Two of my major legislative projects this session relate to transmission line siting and electrician licensing, so I have worked quite a bit with these folks up in our district and around the state, and I know the great service they provide to businesses and residents in rural Wisconsin. LRB 1884, which I began working on last session, would simplify and streamline the permitting process for transmission line siting. The process can be overly complex and expensive – but it doesn’t have to be. The current expenses are passed on to Wisconsin residents who already have some of the highest electricity prices in the Midwest. LRB 1884, which will be formally introduced soon, would help reduce these costs.

Assembly Bill (AB) 683 establishes standards for electrician licensing here in Wisconsin. As an electrical contractor myself, I often heard complaints of how Minnesota electricians could cross the border to do work in Wisconsin, but Wisconsin electricians could not work in Minnesota due to stricter licensing requirements. Under current law, electricians don’t even need to be licensed in certain parts of Wisconsin, and I have been called in on numerous occasions to fix spotty wiring that could potentially be very dangerous. AB 683 revises licensing requirements for masters and journeymen and also authorizes the Department of Safety and Professional Services to enter into reciprocity agreements so that Wisconsin electricians will be able to work in other states without having to retake another exam. AB 683 also addresses some lingering concerns with 2007 Act 63, which imposed licensing requirements on all Wisconsin electricians and was to have taken effect last April, but was delayed a year to give the Legislature time to address those concerns. I am not 100% happy with all the solutions that arose from the give-and-take over the past year, but I could not risk the Legislature delaying Act 63 again. I am very proud of and grateful for the many people who helped me to craft this new bill. The Assembly will vote on AB 683 next Tuesday, and I look forward to the Senate acting quickly soon afterwards.

On Monday, February 10, Governor Walker visited A.J. Manufacturing in Bloomer as part of his Blueprint for Prosperity tour. Sen. Terry Moulton and I joined him on the tour to see the great work our constituents do at the plant. A great discussion with plant employees afterward proved the importance and effectiveness of economic development outside of Madison and Milwaukee. Thank you again to president Todd Carlson and all of A.J. Manufacturing’s employees for taking some time out for us.

As the legislative session approaches an end, these last few weeks are very busy on the Assembly floor. This week, we discussed a number of important bills and heard the annual State of the Tribes address. Some highlights include:

Special Session Assembly Bills 1 & 2: Governor Walker called the Legislature into a special session this year to pass tax relief and technical education legislation that he laid out in his Blueprint for Prosperity during the State of the State address. SS AB 1 would provide property, income, and withholding tax relief. An income tax reduction of almost $100 million will go solely to the lowest tax bracket. This session, the Legislature has made a series of tax cuts to put more money back in your pockets. We did so in a step-by-step manner to make sure that we made cuts our fiscal house can handle. When taken cumulatively, this responsible process will provide the median income family with over $400 in tax relief.

At the same time, the bill puts over $100 million into the budget stabilization fund (also known as the “rainy day” fund), a fund which is currently higher than it has ever been. Before voting on SS AB 1, I spoke with the Department of Revenue, who reported that our current debt is manageable and that we are more than able to keep up with our debt payments. For these reasons, I think this is a good opportunity to provide a tax cut to our hard-working citizens, and I voted in favor of this bill.

SS AB 2 provides over $35 million to the Department of Workforce Development’s (DWD) workforce training program (Wisconsin Fast Forward). Funds will help eliminate technical college waiting lists, invest in dual-enrollment programs, and increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Both SS AB 1 and SS AB 2 passed the Assembly with bipartisan support.

Assembly Bill 429: I authored this bill, which generally requires that an individual officiating at a marriage ceremony be 18 years of age or older. The boom in online ordinations has made it incredibly easy – too easy – for nearly anyone, including children, to become an officiant, which increases the likelihood of administrative errors and also erodes the institution of marriage. In addition, current law requires that a clergy member from out of state who officiates a marriage in Wisconsin possess a “letter of sponsorship” from a Wisconsin clergy member of the same denomination. This does not apply to out-of-state officiants who aren’t affiliated with a denomination, so this seems like an unfair and unnecessary burden, especially since county clerks do not have the authority to evaluate an officiant’s credentials. AB 429 eliminates the “letter of sponsorship” requirement altogether. The Assembly passed AB 429 on a voice vote, and it will now go to the Senate for further consideration.

The Assembly will be in session next week on Tuesday and Thursday.