Halloween is Coming Up

My family and I always enjoy this time of year. We love admiring the fall colors, visiting the pumpkin patch, and spending time with friends on Halloween. However, as with everything, it's important to be aware of potential safety concerns in order to make your Halloween experience a success. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services provides a comprehensive list of safety tips for trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Please refer to this list as you plan your Halloween fun. Also, the Travel Wisconsin site has information on all kinds of fall events and family-friendly activities going on across the state. Hope you are enjoying the season!

Wisconsin fall pumpkins as seen on the Travel Wisconsin site

Plan 94 Update

As you know, WisDOT is conducting a substantial reconstruction project of I-94 in our area. At this time, the construction activity is going on at the section of I-94 at WIS 50. The northbound off ramp at this exit will be closed all this week and next.  To minimize the inconvenience , be sure to stay up-to-date on details and closures associated with the construction project. Updates can be heard on the radio and are available in the newspaper, as well as online at the Plan 94 Reconstruction Project site.

A Great Way to Learn About County Government

The National Association of Counties has developed a game to help citizens learn about the workings of county government. The game, called "Counties Work" is geared toward students in grades 6-12 and teaches them about the many different issues county officials deal with every day by letting them run their own county online. Issues such as budgeting, raising revenues, providing local services, and dealing with citizen requests are some of the issues that the player must address in the course of the game. Check out the free game online and encourage your kids to try it. It's fun and educational, too.

Improving Transparency in Government Spending

As part of my work as co-chair of the Joint Audit Committee, this week we held a hearing on the audit of the Contract Sunshine program. Contract Sunshine was established a few years ago as a way to make state purchasing information transparent and available to the public. However, the website was found to be full of problems, and the law's guidelines were unclear to the agencies tasked with reporting their purchases. This led to confusion, lack of timely reporting by agencies, and did not end up providing the type of comprehensive data that was intended. The Department of Administration informed the committee of a new system in the works called Open Book, that will eventually replace Contract Sunshine by effectively making purchasing information easily accessible to the public. Transparency and eradicating fraud in state systems has become an issue I am passionate about, and my colleagues and I are working to monitor the progress of Open Book so that our system can be as efficient and open as possible about where your tax money is being spent.

Economy and Jobs

Throughout this legislative session, my Republican colleagues and I have focused heavily on repairing the broken economy, restricting tax increases, and promoting job creation. For example, we passed a bill earlier this year that requires a vote of two-thirds majority of the Legislature to raise state franchise, income, or sales taxes. Also, next week, the Governor has called a second Special Session of the Legislature where we will focus on a number of new jobs bills. One of these, AB 1, would provide a 10% refundable tax credit to employers who add new jobs based on wages paid. This bill, also known as the Jobs Tax Credit, provides employers with significant incentives to hire new workers because they can use their tax savings to invest in new employees and resources for their business.  

Blue Books

The new Blue Books for 2011-2012 just arrived in my office this week! The new Blue Book contains detailed information about all aspects of Wisconsin state government, as well as a special historical section about the 1911 Wisconsin Legislature. The 2011-2012 Blue Book is available online, but if you'd like a complementary hard-cover copy, please contact my Madison office.

If you are interested in tracking the progress of legislation introduced this session, please visit http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ and click on the Notification Service link found on the homepage.