January 2018 Special Session
2:35 P.M. THURSDAY, January 18, 2018
The Senate met.
The Senate was called to order by Senator Fitzgerald.
Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (6), the Chief Clerk made the following entries under the above date. _____________
Petition and Communications
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
EXECUTIVE ORDER #271
Relating to a Special Session of the Legislature on Welfare Reform
WHEREAS, since 2011, the State of Wisconsin has invested over $300 million of state funding into worker training, cut taxes by over $8 billion, and curtailed burdensome regulations that have stifled economic growth; and
WHEREAS, these actions have enabled the Wisconsin economy to grow significantly, leading to near-record low unemployment rates, significant future capital investment, and between 80,000 and 100,000 open positions regularly reported by the Job Center of Wisconsin; and
WHEREAS, the growth of Wisconsin's economy and subsequent job creation have led to a labor shortage, with a recent survey revealing that 80 percent of employers in Wisconsin reported difficulty finding workers and 51 percent listed labor availability as the top public policy issue facing their business; and
WHEREAS, there are thousands of able-bodied recipients on public assistance in Wisconsin who can work, look for work or engage in worker training; and
WHEREAS, employment teaches valuable skills necessary to pursue the American dream and connects individuals to society and its values; and
WHEREAS, public assistance programs should provide support and services to lead able-bodied recipients to employment;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, SCOTT WALKER, Governor of the State of Wisconsin, pursuant to Article IV, Section 11, and Article V, Section 4 of the Wisconsin Constitution, do hereby require the convening of a special session of the Legislature at the Capitol in Madison, to commence at 11 a.m. on January 18, 2018, solely to consider and act upon legislation relating to the following:
1. LRB-5218 and 5282, relating to pay for success contracting, establishment of pay for success trust fund, and making an appropriation.
2. LRB-5207 and 5276, relating to creating a pilot and permanent program for making periodic payments to eligible recipients of the earned income tax credit and making an appropriation.
3. LRB-5217 and 5279, relating to payments based on performance for Wisconsin Works and FoodShare employment and training program contractors.
4. LRB-5214 and 5285, relating to required hours of participation in the FoodShare employment and training program.
5. LRB-5213 and 5286, relating to statewide FoodShare employment and training program requirement for able-bodied adults.
6. LRB-5222 and 5287, relating to asset restrictions on eligibility for FoodShare, Wisconsin Works, and Wisconsin Shares.
7. LRB-5216 and 5288, relating to requiring a child support compliance in the Medical Assistance Program.
8. LRB-5223 and 5289, relating to employment screening of and employability plans for residents in public housing.
9. LRB-5246 and 5290, relating to creation of a savings account program in the Medical Assistance program.
10. LRB-5280 and 5281, relating to photo identification cards for FoodShare recipients.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin to be affixed. Done at the Capitol in the City of Madison this seventeenth day of January, in the year two thousand eighteenth.
SCOTT WALKER
Governor
By the Governor:
DOUGLAS LA FOLLETTE
Secretary of State
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Adjournment
Senator Fitzgerald, with unanimous consent, asked that the January 2018 Special Session of the Senate stand adjourned until Tuesday, January 23, 2018.
Adjourned.
2:36 P.M.
