Legislative Actions

There are two bills I support being discussed this week. They will greatly benefit the 88th Assembly district:

1.) Payback to local units of government from the Brown County Stadium Tax: When Brown County instituted the .5% sales tax for remodeling and expanding Lambeau Field, the purpose was to collect funds to build and provide upkeep to the stadium. However, because of good money management, that goal was met in March. Projections show that revenue collected between April and September, when the sales tax automatically is finished, will be between $8,000,000 - $10,000,000. Rep. David Steffen (R-Green Bay) and I are introducing a bill that will give the extra funds back to the towns, villages and cities in Brown County.

The money must be used for economic development or paying down debt. The amount comes out to roughly $29.50/individual living in the town, village or city. You can read my statement about the bill here or read about the press conference I attended here.

2.) Curbing sick leave for Lawmakers: Currently, members of the Legislature get 10.5 sick days a year, which can be carried over until they retire. This means that current legislators have accumulated $2.4 million in sick leave credit, or $18,300 per senator and representative. Last year, retired lawmakers reportedly used the credits to pay for more than $367,000 in health care premiums.

In a time where we have promised to be fiscally responsible to our taxpayers, this is imply unacceptable. I quickly signed onto this bill which will eliminate the ability for legislators to collect sick days.

2015-17 Budget Updates

Boys and Girls Club: I supported a budget motion put forward by Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R- Brookfield) that reinstituted a block justice grant that was cut in the Governor's proposed budget. The budget motion provides $96,200 to the Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay. The club will use these funds to promote safe communities and promote anti-gang  activities. You can read my statement on the adoption here.

Well Women's Program: Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee committed to sustain funding for the Wisconsin Well Women's Program. This program works to promote preventative health screening to women with little or no health insurance. This program was a priority to Republicans, and I was happy to see that the funds for the program were increased.

Commitment to K-12 Education: Republicans in the Assembly held a press conference on Wednesday to announce our commitment to not cut funding for K-12 Education. We said that we are dedicated to maintaining current levels of funding so that our children have a chance to succeed in Wisconsin.

Last week Friday, I was given a tour of Green Bay Preble High School. You may remember that there was a class of English as a second language students that toured the Capitol a couple weeks back.  I was then invited by their teacher, Claire Staats, to speak to the class about representative government at the state level and what an individual can do to take part in the political process. The students were very interested, and asked some great questions.

I was also given a tour of the entire school with Principal Rowell and Dr. Michelle Langenfeld. There are some great teachers at the school that are working on creating a young and dynamic generation of future leaders!

Macco in the News!

Celebrate De Pere is Almost Here!

One of my favorite events in the district is Celebrate De Pere. This year, it starts on May 23 and goes through May 25. There are great events for the entire family! You can find more information here.

 It's fascinating to see the entire City of De Pere come together for the weekend, and it always provides a great opportunity to see my friends and neighbors. Make sure to come and say hello!

Have a great weekend,

John Macco

Representative

88th Assembly District