Gov. Walker Delivers "State of the State" Address

Governor Walker gave the State of the State on Tuesday, and detailed his plans for Wisconsin's next four years. In his address, Walker spoke on the consolidation of Wisconsin agencies, education, and plans for economic progress among other topics.

During Governor Walker's first State of the State, he promised to create 250,000 jobs in Wisconsin. In later promises, he said Wisconsin would start this year with a surplus. We've entered this year with a crippling, multibillion-dollar deficit – proving the failure of a number of policies enacted during Walker's first term. With this knowledge, it is crucial that the Walker administration now take a careful look at its past policies and make significant changes to restore prosperity for hardworking, middle-class families.

To make positive change in our state, we need to fight for our local workforce, push back against special interests, and ensure that our public schools continue to provide a quality education for all Wisconsin students. In order to avoid another financial crisis, we must also ensure that proposed consolidations of state agencies are thoughtfully discussed and debated.

This session, I hope my legislative counterparts can move past partisan goals and special-interest incentives, and focus on implementing commonsense solutions for our Wisconsin neighbors and families. My democratic colleagues and I are committed to restoring economic progress in our state, creating opportunities for our children to succeed, and protecting Wisconsinites' most basic freedoms.

EIS Requested for BNSF Railway

Last week, my office, in conjunction with Senator Jennifer Shilling and Representative Steve Doyle, sent a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources requesting an Environmental Impact Study for the proposed development of a BNSF rail line over the La Crosse River Marsh.

As many of you know, the La Crosse River Marsh is a staple in our community, and is very important for the ecological development of the area. Construction of this area could have environmental consequences that we need to prevent. Therefore, we are requesting that, before development can proceed, the DNR conduct an Environmental Impact Study, which would ultimately show whether or not this project is a sound decision in La Crosse.

Recently, my office has been getting a number of questions about the La Crosse River Marsh construction – questions that we are unable to answer without an EIS. Performing an EIS would not only provide the assurance of environmental safety, but it would quell concerns of La Crosse residents.

To view a copy of the letter to the DNR, click here.
 

Education Bills Proposed in First Session

During the first week of the legislative session, both the Democrats and Republicans proposed bills that dealt with education accountability.

The Democrats' bill is a re-draft of SB 288 from last session, which had bipartisan support. Aiming to increase transparency between taxpayers and publicly-funded schools, this bill proposed mandatory background checks and teaching licenses for educators in the State of Wisconsin, uniform graduation standards, and requiring all voucher-funded schools to be located in Wisconsin. This bill proposed a number of common-sense ideas to make our educational system more accountable to taxpayers, parents, and students.

The Republicans' bill, now AB1, will be discussed through a public hearing this week Wednesday, January 14. Unlike the Democrats' bill, this bill took a different interpretation of "accountability." AB1 includes limiting local control (the ability of school superintendents to make decisions), and instead giving control of schools to government-appointed "Academic Review Boards." This plan also proposed labeling all Wisconsin schools with a letter grade of A-F, and allowing each individual school to set its own educational standards. Clearly, these ideas do not improve accountability, but rather provides conflicting information to schools and families by creating unequal rules.

Wisconsin schools have been regressing for the past few years. Our statistics have slipped, and our students have fallen behind. Investing in voucher schools has already proven a dangerous mistake in our state -- taking away valuable resources from our public schools, and making no gains for our state. But, if we make the correct choices, and implement common-sense, forward-thinking solutions, we will be able to push Wisconsin back to the top.

 Human Trafficking Symposium Highlights Areas for Policy Reform

In recognition of National Human Trafficking Awareness month, my office, along with Rep. LaTonya Johnson, Rep. Joel Kleefisch, and Sen. Nikiya Harris Dodd hosted a legislative symposium on human trafficking.

The symposium aimed to raise awareness and understanding of sexually exploited youth in Wisconsin, in order to take action and end the human trafficking of children in our state. Panel members speaking at the event included: The Human Trafficking Taskforce of Greater Milwaukee, La Crosse Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce, End Demand Wisconsin, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office Federal Task Force on Human Trafficking.

Making legitimate change in human trafficking in our state, nation, and worldwide includes cracking down on traffickers, aiding trafficking victims, and educating the public to stop the spread of trafficking.