MM/DD/YEAR

Joint Finance Committee
I want to thank all of my constituents and citizens from around the state for the feedback they have provided me in regards to the Governor’s proposed budget. The Joint Finance Committee will meet next week to start the voting process.

Senate Committee on Transportation and Veterans Affairs
This week, the Senate Committee on Transportation and Veterans Affairs held a public hearing on a number of different bills. One that I would like to point out is, Senate Bill 26, relating to the maximum speed limit on freeways and expressways.

Currently the maximum speed limit in Wisconsin is 65 mph. This bill strikes out the number 65 in the statute and replaces it with 70. This change allows the traffic safety engineers at the Department of Transportation (DOT) to determine where 70 mph speeds are appropriate. Under current law they don’t have that option, because the maximum is only 65 mph.

The companion bill, Assembly Bill 27, passed the Assembly Committee on Transportation with a vote of 14-1, and the full Assembly with a strong bipartisan majority of 76-22.

For more information on what other states are doing with their speed limits, visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and take a look at their map of maximum posted daytime speed limits on rural interstates.

Single-Family Housing Permits in Wisconsin: 2013, 2014, & 2015
Housing activity data refers to the number of building, septic and other permits that signal the beginning of a home construction project. Wisconsin Builders Association performs quarterly reporting by county of the data supplied by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

It is important to note that monthly data is collected from sites across Wisconsin that report on a monthly basis – this is NOT all municipalities in the state. The figures reported by the Wisconsin Builders Association represent trends in new home construction in Wisconsin, but do not reflect the total number of all new homes started in the state during the specified time period.

The following tables show the single-family housing permits per county in my district in 2013, 2014, and 2015 as well as the statewide totals for single-family housing permits in 2005-2014.

Single-Family Housing Permits in Wisconsin in 2012, 2013 and 2014
*Grant County only reported annually in 2014 and therefore are not included in the data below

County	2012	2013	2014
Grant	n/a	n/a	n/a
Green	29	35	26
Iowa	39	39	38
Juneau	8	5	2
Lafayette	13	13	14
Monroe	41	50	33
Richland	17	31	20
Sauk	61	76	80
Vernon	2	4	3

Year	Total Statewide Permits
2005	22,016
2006	17,402
2007	13,326
2008	8,496
2009	6,395
2010	6,356
2011	5,362
2012	6,155
2013	7,386
2014	7,093

Spring Turkey Season
The wild turkey is truly one of Wisconsin's wildlife management success stories. A key role in the success of the wild turkey management program can be attributed to hunters through their purchase of the Wild Turkey Stamp which provides vital financial support in providing for future opportunities for turkey management and hunting in Wisconsin.

The spring turkey hunt starts next week, and I have a permit for the first week. Good luck to our turkey hunters this spring. Let me know about your hunt! Also, take a youth out to hunt!

*Senator Marklein is pleased to provide this legislative E-Update to the constituents of the 17th State Senate District. Please feel free to share this update with other interested citizens and taxpayers. You are receiving this update because you have either subscribed or contacted Senator Marklein directly.

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