June 11, 2015

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

As summer vacation starts for families across the state, Republicans in the legislature remain at an impasse regarding Governor Walker's budget. This week's e-update highlights a few of the recent budget headlines, June Dairy Month, cuts to the UW System, the dangerous abortion ban, Wisconsin DNR news, and a new business of the week.

I hope you find this information helpful, and don't forget to get out and enjoy all of the fun upcoming events in western Wisconsin.

Sincerely, 

Jennifer K. Shilling
State Senator | 32nd District

Celebrate June Dairy Month

If you’re looking for another excuse to enjoy some delicious local food and beautiful weather, June is the perfect time to get out and celebrate Dairy Month in Wisconsin. This month is a time for us to recognize the hardworking dairy producers, milk processors and local farm families that make Wisconsin America’s Dairy State.

Throughout the month, you can take advantage of many family-friendly activities including parades, cheese tastings, and my favorite – dairy breakfasts on the farm. These events highlight the importance of our farming heritage and are a great way to learn more about where our food comes from.

This month is also a good time to ask ourselves how we can boost our farm producers and strengthen our communities. In the state legislature, I’ve been proud to promote successful initiatives like Farm to School and the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin program.

With the fast-growing local food movement in our state, strengthening our investments in these programs will help create new markets, grow businesses and provide families across Wisconsin with healthy, affordable and locally-grown food options. We are fortunate to live in a state with many hardworking farm producers and world-class food processors, and together, we can expand on our success.

I hope you’ll join me in celebrating June Dairy Month by getting out and learning more about our local dairy farmers. To find more information on local events, you can visit www.DairyDaysOfSummer.com and enjoy all that Wisconsin has to offer.
 

Republican plan cuts $250 million from UW schools to fund special interest earmarks

Republican legislators plan to go beyond Gov. Walker's proposed budget cuts by reducing state funding for UW schools by $250 million, allowing tuition increases and eliminating important student and faculty provisions from state law. As a result, local campuses have announced they will be forced to eliminate hundreds of jobs, raise fees on students and reduce course options.

These cuts come at a time when Republicans have earmarked millions for special interests and provided more tax breaks to the wealthy. 
As a UW graduate and mother of two, it is frustrating that Republicans continue to pin a giant "Kick Me" sign on our local schools while shifting taxpayer dollars to their special interests. Rather than selling out our students to advance Gov. Walker’s presidential ambitions, we need to invest in our schools and expand economic opportunities for our children.

Our University of Wisconsin schools have traditionally been a cornerstone of economic development efforts in our state and across the nation. UW student and faculty-led research has been instrumental in the fight against cancer, the development of 21st century technologies and the success of our local family farms. But now, at a time of national economic growth, Republicans are choosing to cut our schools in order to divert more public dollars to their special interest allies.

With the historic cuts being forced on our communities by Republican legislators, Wisconsin will lose its competitive advantage and fall further behind our neighboring states when it comes to job creation. This is a short-sighted political decision that will force more layoffs, increase student loan debt and eliminate local economic opportunities for years to come.

 

News Coverage of Republican Budget Proposal

Politico: Scott Walker's Revolt Back Home

Last week, the Joint Finance Committee, at an impasse over how to fund state road projects for the next two years, didn’t bother to meet. It is one of the final significant pieces left before the committee, composed of members from both houses, can vote on final passage and send the bill to the full Legislature. It’s also become symbolic to some of the tension between Walker’s presidential aspirations and his responsibilities back home. -Read Full Article

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Budget surprises: Items inserted with little or no public input
As the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee makes its way through Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget, a number of significant policy changes have been inserted into the package with little or no public input or prior notice. -Read Full Article

Wisconsin Public Radio: Wisconsin K-12 Funding Lags Behind Pre-Recession Level, Report Says
A national report out Monday says only four states have restored education funding cut during the Great Recession and Wisconsin isn't one of them. Public school advocates say the proposed state budget for the upcoming two years continues to fall short. –Read Full Article
 

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Budget compromise would stall most Wisconsin road projects
Delays would immediately slow road projects statewide and eventually hit all the mega projects planned for southeastern Wisconsin highways except the Zoo Interchange under a budget compromise of $500 million in cuts to road spending and borrowing that is being discussed by GOP lawmakers. –Read Full Article

