The May 11 Assembly floor session began with the annual State of the Tribes address, presented this year by President John D. Johnson, Sr., of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Following the address, the Assembly voted on a wide range of bills, ranging from summer camps to children and family law to playing the national anthem before sporting events.
For example, the Assembly passed, with my support, a bipartisan package of bills to combat elder abuse by increasing penalties for certain crimes against people over 60 (Senate Bill 17) and by making it easier to report suspected cases of financial exploitation (Assembly Bills 45 and 46). As Wisconsin's population continues to age, it's important to keep our senior citizens safe.
I also voted for Assembly Bill 173, which reins in the influence of private, third-party money on elections administration. Elections are the cornerstone of our republic, but there were reports in 2020 of private organizations giving grants to local governments to run elections and in some cases essentially commandeering the elections process, which is unacceptable.
The Assembly also approved Assembly Joint Resolution 9, a proposal I cosponsored that asks Congress to call a convention of states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution for the purposes of considering constitutional amendments to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the federal government's power, and impose term limits on federal officials, including U.S. representatives and senators. Assuming the Wisconsin Senate concurs, AJR 9 will be added to the growing list of state requests for such a convention.
The Finance Committee will continue to work its way through the budget for the next several weeks. As a coequal branch of government, the Legislature must do its due diligence to ensure the budget reflects Wisconsin priorities and values - not to mention keeping within our means - and the Finance Committee will likely make many changes along the way.
In related news, the Fiscal Bureau recently published a memo explaining the amount of federal stimulus funds the State of Wisconsin will receive under the American Rescue Plan Act. Originally projected at $3.2 billion, the number has been revised to $2.5 billion due to new data estimates on the federal end. Governor Evers continues to play his cards close to his vest when it comes to sharing his plans for spending these stimulus dollars, but my legislative colleagues and I will continue to do what we can to make the process transparent and accountable.
Budget Survey
Many of you may have recently received a copy of my 2021 budget survey in the mail. While by no means scientific, the survey helps give me a sense of what residents of the 75th Assembly District feel about a number of important issues. If you would like to save the price of postage, you may complete the survey online at my legislative website.
Beyond the survey, feel free as always to call or e-mail my office to share your comments about the budget or any other state issue.
Legislative Website
If you are interested in learning more about bills that I have authored, co-sponsored, or voted on, please click here. This link will take you directly to my Wisconsin State Legislative page. Also, if you are interested in viewing my office website, click here.
If you have any comments regarding the subject of this E-Update, please feel free to contact me.
Rep. Dave Armstrong State Capitol, Room 409 North PO Box 8952 Madison, WI 53708 Toll-Free (888) 534-0075 or (608) 266-2519 Rep.Armstrong@legis.wi.gov | |
