Hello Everyone!

I hope you are all doing well. This  E-Update will be focused on the recent announcement of the Wisconsin Rural Initiative. The Initiative is a package of eight bills aimed at improving health care, educational, workforce, and technological opportunities in our rural communities. I will be going into more detail and provide additional information about the Initiative below. I also want to share a link to the Rural Wisconsin Initiative column I recently wrote. I encourage you to read it.

In addition, I have been busy working on legislation and attending committee hearings so I will also provide a legislative update on some of the legislation I have authored.

Wisconsin Rural Initiative

Recently, I joined fellow outstate legislators from rural areas across the state to announce the Rural Wisconsin Initiative. It will be ongoing and incorporate suggestions from people across the state. To begin the conversation, the Initiative will focus on improving education, workforce development, technology, and healthcare in our rural communities.

Yesterday, the eight bills that make up the Initiative had public hearings before the Assembly Committee on Mining and Rural Development. The bills were met with broad support from legislators, community organizations, and industry professionals.

The eight pieces of legislation boost funding for broadband expansion grants, increase available resources for youth apprenticeship grants and tuition reimbursement grants for apprenticeships, create rural opportunity zones, expand a student loan repayment program for rural teachers, encourage STEM education in rural school districts, bolster funding for the Wisconsin Rural Physician Residency Assistance Program (WRPRAP), and create a Broadband Forward! community certification.

Improving all areas of rural life in Wisconsin will be a process, and one that needs your input. The intent of the Initiative is to begin a conversation and continue to work towards reflecting what our constituents want. I encourage you to join the conversion and please share your feedback and ideas at www.RuralWisconsinInitiative.com.

I also encourage you to read my Rural Wisconsin Inittiative Column.

What's happening in Madison...

Last week, I  testified in favor of legislation I authored, Assembly Bill 647, before the Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities. Currently, there is $6,000,000 in funding for grants to expand broadband service to underserved areas of the state, but the Public Service Commission (PSC) is prohibited from making more than $1,500,000 in grants in a fiscal year. To keep up with demand, this bill eliminates the prohibition and allows the PSC to allocate the grants until funding is depleted. It will ensure that the funds for the grant program can continue to be used to extend broadband access to underserved areas.

I had the opportunity to testify in favor of legislation I authored, Assembly Bill 610, before the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection. The bill will allow courts to impose a more fitting penalty for crimes against the elderly or disabled. Under certain conditions, the bill will allow a court to impose a supplement forfeiture for certain violation. This will help protect and shield Wisconsin’s most vulnerable citizens.

Senator Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) and I testified in favor of legislation we authored together before the Senate Committee on Workforce Development, Public Works, and Military Affairs. The legislation, Assembly Bill 351, is relating to Wisconsin’s Children First Program, administered by the Department of Children & Families, which assists non-custodial parents who are unemployed or underemployed obtain jobs.

The following is a list of additional legislation I authored or co-authored that has received a public hearing lately:

Assembly Bill 541 would create a $500,000 grant program in WDVA to be used by the department to provide grants to veterans, employers, and nonprofit organizations to improve employment outcomes for veterans. The grants would be focused on veteran entrepreneurs, giving employers incentives to hire veterans, with a focus on veterans with a service-connected disability, and job training.

Assembly Bill 609 is relating to libraries and delinquent accounts. Due to privacy protections, libraries have no means by which to collect from those who are abusing their borrowing privileges. Since libraries are supported through tax dollars, the financial loss of unreturned library materials and unpaid fines ultimately falls on taxpayers and other library users. This legislation will provide libraries with a method to collect fines and reimbursement for overdue materials on delinquent library accounts.

Assembly Bill 713 will make changes to the current prior authorization process for mental health services under the Medical Assistance program. This bill reduces the amount of non-essential information needed for prior approval, shortening the time needed to complete the prior approval request. Eliminating non-essential requirements will result in earlier intervention, increased treatment, and facilitate better outcomes.

Assembly Bill 664 would permit licensed treatment professionals, which include qualified treatment trainees, to provide mental health services in schools without establishing a branch office in the school. The change will reduce administrative burden and costs for mental health therapists who are often paid less than costs for the critical care that they provide students. Reducing red tape will make it easier for mental health professionals to provide services at schools. When mental health therapy is available at school, students are more likely to access treatment and miss less class time than when they have to travel to an off-site clinic.

Assembly Bill 734 will create a new pilot program designed to assist schools, students, and parents in career and workforce education. It will be a competitive grant program for the 12 Cooperative Education Service Agencies (CESA) to apply for. The duties will include workforce education, business development outreach, coordination between businesses and schools, and apprenticeship and job training opportunity advancement. Additionally, they will work to assure that students and their families receive sufficient career and academic counseling to make informed choices.

Assembly Bill 781 creates an annual sales tax holiday on back-to-school items for two days during the first weekend in August. Not only will this help families keep more money in their pockets, but most importantly it will help ease the financial burden of making sure their children are prepared for the upcoming school year.

 Assembly Bill 140 directs the Department of Administration (DOA), with the assistance of DHS, DCF, and DWD, to prepare a feasible plan that will provide all public assistance recipients an annual statement of the benefits they receive. This would require the departments to collaborate and develop a streamline method of sharing their data in order to provide people with a tangible way of knowing how much they receive and from which program.

Assembly Bill 744 is part of the College Affordability Legislative Package to address student loan debt and increase the success of college students. This bill requires all higher ed institutions in the state to provide a letter to students at the beginning of every academic year containing information such as the total amount of debt accrued under the loan to date, interest rate applicable to the loan, standard repayment terms for the type of loan estimated monthly payment due, projected amount of interest to be paid, estimated total cost of attendance at the institution of higher education for the academic year, including actual or estimated costs of tuition, fees, and room and board, etc.

Sincerely,