AJR98: Joint Resolution Text

LRB-3613/4

SRM:cjs:ph

2011 - 2012 LEGISLATURE

2011 Assembly JOINT RESOLUTION 98

January 27, 2012 - Introduced by Representatives Wynn, Ripp, Kerkman, Jacque, Vruwink, A. Ott, Bies, Endsley, Bernier, Petryk, Rivard, Nass, Kestell and Thiesfeldt, cosponsored by Senators Harsdorf, Schultz, Galloway, Lasee and Holperin. Referred to Committee on Rules.

AJR98,1,1 Relating to: stating the legislature's support for farm work.

AJR98,1,3 Whereas, the U.S. Department of Labor has proposed new federal regulations that would severely limit the work that youths may perform on farms; and

AJR98,1,7 Whereas, among other things, the proposed regulations would prohibit youths from operating most power-driven equipment, working at grain elevators, stockyards, and livestock auctions, and storing, marketing, or transporting farm product raw materials; and

AJR98,1,10 Whereas, for generations in our country, teenagers have safely worked at farm jobs that challenge them and instill a strong work ethic, but the proposed regulations would largely end this practice; and

AJR98,1,14 Whereas, Kurt and Kyle Weisensel of Edgerton, Wisconsin, are perfect examples of the importance of youth involvement on farms, having raised and shown pigs for years and now running their own pig breeding and raising business at the ages of 17 and 15; and

AJR98,2,4 Whereas, while the children working on their own parents' farm would be exempted, the proposed regulations ignore the multigenerational tradition of family farming and would still prohibit children from working on their grandparents' or other relatives' farms; and

AJR98,2,7 Whereas, today's youth are our nation's future farmers, and they should be encouraged to pursue a career in farming through proper hands-on opportunities to learn and experience work on a farm; now, therefore, be it

AJR98,2,10 Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature acknowledge and honor the vital role of the family farm and youth farm labor in Wisconsin's agriculture and economy; and, be it further

AJR98,2,12 Resolved, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature stand opposed to the federal Department of Labor's proposed regulations.

AJR98,2,13 (End)