Medical Assistance Program
Assembly Bill 290, which has bipartisan support, requires the Department of Health Services to provide reimbursement under the Medical Assistance Program for services typically reimbursable under the program and provided by a pharmacist within his or her scope of practice.
Additionally, Assembly Bill 290 will empower clinical pharmacists to serve as patient-care providers, allowing Wisconsinites to experience increased access to care, improved health outcomes, and lower overall costs.
Assembly Bill 297: Emergency Zones
Assembly Bill 297, which has widespread bipartisan support, seeks to protect first responders from unnecessary and preventable danger when responding to a roadside incident.
The bill allows law enforcement officers, firefighters, or emergency medical personnel to post temporarily reduced speed limits in response to an emergency.
Assembly Bill 297 creates an emergency roadside response area, akin to a construction work zone. The bill defines "emergency or roadside response area" as the section of roadway within five hundred feet of emergency vehicles.
Under the bill, fines would double for speeding, reckless driving, and other traffic citations in an emergency roadside response area just as they do for specified traffic violations in a construction work zone. Also, if an operator commits one or more of the covered violations resulting in bodily harm the operator may be fined not more than $100,000 or imprisoned not more than nine months or both.
Under the bill, drivers may not use a handheld cell phone while driving in an emergency response or roadside area and may be subject to a forfeiture of not less than $20 or more than $40 for a first offense, and not less than $50 or more than $100 for a second offense.
Furthermore, if a driver causes bodily harm to workers engaged in highway maintenance, construction, utility work, emergency response, or roadside response, they may be fined up to $10,000 or jailed for nine months, or both. Additionally, a court may also order one hundred to two hundred hours of community service and mandatory traffic school.
Assembly Bill 366: 40' Rule:
Assembly Bill 366, which has widespread bipartisan support, makes the snowmobile trail maintenance funding program more user-friendly and easier to administer.
Physical obstructions sometimes prohibit snowmobile trails that are located adjacent to a roadway from maintaining the current law forty-foot buffer. The will allow snowmobile trails that have two-way travel at night and are located within forty feet of a roadway to receive trail maintenance funding from the snowmobile program's segregated account. Eliminating the forty-foot buffer requirement will bring Wisconsin law in line with those of neighboring states.
Additionally, the bill makes minor changes to Wis Stat. 350. These changes individuals operating a snowmobile during the hours of darkness to dim their headlamp when an oncoming snowmobile, ATV/UTV, or motor vehicle is within five hundred feet. It also modernizes law with regard to certain requirements relating to snowmobile noise levels.
Assembly Bill 387: County Shoreland Zoning Ordinances:
Under Assembly Bill 387, a fence along a public highway meeting the following criteria would be added to the list of exempt structures allowed within a "shoreland setback area" under Wisconsin's shoreland zoning statutes:
A fence no taller than fifteen feet.
Located at least two feet landward of the ordinary high-water mark, entirely outside of the highway right-of-way, no less than ten feet from the edge of a roadway, and no more than forty feet from the edge of a roadway or highway right-of-way, whichever is greater.
The fence is generally perpendicular to the shoreline.
Every county in Wisconsin is required to have a shoreland zoning ordinance, which includes a shoreland setback area of seventy-five feet, and provides that a county ordinance may not prohibit the construction of certain structures within the setback area. Those structures include things such as boathouses, utility lines, and poles, satellite dishes, walkways that provide pedestrian access to a waterway, gazebos, and patios, as long as these structures meet certain requirements. Currently, there is no exemption for a fence within a setback area near a public highway.
Assembly Bill 399: Interest on claims of excessive assessment
Assembly Bill 399, which I co-authored with Senator Jerry Petrowski and has bipartisan support, cleans up two inconsistencies in statutes dealing with interest paid on property tax refunds. The inconsistencies in current law have negative fiscal impacts on taxpayers.
Under current law, the method for calculating interest paid on refunds differs significantly depending on which statute a property taxpayer uses to challenge whether or how much property taxes he or she owes.
