Merry
Christmas!
A Look at 2015 Legislative Highlights
 During
this Christmas season, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the top
legislative highlights of this past year:
Assembly Republicans have been committed to making
government more efficient for the taxpayers of our great
state. A main focus of the year was to approve the 2015-2017 state budget.
The final budget invested more money in
our public schools, froze tuition for in-state college students, preserved
long-term care programs and held the line on property taxes.
We kept costs down for seniors by making sure that SeniorCare
continues to be an option for buying prescriptions. We passed laws to
eliminate fraud, waste and abuse in public benefit programs to ensure that
taxpayer-funded benefits are used to help individuals who are most in need.
The Assembly also passed the Civil Service Reform Bill which brings Wisconsin’s
civil service laws in line with best practices from the private sector. This
proposal allows us to keep pace with a changing workforce by updating the
state’s hiring process in
preparation for a high number of state employee retirements expected in the
near future.
Our state’s economy
is steadily improving.
The unemployment rate is at 4.2 percent, a 14-year low!
Over 43 thousand private-sector jobs were created in Wisconsin this past
year. Just in October, more than 16,000 private-sector jobs were created in
our state. Property taxes are
on the decline. A
recent
study identified Wisconsin’s tax burden as the lowest in 70 years.
There’s much to be grateful for here in Wisconsin as we look back on 2015
and look ahead to 2016. I appreciate my constituents of the 5th Assembly
District who have taken time during the year to attend my office
hours or contacted me to share your thoughts. It is an honor to serve you in
the State Assembly, and I look forward to continuing to represent you in the
coming year.
On behalf of my staff here in the Capitol,
and my family, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Click
here to watch my
end-of-the-year video update.
In the 5th
District
On
Wednesday this week, I visited two businesses in the 5th District: Milk
Source and Team Industries.
Milk
Source is a multi-generational Wisconsin family farm that has roots all
the way back to 1965 when a small 30-cow dairy farm was started in
Freedom. Today, Milk Source operates quality dairies in the states of
Wisconsin and Michigan, producing milk that is used to make cheese,
butter and other dairy products. They strive to be leaders in modern sustainable
agriculture, seeking to find safe, reliable and expandable technologies
that tie economic success with environmental stewardship.
TEAM
Industries is a manufacturing plant specializing in pipe fabrication.
The pipes, which can range considerably in size, are used for oil
refineries and power and fertilizer plants. They've added over 135 new jobs
since the beginning of the year thanks
to a multi-phase expansion. They also
recently completed a 30,000-square-foot addition to their loading
facility. The company has facilities in Oconto Falls and Port Arthur,
Texas.
I also
stopped by the Kaukauna Area School District's school board meeting
Monday night to present the boys Volleyball team a legislative citation
in honor of their big win at WIAA state finals at Wisconsin Lutheran
College. Congratulations!
Unemployment Rate Continues to Drop
Wisconsin's
unemployment rate is down to 4.2 percent! Revised numbers from the Dept. of
Workforce Development show that Wisconsin had the best October for job
growth in 23 years, and a labor force participation rate over 5 percent
higher than the national rate in November. Wisconsin is working again!
Read the DWD
report
here.
Sincerely,
State Representative Jim Steineke
Wisconsin's 5th Assembly
District |
