By Representatives Horlacher, R. Brooks, Jacque, Jagler, Katsma, Kremer, Murphy, Wichgers and Spiros; cosponsored by Senators Olsen, Cowles, Marklein and Bewley.
hist84141Read first time and referred to the committee on Natural Resources and Energy. Assembly Bill 838
Relating to: changes to board of review proceedings and elimination of the property tax assessment freeze (suggested as remedial legislation by the Department of Revenue).
By the Law Revision committee.
hist84130Read first time and referred to the committee on Senate Organization. Assembly Bill 839
Relating to: the determination of indigency prior to the state public defender appointing an attorney to represent a parent in a proceeding under chapters 48 and 938, the description of defendant indigency for public defender fees, and recusal from juvenile justice proceedings (suggested as remedial legislation by the State Public Defender).
By the Law Revision committee.
hist84129Read first time and referred to the committee on Senate Organization. Assembly Bill 840
Relating to: municipal boundary information (suggested as remedial legislation by the Legislative Technology Services Bureau).
By the Law Revision committee.
hist84128Read first time and referred to the committee on Senate Organization. Assembly Bill 841
Relating to: various changes to bingo and raffles (suggested as remedial legislation by the Department of Administration).
By the Law Revision committee.
hist84127Read first time and referred to the committee on Senate Organization. Assembly Bill 842
Relating to: various changes to the Wisconsin Retirement System, cancelling coverage under the Wisconsin Public Employers Group Life Insurance Program, and income continuation insurance premiums for certain teachers employed by the University of Wisconsin System (suggested as remedial legislation by the Department of Employee Trust Funds).
By the Law Revision committee.
hist84126Read first time and referred to the committee on Senate Organization. Assembly Bill 843
Relating to: open enrollment and repealing outdated or expired reporting requirements and tuberculosis screening (suggested as remedial legislation by the Department of Public Instruction).
By the Law Revision committee.
hist84125Read first time and referred to the committee on Senate Organization. Assembly Bill 844
Relating to: planning for certain federal highway money distribution transfers; correcting a cross-reference related to penalties for drunk driving; penalties for violations of motor vehicle mileage disclosure requirements; certain references to obsolete federal motor carrier law; and providing a criminal penalty (suggested as remedial legislation by the Department of Transportation).
By the Law Revision committee.
hist84124Read first time and referred to the committee on Senate Organization. Assembly Bill 845
Relating to: revising various provisions of the statutes for the purpose of making corrections and reconciling conflicts (Correction Bill).
By the Law Revision committee.
hist84123Read first time and referred to the committee on Senate Organization. Assembly Bill 846
Relating to: revising various provisions of the statutes for the purpose of making corrections and reconciling conflicts (Correction Bill).
By the Law Revision committee.
hist84122Read first time and referred to the committee on Senate Organization. Assembly Bill 847
Relating to: revising various provisions of the statutes for the purpose of making corrections and reconciling conflicts (Correction Bill).
By the Law Revision committee.
hist84121Read first time and referred to the committee on Senate Organization. _____________
President Roth appointed Senators Vukmir and Vinehout to escort his Excellency, the Governor, to the Joint Convention.
Senator Moulton, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate recess and proceed is a body to the Assembly Chamber to meet in Joint Convention to receive the Governor’s State of the State Address, and further, that the Senate stand adjourned until Tuesday, February 13, 2018, pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1, upon the rising of the Joint Convention.
2:35 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.
2:45 P.M.
_____________
In Assembly Chamber
In Joint Convention
3:00 P.M.
Senate President Roth 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 August, President Roth, Majority Leader Fitzgerald, Minority Leader Shilling, Minority Leader Hintz, Supreme Court Justices, Constitutional Officers, tribal leaders, members of the Cabinet, members of the Legislature, distinguished guests, and most importantly, fellow citizens of Wisconsin, it is an honor to come before you this afternoon, to report on the state of our great state.
Before we start, I want to recognize the First Lady of Wisconsin, my wife, Tonette, and our sons Matt and Alex.
Last year, Tonette joined me at this podium to talk about her groundbreaking work called Fostering Futures. She and her team continue their efforts with tribal councils, county governments, nonprofits, colleges and universities and employers from across the state. Our agencies have been trained on how to incorporate trauma-informed care into their daily routines. She brought a group of First Spouses and staff to Wisconsin to talk about this important work and she went to Washington to get the federal government more involved in this area. Tonette, thank you for your leadership – leadership that will change the lives of children, adults, and families all over Wisconsin.