Under Wis. Stat. 74.35, "Recovery of Unlawful Taxes," which is used, for example, to claim the property was exempt from taxation, the community must, when refunding taxes, including interest at the rate of .8 percent per month from the date on which the individual filed the claim. This equals a 9.6 percent interest rate.
Conversely, property owners seeking to claim an overpayment caused by an alleged over-assessment of the property must proceed under Wis. Stat. 74.37, relating to obtaining 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 discount rate determined by the last auction of six-month U.S. Treasury bills.
In 2007, the legislature passed Act 86, which made several changes to the process for challenging over-assessments of a property, including modernizing the interest rate amount under Wis. Stat 74.37. On the contrary, the interest rate outlined in Wis. Stat 74.35 has not changed or been modernized since 1987. Assembly Bill 399 makes the interest rate calculation under both statutes analogous, tying them to six-month U.S. Treasury bills.
Under current law, all local taxing jurisdictions contribute proportionately to the cost of the tax refund, but only the village, city, or town pays interest on the refund. Assembly Bill 399 establishes equity by requiring all taxing entities to contribute to the cost of interest payments on property tax refunds.
Assembly Bill 401: Exemptions from Raffle License Requirements
Under current law, certain local nonprofit, charitable, religious, or veteran's organizations may conduct a raffle after receiving a raffle license from the Department of Administration.
Assembly Bill 401, of which I am a cosponsor, allows the aforementioned organizations to conduct a fifty-fifty raffle without a license. Under this bill, a fifty-fifty raffle is a raffle in which a cash prize is awarded that is equal to one-half of the proceeds from ticket sales. Under the bill, an eligible organization does not need to obtain a license from DOA if the cash prize is $500 or less, if the ticket sales are limited to the organization's own membership, and if the organization complies with all other requirements for the conduct of raffles, including the requirements for raffles conducted under a Class B raffle license.
Assembly Bill 482: Grants to schools to provide critical incident mapping data to law enforcement agencies.
Assembly Bill 482 creates a critical incident mapping program through DOJ, which utilizes $2 million appropriated by the Joint Committee on Finance. The grant program assists school districts and private schools with site-specific critical incident mapping data to enhance security and increase situational awareness for first responders.
Assembly Bill 483: Municipal Raze Orders
Assembly Bill 483, which has bipartisan support, keeps insurance premiums low in urban and rural communities where there may be a large discrepancy between assessed value, and insured value.
Under current law, municipalities may issue a raze order on a home when it is unsafe for human habitation. This sometimes occurs after a natural disaster, fire, flood, or other types of events. Current law allows a raze order if the cost of repair exceeds fifty percent of the assessed value of the home. This can create issues if the assessed value is substantially different from the insured value. A municipality can issue a raze order even if an insurance company believes repairs are a more sensible option.
Additionally, Assembly Bill 483 makes multiple changes to the municipal raze order process, mainly shifting the decision to raze a building from fifty percent of assessed value to seventy percent of insured value.
Assembly Bill 603: Housing Development Bill
Assembly Bill 603 creates a program through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation which would require areas with prequalification to have a clean title, proper zoning, adequate utilities, and other infrastructure, has no wetlands, and limits all development-related fees to no more than $5,000 a unit. Additionally, the bill requires developers to obtain all necessary approvals within sixty days after complete applications and building permits are submitted.
Assembly Bill 604: Prohibiting Homeless Camps
Assembly Bill 604 takes several steps towards providing expanded services for homeless populations as prohibiting homeless encampments in public places, such as parks and underpasses.
First, the bill makes changes to better reward those providing homelessness services should they demonstrate a successful track record. Funds would be distributed in this pay-for-performance model in a way that rewards organizations who demonstrate:
A commitment to increasing the number of homeless individuals or families that secure permanent housing
Willingness to increase the number of homeless individuals securing employment opportunities
Commitment to reducing the number of instances in which homeless individuals or families return to homelessness.
Next, the bill would prohibit homeless individuals from camping in public places---similar to situations now widely visible in Madison city parks and recently in Milwaukee transportation corridors. With services, shelters, and facilities designed to better meet the unique needs of the population, such camping would only be allowed in the event the state DOA or a municipality designated an area as a "structured camping facility." Such structured sites would be required to provide basic services such as public safety, adequate sanitary facilities, and provide services for addiction and drug abuse.
