hist1045Senator Fitzgerald moved that Senate Amendment 9 to Senate Resolution 3 be laid on the table. The question was: Shall Senate Amendment 9 to Senate Resolution 3 be laid on the table?
The ayes and noes were demanded and the vote was: ayes, 18; noes, 14; absent or not voting, 1; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Cowles, Darling, Ellis, Farrow, S. Fitzgerald, Grothman, Gudex, Harsdorf, Kedzie, Lasee, Lazich, Leibham, Moulton, Olsen, Petrowski, Schultz, Tiffany and Vukmir - 18.
Noes - Senators Carpenter, T. Cullen, Erpenbach, Hansen, Harris, C. Larson, Lassa, Lehman, Miller, Risser, Shilling, Taylor, Vinehout and Wirch - 14.
Absent or not voting - None.
Absent with leave - Senator Jauch - 1.
Tabled.
hist1046Senator Risser, with unanimous consent, asked that Senate Amendment 10 to Senate Resolution 3 be placed after Senate Amendment 8 to Senate Resolution 3 on today’s calendar. hist1047Senator Fitzgerald moved that Senate Amendment 7 to Senate Resolution 3 be laid on the table. The question was: Shall Senate Amendment 7 to Senate Resolution 3 be laid on the table?
The ayes and noes were demanded and the vote was: ayes, 18; noes, 14; absent or not voting, 1; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Cowles, Darling, Ellis, Farrow, S. Fitzgerald, Grothman, Gudex, Harsdorf, Kedzie, Lasee, Lazich, Leibham, Moulton, Olsen, Petrowski, Schultz, Tiffany and Vukmir - 18.
Noes - Senators Carpenter, T. Cullen, Erpenbach, Hansen, Harris, C. Larson, Lassa, Lehman, Miller, Risser, Shilling, Taylor, Vinehout and Wirch - 14.
Absent or not voting - None.
Absent with leave - Senator Jauch - 1.
Tabled.
hist1048Senator Fitzgerald moved that Senate Amendment 8 to Senate Resolution 3 be laid on the table. The question was: Shall Senate Amendment 8 to Senate Resolution 3 be laid on the table?
The ayes and noes were demanded and the vote was: ayes, 18; noes, 14; absent or not voting, 1; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Cowles, Darling, Ellis, Farrow, S. Fitzgerald, Grothman, Gudex, Harsdorf, Kedzie, Lasee, Lazich, Leibham, Moulton, Olsen, Petrowski, Schultz, Tiffany and Vukmir - 18.
Noes - Senators Carpenter, T. Cullen, Erpenbach, Hansen, Harris, C. Larson, Lassa, Lehman, Miller, Risser, Shilling, Taylor, Vinehout and Wirch - 14.
Absent or not voting - None.
Absent with leave - Senator Jauch - 1.
Tabled.
hist1049Senator Fitzgerald moved that Senate Amendment 10 to Senate Resolution 3 be laid on the table. The question was: Shall Senate Amendment 10 to Senate Resolution 3 be laid on the table?
The ayes and noes were demanded and the vote was: ayes, 18; noes, 14; absent or not voting, 1; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Cowles, Darling, Ellis, Farrow, S. Fitzgerald, Grothman, Gudex, Harsdorf, Kedzie, Lasee, Lazich, Leibham, Moulton, Olsen, Petrowski, Schultz, Tiffany and Vukmir - 18.
Noes - Senators Carpenter, T. Cullen, Erpenbach, Hansen, Harris, C. Larson, Lassa, Lehman, Miller, Risser, Shilling, Taylor, Vinehout and Wirch - 14.
Absent or not voting - None.
Absent with leave - Senator Jauch - 1.
Tabled.
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In the Chair
Pursuant to Senate Rule 2 (1), Senate President Pro Tempore Leibham in the chair. hist1050The question was: Shall Senate Resolution 3 be adopted? The ayes and noes were demanded and the vote was: ayes, 18; noes, 14; absent or not voting, 1; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Cowles, Darling, Ellis, Farrow, S. Fitzgerald, Grothman, Gudex, Harsdorf, Kedzie, Lasee, Lazich, Leibham, Moulton, Olsen, Petrowski, Schultz, Tiffany and Vukmir - 18.
Noes - Senators Carpenter, T. Cullen, Erpenbach, Hansen, Harris, C. Larson, Lassa, Lehman, Miller, Risser, Shilling, Taylor, Vinehout and Wirch - 14.
Absent or not voting - None.
Absent with leave - Senator Jauch - 1.
Adopted.
Assembly Joint Resolution 1
Relating to: commending the Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby on its 50th anniversary.
hist1052Senator Fitzgerald, with unanimous consent, asked that all action be immediately messaged to the Assembly: Assembly Joint Resolution 1
Messaged.
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Announcements, Adjournment Honors and Remarks Under
Special Privilege
Senator Wirch, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Don L. Moldenhauer, who passed away on December 20. He worked for over 30 years at Carthage College. Don was a tireless public servant. He served on the Kenosha City Council, was a Rotarian, and was involved in many civic organizations. Don was an avid bicyclist and a passionate advocate for bicycle trails. A wonderful citizen of our community, he will be missed.
