This week, my Spring 2013 survey was published online on my website. You can reach the survey by clicking on the survey link on the welcome page, or clicking the link above. It will ask for your name and address to ensure that data is being collected from residents of the 67th Assembly District.

Aside from phone calls and emails, the survey is another way for constituents to share their views on a number of issues being discussed in the Assembly. I hope you will be able to find some time to fill out the survey to let me know what issues are most important to you. Please feel free to contact my office should you have any questions.

With the completion of public hearings on the budget, the Joint Finance Committee has now begun to look at specific agency budget provisions, and these executive sessions will continue for several weeks. The first session was held Thursday, April 25, and can be viewed online by clicking here. The next executive session will be held Thursday, April 30. If you haven’t already done so, you can share your budget comments with the Joint Finance Committee at BudgetComments@legis.wisconsin.gov.

A memo released last week by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows the UW System finished the 2012 fiscal year with nearly $650 million in reserves, which includes $414 million in surplus tuition dollars. Democrat and Republican lawmakers alike have expressed outrage and are demanding answers. As the matter of fiscal mismanagement is addressed, Governor Walker, along with leadership from both parties, is proposing a two-year freeze on tuition system-wide. It’s not fair to students and parents struggling to pay for tuition, nor is it fair to taxpayers in general, that the UW has been asking for more funding and flexibility from the state while keeping such large reserves.

On Tuesday, April 23, the Assembly Family Law Committee, which I chair, held its first public hearing. The committee heard testimony on Assembly Bill (AB) 17, a bill I introduced with bipartisan support that will allow adults who were adopted as children to restore their birth parents’ names to their birth certificates if they choose to do so.

Following the hearing on AB 17, the committee held a discussion about administrative rules promulgated by the Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board. Tuesday’s discussion focused on the social worker chapters, as well as general chapters governing all three professions. Members of the examining board were available to describe the rules and the board’s own proposed changes, as well as to answer committee members’ questions.

The “Right the Rules” project involves each Assembly committee reviewing chapters of the Wisconsin Administrative Code and identifying what regulations, if any, should be repealed or updated. If you have any ideas for improving the administrative code, please visit the project’s website and share your comments.

Last week, many state office buildings converted to a new voicemail system. However, several legislative offices, including my own, have been experiencing technical difficulties related to the conversion. If you left a voicemail, or have had trouble accessing our office’s direct voicemail message, please feel free to email instead or call (608) 266-1194 weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. when someone will be in the office to answer the phones. I hope this problem will be sorted out in the very near future.