Legislative Update

This past Tuesday, the Assembly was in-session. We passed 26 bills, and I wanted to highlight a couple here:

Stolen Valor: This bill, written by fellow Green Bay Assemblyman David Steffen, protects the dignity and respect of our veterans by making it a crime for any person to falsely claim military service or honors with the intent to obtain tangible benefits.

Utility Truck Weights: Under certain conditions local highway authorities have the ability to set special or seasonal vehicle weight limits on highways under their jurisdiction. This authority is commonly used during the spring thaw season when many county highways and town roads are under vehicle weight restrictions. This bill creates an exemption to these weight limitations for public utility, telecommunication or certain cooperative association vehicles responding to service outages in order to allow these vehicles to operate legally in times of emergency. This exemption is intended to be very limited in scope and would only be used to address emergency service outages.

In short, this bill means that you will not have to go without power or heat simply because a service truck cannot access a road necessary to fix a downed power line. I am co-sponsor of this bill and I voted for it in the Assembly Committee on Transportation.

Ridesharing Bill: Ridesharing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, are exploding in popularity as a transportation service. However, with the patchwork approach that various communities are imposing on the new companies, the organizations are  finding it impossible to operate in some Wisconsin markets. In a time where individuals are becoming more mobile while funds for public transportation are lessening, this new type of transportation company is a good alternative.

This bill sets up regulations on the companies that include a $5000/year license for the company and a $1 million insurance policy on each car statewide. This will allow the company to operate in new communities in Wisconsin, and allow expansion in existing markets.

This past week, I toured the facilities of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in Green Bay that are charged with cleaning up PCBs in the Fox River. We are in the final 6 miles, final 3 years of a 20 year project. This clean up is the largest Super Fund cleanup project in the nation.

They literally vacuum the floor of the river separating and cleaning good water, good sand from bad contaminated sand. The "clean sand" is then used for road construction all over Wisconsin, and we are left with a river that our children and grandchildren can use. Truly, a coordinated effort by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Wisconsin Paper Manufacturers and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The weather is getting warmer, kids are finishing up school and the community is coming out of hibernation. Soon, farmers markets, festivals and parades will begin in the area. I'm looking forward to having a busy summer getting to see you at these events in the community!

Have a great weekend,

John Macco

Representative

88th Assembly District