Providing Tax Relief for Our Disabled Veterans

Earlier this year, I shared information with you about Assembly Bill (AB) 88 which would increase the eligibility for the Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouses Tax Credit to more disabled veterans.  Currently, in order to qualify for this tax credit, a veteran must have a service-connected disability rating of 100%.  AB 88 lowers the threshold to claim the credit to 70%.  Under this bill, the maximum credit that an eligible person could claim is multiplied by the percentage of that person's service-connected disability rating.  For example, if an eligible veteran has a service-connected disability rating of 70%, they may claim a 70% property tax credit.

I am pleased to share that AB 88 continues to work its way through the legislative process.  Yesterday, I testified before the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means in favor of AB 88 with my Senate co-author, Senator André Jacque.  After we testified, the committee heard from representatives from a number of different veterans organizations about the positive impact this change would have on disabled veterans across the state.  Due to their injuries, many disabled veterans live on a fixed income and struggle to pay their property taxes.  Because of the way the tax credit is structured now, a veteran who has a service-connected disability rating of 80% or even 90% does not qualify for the tax credit even though they still face significant barriers to paying their property taxes.  By expanding the eligibility for this tax credit, we are providing needed tax relief that will allow more of our disabled veterans to stay in their homes.

An Update on the Budget

As we continue to work through the month of May, the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) continues their work on crafting a state budget proposal to send to the legislature for consideration.  There are a few important updates from this week's action by the JFC I would like to update you on.

Raises for Correctional Officers

Earlier this month, I shared with you Governor Evers' and the Department of Corrections' (DOC) plan to temporarily increase the wages of corrections officers at six of the more than 30 DOC facilities across the state. With Wisconsin's corrections officers earning about $2 per hour less than other Midwestern states, I certainly agree that something needs to change. However, we should not pick and choose the officers that receive a raise, as the governor's and DOC's plan would do.

As my colleagues and I shared in our letter to DOC Secretary Carr and Governor Evers we wanted to address this issue as a part of the state budget process.  I am pleased to share that earlier this week the JFC approved a plan to raise the starting wage for correctional officers at all state corrections facilities to $19 per hour by January 2021 with proportionate raises in the pay grid for veteran officers.  While I do not believe this is the silver bullet to fix the correctional officer shortage in our state, I do believe that it is a strong step in the right direction.

Tourism

Tourism is certainly an important industry in the 87th District and the rest of the Northwoods. Last year, tourism in Wisconsin had a $21.6 billion impact statewide. As the Department of Tourism noted, they are seeing a 7:1 return on investment. I was pleased to see the JFC increase the state's investments in the tourism industry by 40% earlier this week.

Continuing to Invest in K-12 Education

Yesterday, the JFC adopted a plan that continues to increase investment in K-12 education.  Last session, I was proud to support a state budget that increased state aid to school districts by over $600 million.  Under the plan approved by the JFC, the state's investment in our public schools will increase by an additional $500 million in the upcoming two-year budget resulting in the most K-12 spending in state history.  Schools will see increased funding of $200 per student in the first year of the budget and $204 per student in the second year.  Also, special education funding was increased by $96 million over the two-year budget.  This increased investment will get state funding of special education to 30%, which is what Governor Evers asked for as state superintendent prior to running for governor. 

In addition, under the plan adopted by the JFC, a new categorical aid program is created to ensure that, between per student categorical aid and equalization aid, every school district receives at least $1,000 in state aid per student. Also, due to teacher shortages in rural school districts, we are increasing the funding for the rural school teacher talent pilot program by $2 million to connect future teachers with rural schools.

While the funding increase is not as much as some may have hoped for I believe this education spending plan strikes the right balance by investing a significant amount of new resources in our public schools while at the same time respecting the taxpayers' ability to pay.

Continuing to Seek Your Budget Feedback

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time over the past few months to contact my office to share your thoughts on the 2019-21 State Budget.  All the input I have received has allowed me to better advocate for the priorities of the 87th Assembly District as the budget process unfolds.

Another way for you to provide your feedback to me is by completing my spring survey.  Over the past few weeks, surveys have been making their way to mailboxes around the district.  Unfortunately, due to mailing costs, I was unable to send a survey to every household in the district.  If you did not receive one or would prefer to save a stamp, you can fill out my survey online by clicking here or on the picture below.  To everyone who has already responded, thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Click on the picture above to complete my spring survey.

Catching Up With a Former 87th District Representative 

This week I had the opportunity to catch up with one of my predecessors, former State Representative Marty Reynolds who served the 87th Assembly District from 1991-2003.  He has also served as the mayor of Ladysmith and currently serves as a member of the Ladysmith City Council.  I appreciate the opportunity to talk with him about some issues important to the people of Ladysmith. 

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.