Senator Taylor, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of those who make this building run: the wonderful staff members and interns, and the page and clerk staffs. Accordingly, she would like to adjourn in honor of the exceptional citizens who worked to serve the people of the 4th district last fall: Bria Grant, Alex Seraphin, Jim Smith, Ladette Austin, Ptosha Davis, Michael Laird, Gary Bennett, Jazmine Pinel, Sherri Charleston, Cathy Hu, Sharunda Owens, Jaclyn Shelton, Elise Swanson, Sarah Bergman, Sarah Wynn, Lowell Fissinger, Christina Wen, Aleja Ross and Devlin Murphy.
Senator Taylor, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of the 105th Founder’s Day for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. AKA has invited women of distinction to come together to serve the community, shape our government, and break racial barriers throughout the country. AKA has spent over a century providing opportunities to African American women to learn and grow and be a force in the community. AKA is a reminder that minority groups need only a little support, opportunity, and encouragement to become successful voices in communities around the country. The Senator would like to honor her sisters, their service, and the work of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority to better our society.
Senator Taylor, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of what would be Martin Luther King Jr.’s 84th birthday. The Senator calls on members of the Senate to come together in the spirit of not just bipartisanship, but unity. Unity is the best way we can honor Dr. King’s legacy because he united people of different races, ethnicities, and faiths for one purpose: to move our society forward. If we choose to set aside our differences, both personal and political, then we will finally be able to overcome the challenges facing our great state. Now, Senator Taylors knows that some, both Republican and Democratic members alike, simply do not believe that we can operate as a united body. To the naysayers, Senator Taylor responds with a paraphrased quote made famous by Dr. King: “We must learn to live and work together as Senators or we will perish together as fools.”
Senator Darling, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of her brother Jerry Statkus, who passed away on September 6, 2012.
Senator Miller, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Jamie Kuhn, his Chief of Staff for over twelve years. She has taken her talents to serve Milwaukee County. The Senator is grateful for her dedicated service to him, the citizens of his district, and to the people of Wisconsin.
Senator Hansen, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Bonnie Homan, who passed away on January 6 after battling Multiple Myeloma. Bonnie and her husband owned and operated the Mill Town Café for 15 years. She was active in her church, St. Peter and Paul and was co-chair for the Thanksgiving Day Meal at Lambeau Field. Bonnie volunteered for the Green Bay Police Department, Neighborhood Watch, and Special Olympics. She was also a 36 gallon blood donor at the American Red Cross.
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President Ellis appointed Senators Gudex and Erpenbach to escort his Excellency, the Governor, to the Joint Convention.
Senator Fitzgerald, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate recess until 6:30 P.M. for the purpose of awaiting the Governor’s State of the State Address in Joint Convention in the Assembly Chambers at 7:00 P.M., and further, that the Senate stand adjourned until Tuesday, January 17, 2013, upon the rising of the Joint Convention.
2:50 P.M.
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Recess
The Senate proceeded in a body to the Assembly Chamber to meet in Joint Convention to receive the State of the State Message.
6:45 P.M.
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In Assembly Chamber
In Joint Convention
7:00 P.M.
Senate President Ellis in the chair.
The Committee to wait upon the Governor appeared with his Excellency, the Honorable Governor Scott Walker, who delivered his message as follows:
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State of the State Address
“Speaker Vos, Speaker Pro Tem Kramer, President Ellis, Majority Leader Fitzgerald, Minority Leader Larson, Minority Leader Barca, members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Constitutional Officers, tribal leaders, members of the Cabinet, distinguished guests, members of the Legislature, most importantly, fellow citizens of the great state of Wisconsin, it is an honor to appear before you tonight.
Before we get started, I would like to introduce the First Lady of Wisconsin, my wife, Tonette. Also in the gallery are our sons, Matt and Alex, and my family.
Next to my wife is Major General Don Dunbar, our Adjutant General. I want to thank him and the more than 10,000 members of the Wisconsin National Guard.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are moving Wisconsin forward with bold vision and bright hope for the future.
Two years ago, when I first stood here as your new governor, Wisconsin was facing a $3.6 billion budget deficit, property taxes had gone up 27 percent over the previous decade, increasing every year, and the unemployment rate was 7.8 percent.
Today, Wisconsin has a $342 million budget surplus, property taxes on a median valued home went down in each of the last two years, and the unemployment rate - well - it's down to 6.7 percent.
We’re turning things around. We’re heading in the right direction. We’re moving Wisconsin forward.
And unlike other states, we avoided significant tax increases, massive layoffs and cuts in programs, like Medicaid. Instead, we put in place long-term structural reforms that helped us balance state and local government budgets for years to come. What we did was think more about the next generation than we did about the next election—and it worked.
For the first time in our state's history, we set money aside in two consecutive years for the rainy day fund. Our bond rating is solid and our pension system is the only one in the country that is fully funded.
We made tough, but prudent, decisions to get our fiscal house in order. Today, unlike the federal government and many of our neighboring states, we have a surplus, which will allow us to invest in our priorities.
With the introduction of my proposed budget next month, I will lay out a clear plan for reducing the burden on hard-working families by lowering income taxes on the middle class. We want to continue to put more money in the hands of the hard-working taxpayers and small business owners in our state.
Unlike the message coming out of Washington, I believe that putting more money in the hands of the people—instead of the government—is good for the economy.
Helping the people of Wisconsin create more jobs is my number one priority.