Beloit Daily News: School officials rip state budget
School District of Beloit Superintendent Tom Johnson and Beloit Turner Superintendent Dennis McCarthy along with 10 other regional school administrators met in Milton on Friday to discuss policies embedded in the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee’s (JFC) education budget. –Read Full Article

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Budget would weaken counties' ability to protect shoreland
The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee wants to weaken provisions in state law that have allowed counties to adopt stricter regulations to protect lakes, rivers and streams. On May 29, the Republican-controlled finance panel tucked a motion into the 2015-'16 state budget that would bar counties from imposing stiffer zoning requirements along shorelines than those in state law. –Read Full Article

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: State jobs agency has written off $7.6 million in loans
The state's top jobs agency has written off $7.6 million in taxpayer-funded loans since it was created by Gov. Scott Walker about four years ago.
The write-offs include 28 different loans removed from the balance sheets of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., with some companies receiving multiple loans. The majority of those loans, which officials typically write off after determining the likelihood of collecting the debt is small, were awarded by the former state Department of Commerce, the predecessor to the WEDC. –Read Full Article

Washington Post: What the heck is going on with Wisconsin public education?
What is the Wisconsin Legislature trying to do to public education in Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s state?
State Superintendent Tony Evers has gone on record accusing lawmakers of moving toward new legislation “that erodes the basic foundation of Wisconsin’s public school system.” How? By legislature efforts that include refusing to spend more money on public education for the first time in more than 20 years while while giving millions of dollars more to expand a private voucher program, slashing higher education funding, and weakening licensing rules for teachers. –Read Full Article

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Suburban superintendents decry state budget for public education
On a day when Gov. Scott Walker and other officials announced a plan to finance a sports arena in Milwaukee, about a dozen area school leaders tried to draw attention to another important economic driver: public education. –Read Full Article

Green Bay Press Gazette: Teacher licensing plan, late vote get an F
Wisconsin would be the first state in the nation to license teachers who lack a four-year degree if the budget approved by the Joint Finance Committee goes through. -Read Full Article
 

Around the District 

Left Photo: Thank you to Jeff and Kathy Schmitz for hosting the 2015 Monroe County Dairy Breakfast. I had a great time serving coffee and greeting folks as they arrived.  Right Photo: I attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for a Little Free Library sponsored by the Rotary Club of La Crosse-After Hours. My family enjoys Little Free Libraries in our neighborhoods and they are special community places for people to take a book or leave a book and promote the lifelong interest of reading. The Little Free Library can be found in front of the Hamilton Early Learning Center. Bottom Left Photo: I attended the 74th Annual Dairyland Power Cooperative meeting in La Crosse. I was happy to visit with members from the Vernon Electric Cooperative. The theme was "Growing and Evolving to Reliably Serve Our Members". Bottom Right Photo: At the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast I was happy to join Rep. Steve Doyle and Rep. Jill Billings in presenting Dr. Jeff Thompson with a legislative citation to honor him for his leadership and vision while serving as CEO of Gundersen Health System. After many years he is stepping down from the Board and will continue to be active in health care policy.

Weekly Democratic radio address: "Making higher education more affordable" 

Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) offered the Democratic radio address last week. In his radio message, Sen. Hansen highlighted the importance of UW funding and the need to address the growing student loan debt crisis.

"Despite the overwhelming opposition to these cuts, Republican legislators went along with Gov. Walker’s plan to cut $250 million from our UW schools. For students, families, communities and businesses, this budget cut is bad news." - Sen. Dave Hansen

The audio file of this week’s address can be found here:
http://media2.legis.wisconsin.gov/multimedia/Sen30/hansenradioaddress6.4.15.mp3
 

Republicans pass dangerous abortion ban

Despite objections from Wisconsin families and doctors, Republicans in the State Senate approved a measure to place greater restrictions on abortion care. The proposal, Senate Bill 179 (SB179), would prevent health professionals from delivering the highest standard of medical care to victims of rape and incest and women experiencing rare or unexpected pregnancy complications.
 

We need to protect a woman’s freedom to make decisions about her health care and prevent further political intrusion into personal decisions that are best left to a woman, her doctor, her family and her faith. This bill jeopardizes women’s safety and prevents health professionals from making lifesaving medical decisions.