As amended, the bill is strengthened by allowing for more local control in site selection--requiring municipal approval for the state to designate a structure site.
Finally, the bill directs Governor Evers to direct $300,000 in each fiscal year of the 2021-2023 biennium for housing navigator grants to better match needs between homeless populations and local landlords.
Assembly Bill 605: ARPA Funds for workforce housing:
Requires communities with populations of fifty thousand or more residents to use a portion of federal ARPA dollars on workforce housing projects as permitted by federal law.
Establishes a low-interest loan program for remodeling and rehabilitation of older workforce housing.
Allows for the redevelopment of idle sites currently used for a shopping center or other commercial property of at least ten thousand feet to potential workforce housing. It does not make any changes to local building codes.
Codifies the definition of workforce housing in state statutes.
And, states that a lien may be placed on a property benefitting from workforce housing improvements at the time the loan is made and may be paid at the time of sale if the loan is not repaid.
Assembly Bill 606: Building Materials Sales Tax Exemption:
Assembly Bill 606 creates an innovative sales tax exemption program to expand the availability of affordable housing stock. This sales tax exemption will be applicable to building materials and would be overseen by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Association.
Assembly Bill 607: Workforce Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program:
Assembly Bill 607 establishes a low-interest or no-interest loan program for the rehabilitation of certain residential properties. Covered uses include improvements made with regards to safety, sanitary condition, structural repairs, the removal of lead paint, updating of certain equipment, and replacement of insulation or siding.
Assembly Bill 608: The Workforce Housing Regulatory Reform Act:
Updates and expedites outmoded regulations relating to zoning and the permit approval processes.
Requires municipalities with sewer and water to zone at least one district for multi-family housing with a minimum density of sixteen acres. It is permitted use in all areas zoned commercial unless it is located immediately adjacent to an industrial area or would have adverse health or safety impacts on neighbors.
Allow individuals aggrieved by the failure of a municipality to approve an application for a workforce housing project including at least four units to appeal the decision before the circuit court of the county in which the project was to be completed.
Eliminates bureaucratic red tape by requiring municipalities assign street addresses at the time of plat approval.
Assembly Bill 610: The Equitable Assessment of Workforce Housing Act of 2021:
Assembly Bill 610, which I co-authored with Senator Dan Feyen, does the following:
Updates state appraisal practices to ensure fair and equal property tax assessments.
Clarifies that when an inconsistency or ambiguity exists between the Wisconsin Property Tax Assessment Manual and state statutes, statutes take precedent.
Codifies in state statutes the definition of market rent outlined in the Wisconsin Property Tax Assessment Manual.
Requires assessors to base fair-market value off the sale price of properties in the same market segment. It does not use list or asking price.
And, the bill eliminates anticipated benefits as a condition used by assessors to determine fair market value.
October 27, 2021 floor period
Assembly Bill 539: Organ Transplant Bill:
Current law prohibits individuals with disabilities from being denied an organ transplant. Similar to other areas of the law, vague language allows for these instances to still occur. For example, medical professionals can deny an organ transplant for an individual with a disability if they believe the individual cannot comply with postoperative care. These misconceptions may lead to contradictions--which is an indication that a particular candidate for an organ transplant is unsuitable for the procedure.
Assembly Bill 539 clarifies that an individual's ability to comply with postoperative care cannot be considered a reason to deny an organ transplant. It also puts in place a procedure with expedited priority review for these types of situations, considering the timeliness and sense of urgency can be a matter of life and death for these patients.
Assembly Bill 593: A Woman's Right to Know Act:
A Woman's Right to Know Act increases the information already required to be provided to a woman prior to receiving an abortion and increases the information reported to the Department of Health Services after an induced abortion takes place.
Specifically, Assembly Bill 593 requires a woman who is considering taking an abortion-inducing pill to be notified by her physician that the ingestion of the first drug in the regimen may not result in an abortion. An abortion-inducing drug known as "the abortion pill" consists of two pills, mifepristone, and misoprostol, typically taken a few days apart. Mifepristone is taken first and acts as a hormone blocker, which does not always terminate the pregnancy on its own. The second pill misoprostol causes induced miscarriage and results in termination.
