March 17, 2017

Expanding Treatment Options

Thank you for taking the time to read my update from the Capitol.  Legislative business has really picked up in Madison over the past couple of weeks.  The Assembly was on the floor twice last week and considered many proposals that will have an impact on the people of Wisconsin.  As a part of these floor sessions, two proposals were approved that expand treatment options for patients in Wisconsin.

The first proposal was Assembly Bill (AB) 69, better known as the “Right to Try” bill.  If enacted into law, this legislation would give terminally ill patients, who have exhausted all other available treatment options, access to treatments that have passed basic safety testing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but have not completely made it through the FDA's long approval process.  I am a proud co-sponsor of AB 69 because I believe that someone who is terminally ill should have the right to try something that could improve their quality of life and give them more time with their loved ones.  AB 69 passed the Assembly with wide bipartisan support and now goes to the State Senate for further consideration.

The second proposal, Senate Bill (SB) 10, would allow patients with certain medical conditions to possess CBD oil with approval from a doctor. This non-hallucinogenic oil derived from marijuana has been shown to help people who suffer from seizure disorders.  I was pleased to join with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to move this legislation forward and I look forward to Governor Walker signing it into law.  SB 10 passed both houses of the legislature with a unanimous 98-0 vote and now goes to Governor Walker for his consideration.

Additional Budget Listening Sessions Announced

I am pleased to announce that I will be holding additional budget listening sessions on Thursday March 23rd.  I encourage you to come and share your thoughts on the governor's 2017-19 State Budget proposal.  The feedback I receive will allow me to better advocate for the people of the 87th District through out the state budget process.  I look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Ag Day at the Capitol

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit with a group of constituents who were in the Capitol representing the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.  It was great to hear from them about the issues important to our state's agriculture industry.  Thank you for stopping by!

Stay Up to Date

One of the best ways to stay up to date with what is going on in Madison is to sign up for the legislature's notification tracking service.  This service allows you to follow legislative activity in Madison.  Once you create a free account you can sign up to receive notifications about specific bills or committees as well as legislative activity pertaining to a subject area (i.e. agriculture, veterans).  You can sign up for this service at notify.legis.wisconsin.gov.

You can also follow me on Facebook to see what I have been doing in Madison and around the 87th Assembly District.