Recognizing the dangerous situations this bill would create, the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health, the Wisconsin Public Health Association and the Wisconsin Medical Society all registered their opposition to SB 179.
 

We should listen to the doctors in our state, the overwhelming abundance of peer-reviewed medical research and, most importantly, the women and families who will be placed in harm’s way if this dangerous bill is passed. It is disappointing that Republicans are using this divisive bill to distract from Wisconsin's $2.2 billion budget crisis, the chronic under-funding of our local schools and the crumbling of our state’s infrastructure. By prioritizing this dangerous abortion ban, the Republican Party is sending a clear message that their political ideology and Gov. Walker’s presidential ambitions are more important than the health care needs of women and families across our state.

Local Business of the Week!

I always enjoy visiting locally owned businesses throughout the 32nd Senate District and will be highlighting a different local business in each e-update. This week's featured business is Pete's Hamburgers.

Pete's Hamburgers is a family owned business located in downtown Prairie du Chien that dates back to 1909! The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently recognized Pete's Hamburgers as worth the drive to Wisconsin.

Make sure to check out a local favorite, Pete's Hamburgers!

Heat Awareness Day

Heat can kill. That’s why Wisconsin Emergency Management, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the National Weather Service are reminding people of the dangers associated with extreme heat and to promote community safety and health. Heat Awareness Day is Thursday, June 11th. Summer heat waves have been the biggest weather-related killers in Wisconsin for the past 50 years, far exceeding tornadoes, severe storms and floods combined. Heat is also a major weather-related killer in the United States.

People at higher risk of a heat-related illness include:
• Older adults
• Infants and young children
• People with chronic heart or lung problems
• People with disabilities
• Overweight persons
• Those who work outdoors or in hot settings
• Users of some medications, especially those taken for mental disorders, movement disorder, allergies, depression, and heart or circulatory problems.
 

Many victims of heat-related deaths are socially isolated maintaining little contact with family and friends. This is why it is vitally important to check in on family, friends, and neighbors during extreme heat, especially those who are particularly vulnerable, like families with very young children, the elderly, and people who are on medications that could make them more susceptible to injury from extreme heat. Many cities and counties across Wisconsin open Cooling Centers during periods of extreme heat. These centers are a great place for people to come into an air conditioned facility and get some relief from the heat.

You can also check out their tips to stay safe in hot weather here.
 

 Wisconsin Department of Tourism Bike Guides Available!

If your family also enjoys biking, check out Travel Wisconsin’s Official Biking Guide. The 8th Edition of the Bike Guide is an 80-page guide listing some of the great biking experiences Wisconsin has to offer. Rides are divided into three categories: linear bike trails, mountain bike trails and road biking tours.

You can reply to this email or call my office at 608-266-5490 to request a copy of this Bike Guide.

You can also visit the Travel Wisconsin biking website to see additional bike routes and bike-friendly places to visit around the state.
 

Wisconsin DNR Updates

Wisconsin bass mustering for a summer of epic battles
If you're an angler looking for a fight out on a Wisconsin lake this summer, there's something important you should know: the bass have you outnumbered. -Read Full Article

Statewide trolling rule to take effect July 1
A rule to allow motor trolling while fishing on all inland waters of Wisconsin takes effect July 1, 2015.
Trolling means fishing by trailing any lure, bait or similar device that may be used to attract or catch fish from a boat propelled by means other than drifting, pedaling, paddling or rowing. Drifting or "row trolling" is allowed on all waters statewide. Previously motor trolling had been prohibited on waters unless allowed under special regulations. -Read Full Article

Trapper education instructor of the year, design contest winner awarded
The Wisconsin Trapper's Association and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources recognized Mike Kortenhof and Macey Loka for their contributions to trapper education at the association's 2015 spring banquet. -Read Full Article

Recently Introduced Legislation

If you are interested in legislation that is being introduced, the Wisconsin Legislative website posts bills as they are being introduced in the Senate and Assembly. Check it out and stay informed!  
                        
 

Calendar of Events

I apologize if any upcoming events in the area were left off. If you would like me to include an event in future e-updates, please email me the date, location and a website with details.

Senator Jennifer Shilling
P.O. Box 7882 - Madison, WI 53707

phone: 608.266.5490   

email: sen.shilling@legis.wi.gov

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