January 9

Assembly Floor Session

It was a busy week this week for the Assembly with many committee meetings and two floor sessions. The two committees which I am a member, the Committee on Environment and Forestry and the Joint Finance Committee, both met this week to hold hearings and executive sessions on key bills that were and will be voted on on the Assembly floor. Here are just three of the key bills that were taken up on the Assembly floor and all were passed.

Assembly Bill 433: This bill sets clear guidelines for what is considered hunter harassment, providing wardens with more authority to protect our rights to hunt, fish, trap, and take game.

Assembly Bill 600: This bill makes changes to the regulation of navigable waters, artificial water bodies, wetlands, and nonpoint source pollution. The purpose of this bill is to be a technical fix that cleans up existing titles for private landowners and simplifies the permitting process making it more affordable. The current permitting process for wetlands remains in place with the exception of the "practical alternative" standard changing to being your property or an adjacent one.

Assembly Bill 729: This bill changes the law from requiring motor fuel prices to be advertised by the gallon, to say that a person who sells less than 15,000 gallons of motor fuel in Wisconsin per year can advertise their prices by the half-gallon.

Assembly Bill 600 and Assembly Bill 729 now await consideration by the Senate. Meanwhile, Assembly Bill 433 has been passed by both the Senate and the Assembly and awaits the Governor's signature.

Meeting with Superintendents of the 12th Senate District

On Friday February 5th Representative Swearingen (R-Rhinelander), Representative Mursau (R-Crivitz), Senator Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst), and I met with the superintendents of northern Wisconsin in Elcho to discuss the Rural Wisconsin Initiative and other issues rural schools are facing. The goal of the Rural Wisconsin Initiative is to retain and attract the younger generation to Wisconsin’s smaller, rural communities. Below are the proposals that are included in the Rural Wisconsin Initiative.

The Rural Wisconsin Initiative Agenda includes the following seven legislative proposals:

· Increase funding for broadband expansion grants
· Attract teachers with incentive of student loan repayment programs
· Establishment of S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) curriculum grants
· Increase funding for apprenticeship grants
· Increase funding for apprenticeship tuition reimbursement programs
· Attract out-of-state graduates ready to enter the workforce
· Expand funding for the Wisconsin Rural Physician Residency Assistance Program

The Rural Wisconsin Initiative package of bills was heard in the Assembly Committee on Mining and Rural Development on Thursday, February 4. All seven bills received strong support during the hearing.

To follow the progress and provide input for the Rural Wisconsin Initiative, please view our website. The website provides information on the Rural Wisconsin Agenda, participating legislators and press releases. Lastly, the website provides access to the Rural Wisconsin Initiative Facebook Page and Twitter.

Thank you to Ben Niehaus for organizing this meeting and a special thank you to all of the superintendents for making the trip to Elcho.

Library Legislative Day

This week was Library Legislative Day at the Capitol, and I was honored to be named a Library Champion by the Wisconsin Libraries Association. The WLA is a professional organization whose membership includes nearly 1,500 librarians, library workers, public library trustees, friends of libraries and business vendors supporting academic, public, school and special libraries. I enjoyed visiting with Mary Dunn who serves as the director of the Tomahawk Library, and also Augo Hildebrand and Kris Wendt from the Wisconsin Valley Library Service.

Snowmobile Trail Conditions

Snow conditions continue to vary widely across the state. As an avid snowmobiler, I keep hoping for more snow! Here are online resources to use in planning your next ride:

WI Department of Tourism collects snowfall amounts and trail data from all 72 counties: http://www.travelwisconsin.com/snowreport/snowmobile

Northern Wisconsin trail reports and conditions: http://www.northwoodswisconsin.com/snowmobiling.htm

Upcoming Events in Northern Wisconsin

February 12-13

St. Germain Radar Run

St. Germain

February 13

8th Annual Merrill Artisans Showcase

Merrill

February 13

Langlade Area Arts 5th Annual Snow Ball

Antigo

February 13

Merrill School Forest Family Open House

Merrill

February 13

Mural Open House and Art Show

Merrill

February 13-14

Wausau Antique Show

Schofield

February 13-14

Rhinelander Lion's Club Fisheree and Winter Festival

Rhinelander

February 20

Lake Tomahawk Family Fisheree

Tomahawk

February 20

Lincoln County Empty Bowls

Tomahawk

February 27

Kinship of Tomahawk Polar Plunge

Tomahawk

February 27

HAVEN Variety Show and "Love Me Tender"

Merrill

I want to thank you for giving me the honor to serve as your Representative and I look forward to continuing my work for the people of the 35th district in 2016.

Have a good weekend and stay warm!

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