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FLOOR SESSION THIS WEEK
This week, we passed several bills off of the Assembly
Floor and sent them to the Senate for approval. Here
is a brief synopsis of some of the bills, please let me know
if you would like more information on any of these
proposals.
AJR 4- This Assembly Joint Resolution honors the
services of all military working dogs.
AJR 18- This Assembly Joint Resolution declares
March 2015 as American Red Cross Month.
AB 27- This bill is authored by Rep. Paul Tittl and
increases the maximum allowable speed limit on
expressways and freeways to 70 mph.
There are currently 38 states that allow for a speed
limit of 70 mph or higher. When Illinois raised its
speed limit in 2013, Wisconsin became the only state
in the Midwest with a maximum speed limit of 65 MPH.
This bill gives WisDOT traffic safety professionals
the flexibility to raise the limit to 70 mph.
AB 37- This bill is authored by Rep. Warren Petryk. Current law requires
that all licensed restaurants have an individual who
holds a food protection certificate issued by the
Department of Health Services at a cost of $10 for a
5 year period. AB 37 would extend this requirement
to schools that participate in the National School
Lunch Program. Training for this certificate is
offered by four vendors and also by the Department
of Public Instruction for roughly $75 for 10 hours
of training. With nearly 125 million meals served in Wisconsin schools
each year, AB 37 will help to ensure that the risk
of foodborne illnesses is low and that the nutrition
staff has the adequate training to practice food
safety.
AB 38- This bill is authored by Rep. Dean Knudson. Currently, a class B liquor license is needed to
sell beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages, and
the law requires that the business having a class B
license be engaged primarily in alcohol sales. However, there are several exceptions, including
hotels, restaurants, bowling alleys, and other
similar businesses. This bill extends this exemption
to painting studios, whose primary business is art
lessons. These businesses also provide the
opportunity to purchase alcohol during the visit. While these businesses are already operating with
local liquor licenses, they are in a gray area under
state law. AB 38 fixes that problem. AB
38 also adds painting studios to the list of
businesses allowed to have people under age 21 on
the premises while selling alcohol.
AB 56- This bill is authored by Rep. John Jagler.
According to data provided by the UW Board of
Regents, one in five students enrolling within the
UW System requires remedial classes in math or
English in order to be fully prepared for the rigors
of college. Information detailing what high schools
these college freshmen attended is not currently
required to be reported to the legislature.
AB 56 directs the UW Board of Regents to annually submit to the
legislature a report identifying the public and
charter high schools attended by students that were
required to take remedial math and English courses
in the preceding twelve months. In order to protect
student privacy, the Board of Regents is required to
omit from their report schools that have sent fewer
than seven students into the UW System. This bill is intended to provide data that
can be used to help our high schools rather than
punish them.
AB 82- This bill is authored by Rep. Mark Born. This clean-up bill fixes several small items relating
to registers of deeds functions, as identified by
the Wisconsin Register of Deeds Association. AB 82
helps registers of deeds by clarifying conflicting
statutes, and updating their guidelines to reflect
advances in technology and procedural changes in
other areas of government. This
bill helps registers of deeds keep pace with
improvements in technology. It is important to update registers of deeds
statutes from time to time so they can continue to
serve their constituencies as accurately and
efficiently as possible.
PROPERTY TAX TRENDS I wanted to
share this great information with you on current
property tax trends. Property taxes will be at their lowest level in several
decades as a percentage of personal income.
If you would
like any more information about property tax trends,
please let me know!
MACKENZIE CENTER MAPLE FEST
People can see demonstrations of how to tap a maple tree
for sap and how to make syrup, and take guided tours of
the sugar bush.
The festival also includes interpretative talks about
how Native Americans and pioneers made maple sugar and
syrup compared to the current methods used in at the
MacKenzie sugar bush. This year representatives from the
Ho-Chunk Nation will attend to share their maple syrup
traditions.
The festival runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the MacKenzie
Center near Poynette. Maple Syrup Festival is hosted by
the Friends of MacKenzie and the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources.
"This is a great way to celebrate the beginning of
spring," said Ruth Ann Lee, educator at the MacKenzie
Center. "It is a wonderful event to learn about the
sugar maple tree and the unique process of making maple
syrup in our Wisconsin climate."
Participants will have the opportunity to watch
home-made ice cream being churned with an antique
engine; listen to live, old-time, country music; and
take a horse-drawn wagon ride. In addition, the wildlife
area, which includes animals native to Wisconsin, and
the historic exhibits on the property will be open.
An all-you-can eat pancake breakfast, sponsored by
Friends of MacKenzie will be served from 8 a.m. until
noon at the Main Lodge. The cost is $7 for those 12
years old and older, and $5 for people aged 3 through
11. Refreshments, maple products, and souvenirs will be
sold by the Friends of MacKenzie. The Friends will also
draw the winners for their raffle at noon.
The MacKenzie Center is located 2 miles east of Poynette
on County Road CS/Q. For more information search the DNR
website,
dnr.wi.gov, for keyword "MacKenzie." Hope to see
you there!
NATIONAL TRAILS DAY National
Trails Day is a great time to celebrate Wisconsin's
trails, parks, and forests! This year, the state will be
celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first "Rails to
Trails" purchase, the Elroy-Sparta State Trail.
Wisconsin was the first state to convert an abandoned
railroad corridor into recreational trail in 1965, and
the state has developed 40 additional trails since that
time (36 of which are rails trails). That's over 2,000
miles of trail! To celebrate,
the Department of Natural Resources will be working with
Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, local Friends
Groups, and other organizations. The celebration will
commence with a ceremonial ribbon cutting on the
Elroy-Sparta State Trail at the Kendall Depot, on
Saturday, June 6 (National Trails Day).
June 6 is also the first day of Free Fun Weekend in Wisconsin,
when trail passes, park and forest admission stickers,
fishing licenses and out-of-state ATV passes are waived
for the weekend. The celebration in Kendall is being
coordinated by the Friends of the Elroy-Sparta State
Trail and the Sparta Chamber of Commerce. A trail ride
with participants starting at multiple communities along
the trail is planned to converge at the Kendall Depot
for a ceremonial ribbon cutting and rededication of the
trail. Food and refreshments will also be available from
local service clubs.
People interested in participating can keep abreast of
activities by searching the DNR website for "trail
news." Groups interested in organizing events on
National Trails Day or throughout the year as part of
the 50th anniversary of rail trails in Wisconsin are
encouraged to contact Brigit Brown, state trails
coordinator, at 608-266-2183 or
Brigit.Brown@wisconsin.gov.
It's that
time of year again for Maple Fest at the Mackenzie
Center in Poynette! This year it will be held Saturday,
April 4th.
CONTACT ME
As in the past, I would continue to encourage you to contact my office with ideas for this next legislative session and on individual pieces of legislation. Now more than ever your ideas and opinions need to be heard, so we can begin to get Wisconsin back to work. Please contact my office at 608-266-3404 or email me at Rep.Ripp@legis.wisconsin.gov, or stop by my Capitol office at 223 North. I look forward to hearing from you. As always, I will continue to work across the aisle to find common ground and move legislation forward.
Please share this update with your friends and neighbors within the 42nd Assembly District and if there is anyone you know who would like to be included, please respond to this email with their email address.