First, to ensure that every child has access to a great education, we are going to find additional ways to put more resources into the classroom. A good school equals a great life, and we have some of the best schools in the country. We will build off of our historic investments into K-12 education.
Looking ahead, we need to continue to help rural schools keep more money in the classroom. Many of these schools have unique needs related to transportation and to the size of the district. I want to ensure educational excellence everywhere. With that in mind, we have a plan that will increase Sparsity Aid and help out low revenue school districts.
I want to personally thank Joint Finance Co-Chair John Nygren for his leadership on this, along with Senator Howard Marklein and Representative Jeff Mursau.
Today, I call on members of the state Legislature to pass this plan.
Second, we need to grow the number of opportunities for our young people to pursue great careers here in our state. We developed a plan with the Wisconsin Technical College System, the University of Wisconsin System and with private colleges and universities in Wisconsin. With all of the new jobs being created in our state, we must have enough graduates with the skills to fill these careers.
Today, I propose that we use the $20 million designated in Act 58 to establish a new Wisconsin Career Creator program on campuses all over the state. Years ago, brain drain was a problem. Now, with all of the exciting new jobs and developments, there are many more reasons to keep our graduates in Wisconsin. Now that’s brain gain.
Tonette and I love the fact that our sons Matt and Alex work here in the state. We know how nice it is to have family close to home. We want that for other families as well.
Education and training are the keys to building a strong workforce. We also increased opportunities for people with physical and intellectual disabilities in the workforce.
Plus, our budget included a major increase in funding for vocational training within our correctional system. And we are aggressively working to get veterans into the workforce. Still, we will need to increase the number of potential employees in the state.
With more people working than ever before, we cannot afford to have anyone on the sidelines. Therefore, as the third point in our Ambitious Agenda, I propose that we expand our Wisconsin Works for everyone welfare reforms.
Since we started requiring employment and worker training, more than 25,000 people have gained employment. People like Thomas from Stevens Point and Charlotte from Beloit.
Thomas had been working a series of seasonal jobs. With our training program, he now has a permanent job with MedXcel at St. Michael’s in Stevens Point and says it’s his dream job.
Charlotte had health issues that forced her out of a job. Through our program, she got help and was hired almost immediately to work in registration at Beloit Health System.
These are just a few of the success stories of the more than 25,000 people who are in the workforce because of our work to transition more people from government dependence to true independence through the dignity of work.
Still, we need more individuals in the workforce. Each week, we typically have 80,000 to 100,000 job openings on our state website, jobcenterofwisconsin.com.
With that in mind, I am calling a special session to pass our common sense welfare reform plan.
We want able-bodied, working age adults to work at least 30 hours a week or enroll in job training to get assistance. We want to expand welfare reform statewide. And we want to ensure that everyone getting public assistance can pass a drug test. If someone fails, we set aside resources to get them into rehabilitation because we understand that if we get them healthy, we can find a job for anyone in the state.
We also propose putting asset limits on public assistance so people with giant mansions and fancy cars don’t get welfare checks while hard-working taxpayers have to pay the bills.
While many are upset with the inability to get things done in Washington, we are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin.
Thank you to Speaker Vos and Senator Chris Kapenga for leading and working with us on welfare reform.
Now, some will complain that our reforms are about making it harder to get government assistance. The truth is, our reforms are about making it easier to get a job. For those who are able, we will enable them to find meaningful work. We want to help people pursue careers to support themselves and their families. You see, public assistance should be more like a trampoline and not a hammock. Just like Tommy Thompson did in the 1990s when unemployment was low and times were good, we are moving people from welfare into the workforce.
Fourth, I ask the members of the Legislature to pass our Small Business Plan to help even more employers grow across the state. The first step is reducing costs for small businesses. Lower taxes, streamlining regulations, and reducing frivolous lawsuits are all part of the plan. There is still more that can be done this session on ending unemployment fraud and on lawsuit reform.
Let’s get it done.
The next step for small business is preparing the workforce. Our plans include investments in schools, apprenticeships, higher education, and worker training.
Another step for small businesses is removing barriers to work. The plan includes ending benefit cliffs to encourage more people to work, take more hours and advance into higher wage jobs. It also includes work requirements and screening for drug use for welfare benefits, as well as adding new populations to the workforce.
The final step of our plan for small businesses is to help attract new talent. I ask for the assistance of the Legislature as we seek to attract to Wisconsin several key groups of potential employees: transitioning veterans and their families, graduates of Wisconsin colleges and universities and millennials from across the Midwest.
For more details on our Small Business Plan, please visit our website walker.wi.gov.
We are committed to helping small business grow in every part of Wisconsin. We recently announced major new investments in our ethnic chambers of commerce to help grow minority- owned small businesses. We continue to partner with local chambers, with county economic development entities and with regional economic development organizations to grow small businesses.