Specifically, the bill adds the following information to the list of things abortion providers are required to report: number of previous abortions (if any); whether the abortion was paid for by private health insurance, public assistance, or self-pay; what types of chemically induced abortions or surgical abortions were performed; and the reason for the abortion. Finally, while the bill maintains the anonymity of patients and abortion providers, it no longer protects the anonymity of the hospital, clinic, or facility in which the abortion is performed.
Assembly Bill 594: Congenital Condition Education:
Assembly Bill 594 requires physicians who administer a prenatal or postnatal test for a congenital condition and receive a positive test result to ensure the parent or expectant parent of the child with the positive test result receives certain educational resources on the congenital condition made available by the Department of Health Services.
The educational resources may be provided electronically, or, if the parent or expectant parent prefers, physically. The educational resources that DHS must make available on its website evidence-based information about the congenital condition that has been reviewed by medical experts and national organizations specializing in the congenital condition specified in the bill and supportive information relevant to the congenital condition that includes contact information as specified in the bill.
Assembly Bill 595: Shield the Vulnerable Act:
Assembly Bill 595 prohibits individuals from performing or attempting to perform or induce an abortion if the individual knows the woman is seeking an abortion solely because of the race, color, national origin, ancestry, or sex of the unborn child or because the unborn child has been diagnosed with or has a potential diagnosis of Down syndrome or another congenital disability.
The bill claims for damages to be brought by a woman on whom an abortion is performed, induced, or attempted; the father of the aborted unborn child or unborn child that is attempted to be aborted, unless the pregnancy is the result of a sexual assault or incest; and, if the woman is a minor at the time or dies as a result of the abortion or attempted abortion, a parent or guardian of the woman on whom an abortion was performed, induced, or attempted.
Assembly Bill 6: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors:
In response to a mounting influx of abortion laws being adopted across the country, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors bill provides clear guidance to healthcare professionals in the event of a failed abortion procedure.
Assembly Bill 6 would require any provider present at the time of a botched abortion to exercise the same level of professional care to the surviving child as they would to any delivered child. Any person violating this requirement would be subject to felony charges and charged with a fine of no more than $10,000.
The bill makes intentionally killing a child born that has survived a failed abortion a felony--putting it on the same level as first-degree intentional homicide.
Finally, the bill requires healthcare providers to report violations of this new requirement to the appropriate local law enforcement.
Assembly Bill 100: Guardian Training Requirements:
When an individual is deemed by the court system to care for themselves any longer, often due to mental illness or traumatic injury, they can be placed in guardianship. The guardian can then legally be in control of all health and other decisions for the person they have guardianship over; although various forms of partial guardianship may limit these parameters. The guardianship process can be confusing and guardians often do not feel they fully understand their options and duties; the Guardianship Support Center fielded more than eighteen hundred requests for help last year.
Assembly Bill 100, which has broad bipartisan support, addresses the aforementioned issues by lining Wisconsin with twenty-one other states by requiring the Department of Health Services to develop a free training resource. The training will take between five to twenty minutes per topic.
Assembly Bill 493: Decertification of Medical Assistance Funding:
Assembly Bill 493, of which I am a cosponsor, prohibits the Department of Health Services from certifying providers under the Medical Assistance program who provide abortion services or is affiliated with individuals who provide abortion services.
The bill does not apply to hospitals terminating pregnancies when:
The termination is directly and medically necessary to save the life of the woman.
The pregnancy is the result of sexual assault or incest, which has been reported to law enforcement.
The termination is, due to a medical condition existing prior to the abortion, directly and medically necessary to prevent grave, long-lasting physical health damage to the woman.
Blue Books
My office still has copies of the 2021-2022 State of Wisconsin Blue Book available. If you are interested in obtaining your copy of this popular Wisconsin political and historical almanac, please click the following link. My staff and I will make it a priority to ensure your copy arrives in a timely fashion.
Events
The following events will be held this week in the 60th Assembly District. If you have any upcoming events you would like included in my 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 |