Next to my wife is Major General Donald Dunbar who is the Adjutant General of the 10,000 strong men and women of the Wisconsin National Guard. Thank you for your service, General Dunbar.
And next to him is Major General Mark Anderson. It was my privilege to administer the Oath earlier this month to our second Two-Star General. What an honor for Wisconsin. Congratulations, General Anderson.
In September, General Dunbar, Chief Master Sergeant Thomas Safer, and I had an opportunity to visit members of the 115th Fighter Wing from here in Madison while they were deployed to Kunsan Air Base in South Korea.
Commanding Officer Bart Van Roo, who I had the honor of flying with in a F-16 in the past, and 255 airmen were deployed to one of the most intense spots in the world – South Korea. While we were there, I met the commander of the Seventh Air Force, Lieutenant General Thomas Bergeson, a 1981 graduate of Wisconsin Rapids High School. He told me of the incredible skill of our airmen.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, the commander of the 115th, Colonel Erik Peterson and man y o f the remarkable men and women of the Wisconsin National Guard joined me last month as we announced that Wisconsin had been selected to host the brand-new F-35A Lightning II fighter jets at Truax Field. Out of all the states in America, we had the number one location. I am looking forward to hearing the F-35s take off. That’s the sound of freedom. Congratulations to this outstanding team! Many of them are here with us tonight.
Today, I am proud to declare that the state of our state is historically strong!
In Wisconsin, employment is at historic highs and unemployment at historic lows. We invested more actual dollars into schools than ever before in our history. The state property tax is gone. Wisconsin received a bond rating upgrade from three national agencies. Our health care systems are ranked number one in the nation for quality.
And we announced the largest economic development project in state history.
It has been quite an amazing year! A historic year.
We are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.
As mentioned, more people are employed in Wisconsin than ever before in the history of our state. And just last week, the Department of Workforce Development announced that the unemployment rate had dropped to 3.0 percent. The only other time it was that low was in May, June and July of 1999 - when Tommy Thompson was our Governor. Things were pretty good back then, they’re pretty good now.
And they’re only getting better.
We are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.
Students in our schools have some of the highest ACT scores and some of the best graduation rates in the country. And we just invested more actual dollars into K-12 education than ever before – an extra $200 for every student in every school in every part of the state this year and another $204 increase for every student on top of that next year. Our children deserve a great education that prepares them for college, careers, and real life.
We are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.
To make college more affordable for students and working families, we froze University of Wisconsin tuition for all undergraduates from our state for six years in a row. We’re partnering with financial institutions to help graduates refinance student loans. And financial assistance for students in need is at an all-time high, making higher education possible for thousands of students at colleges and universities across the state.
We are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.
We were able to make record investments into education while still continuing to reduce the burden on hard-working taxpayers. According to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, both property and income taxes will be lower in 2018 than they were in 2010.
And we eliminated the state property tax. That’s right: 100 percent of the property taxpayers in our state saw a 100 percent reduction in their state property tax bills.
We are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.
Health care systems in our state rank number one in the nation for quality, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Plus, everyone living in poverty is now covered under BadgerCare for the first time in the history of the state. And, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of people with access to health coverage in Wisconsin is one of the best in the nation.
We are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin is number one in cheese, cranberries, and ginseng. We are one of the top states for milk, corn, soybeans, beef, apples, cherries, potatoes, and vegetables. Agriculture is a big part of our economy, and for our farm families, it’s more than that... It’s a way of life.
We are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.
No state in the nation provides more benefits for veterans than Wisconsin. We offer 23 benefits for our veterans while the next closest state offers 21. Our veterans can attend college tuition free, and we expanded eligibility so more of our veterans’ spouses and families can, too. And U.S. News & World Report ranks our veterans homes among the best in the country.
We are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.
More people working than ever before; unemployment is at a historic low; record investment in our kids’ education; more help for our colleges and universities; lower taxes; quality health care; growing agriculture and industry; taking care of our veterans. Yeah, we are getting things done...we are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.
But that wasn’t always the case. Eight years ago, things were much different. The state was heading in the wrong direction. Instead of going forward, the state was going backwards.
