Hoping for More Bipartisan Collaboration on COVID-19

COVID-19 has made 2020 an incredibly challenging year. This pandemic has forced all of us to face events and decisions that we never imagined having to deal with. I have heard from folks around the district who would like to see more collaboration from the Legislature and Governor Evers to combat this virus. I believe that we did our best work on COVID-19 this spring when both sides came together and worked on a bipartisan COVID-19 bill, now 2019 Act 185. This package contained 55 provisions to help Wisconsinites and gave the governor great latitude on how to spend the federal relief money our state received. You can click here to read more about this legislation in one of my e-updates from this spring. Unfortunately, since that time, Governor Evers and his administration have decided to try to handle things unilaterally through executive order and not worked collaboratively with the Legislature or really sought input from the public.

As you may be aware, earlier this week, Governor Evers released his proposals for the next round of COVID-19 response and Speaker Vos announced several ideas at a press conference that Assembly Republicans would like to see included. One of the things I have heard from folks in the 87th Assembly District is the need to improve testing and contact tracing, which are a couple of the ideas that the speaker put forward. Other ideas my Assembly Republican colleagues and I would like to see as part of the next COVID-19 response include providing more assistance to the health care industry, ensuring the efficient distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, requiring unemployment insurance reform, and helping small businesses. In the days ahead I will be reviewing the governor's proposals as well as ideas brought forward by my legislative colleagues. Also, I will continue to listen to ideas from the people of the 87th District and share this feedback with my legislative colleagues. It is my hope that some common ground can be found in the coming weeks and that we can come up with a good bipartisan proposal that both Governor Evers and the Legislature can support.

With that said, as we move through the legislative process, I encourage everyone to continue to follow the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and help keep our friends and neighbors safe.

Update on Election Investigation

In last week's e-update, I shared that the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections will be conducting an investigation into how the November 3rd election was administered here in Wisconsin. Let me be clear, I am not saying I know for sure that any fraud occurred. However, I believe it is important that we are confident in our election procedures and that our state's results are accurate, especially with the incredibly close margin in the presidential race in our state. It is my hope that when this investigation has concluded that any irregularities are identified and that everyone can have more confidence in our elections going forward.

As I shared last week if you have any specific and actionable information you'd like to share with the committee, please send it to the Chairman of the Campaigns and Elections Committee, Rep. Ron Tusler. A new email address has been set up specifically for this matter, election.complaints@legis.wi.gov. The committee asks that a complaint, concern, or allegation include the following:

• Specific and first-hand information regarding potential fraud/misconduct. Hearsay or news reports of non-specific events will not be useful.
• Detail on the incident/practice being reported (Who, what, when, where)
• Any supporting materials that would be helpful in vetting the allegation. This could include photos or names of witnesses.
• Contact information so the person can be reached for clarification or additional information. If people choose to remain anonymous, that is their right, but it may limit the value of their information if it is incomplete.

Public Comment Sought for Highway 8 Project

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is seeking public comment on a proposed construction project for a portion of US Highway 8 in Rusk County which is anticipated to occur in 2024. The proposed 11-mile project spans from River Avenue in Ladysmith to Prentice Street in Glen Flora. Click here for more information on this proposed project and how to provide your comments to WisDOT.

Good Luck Hunters!

Good luck to all the hunters in the 87th District tomorrow as the 2020 Gun Deer Hunt Season kicks off! We live in one of the best areas of the state for hunting, and it will be a nice escape from the pandemic for many. On Monday, WisconsinEye held an interview with Eric Lobner, Wildlife Management Bureau Director for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), to discuss the health of the state's deer herd and the 2020 season. You can click here to watch the interview.

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.