And to ensure that more small businesses succeed in the rural parts of the state, I propose that we create a Rural Economic Development Fund of $50 million per year. The fund will support the development of new businesses and the expansion of small businesses in rural areas. And it can assist in training more people to fill the positions being created by employers in rural area.
On top of that, many of the small businesses in our rural communities support and depend on our farm families.
To keep more of our family dairy farms, I propose a plan that would create a Family Farm Fund. This fund would provide scholarships to encourage students to take advantage of agriculture- related studies at a Wisconsin technical college or the UW-College of Agriculture that would help them begin a rewarding career in farming.
Our plan would also help farmers deal with the costs of ensuring that their farming practices preserve clean water in rural areas.
We also recognize that farmers are facing challenges with low commodity prices. That’s why, earlier today, I signed an Executive Order that expands resources for farmers to reach new markets across the country and around the world.
We also need to do more to connect people and businesses in rural areas to high speed Internet connections. As mentioned, we made a major new investment in broadband access grants for communities and in TEACH grants for schools and students. But we can do more. That’s why I’m calling on the Federal Communications Commission to finalize rules increasing access to broadband internet by advancing television white space technology. White space is the unused spectrum between broadcast television stations and it can deliver high-speed internet to underserved areas of Wisconsin.
Each of these items will help grow small businesses in Wisconsin. Therefore, I ask for the members of the Legislature to act on these items that require legislative approval before the end of session.
Our Ambitious Agenda also includes our work to reform state government – to make it more effective, more efficient and more accountable to the people.
We will continue to challenge the status quo.
With that in mind, we are pushing a major reform of the criminal justice system for serious juvenile offenders. Over the past year, we worked with county officials, members of the judiciary, policy experts and lawmakers from both political parties.
We looked at best practices in states like Missouri and elsewhere to see how to reform the system here in Wisconsin.
Thank you to Secretary Jon Litscher and Secretary Linda Seemeyer for their work and that of their incredible teams.
Instead of one or two large facilities, which has been the model for decades, our reform plan would create six smaller facilities spread throughout the state. Locations for five of the sites would be determined by collaborating with the 72 counties - since the offenders are sent to state facilities from individual counties. The other facility would be at Mendota Mental Health Institute as part of the nationally recognized program for mental health treatment.
The complex in Lincoln County would be converted to a medium security adult prison. It would likely focus on alcohol and drug abuse treatment. This additional space would also help limit the amount of money the Department of Corrections has to pay for contract beds outside of the state system.
The Department of Corrections has made many changes over the past few years to improve safety and treatment. These include additional positions, increased compensation, and changes in medicine distribution and more security cameras. The changes I am talking about today, however, are larger than that and are really about long-term reform of the system.
Today, I ask the members of the state Legislature to act on this plan by the end of session.
I particularly want to thank Representative Evan Goyke for his work on these reforms. Much of our plan parallels his work. He is now amending his bill to include our additions in mental health and trauma-informed care. Let’s work with the counties to pass this plan quickly so we can move forward with real reform.
Just like families all across the state have had to do, over the past 8 or 9 years, we have made tough decisions. They paid off. Our reforms are working. The economy is growing. And Wisconsin has a sizable surplus.
As I promised, when we have a surplus, we will give it back to you, the hardworking taxpayers. This is your reform dividend. You deserve it.
So, today, I propose that we create a child tax credit in Wisconsin.
Families across the state will receive $100 for every child, under 18, living at home.
A couple hundred dollars more in the family budget could really make a difference, particularly when getting ready for the next school year.
It could be a new pair of shoes, a winter coat, activity fees at school, or a co-pay at the doctor or dentist. We know sometimes Wisconsin families face challenges when making ends meet, and this new child tax credit can help.
Today, I am joined by families from all over Wisconsin who will benefit from our child tax credit.
Today, I ask members of the Legislature to pass my plan, so that by the time these kids, and all the others like them across the state begin school this fall, their parents will have a check in the mailbox.
The final part of our Ambitious Agenda for 2018 is providing stability in health care. Our citizens are crying out for a stable health care system. Washington has failed to act so it is time for us to lead in Wisconsin.
That is why, today, I propose the Health Care Stability Plan.
Most people receive their health care coverage from their employer. Premium increases for the majority of employer-based plans were fairly modest this year at about 5 percent.
The biggest concern I hear about is from those who are worried about pre-existing conditions. With that in mind, I propose that we enact a law in Wisconsin that will guarantee coverage of pre-existing conditions. That way someone who has cancer or another serious disease or ailment will not have to worry about obtaining or keeping coverage.
The members of the state Assembly have already moved forward, now I ask the members of the Senate to do the same.
This will provide comfort and stability for people all across Wisconsin.
For our senior citizens, most receive their health care through Medicare. While that is a federal and not a state program, we can provide certainty and stability for those who depend on SeniorCare.
In the past, there has been plenty of debate about whether this should be a federal or state government responsibility. It is clear that people want it at the state level.
Therefore, I am officially seeking a permanent waiver for the State of Wisconsin to provide SeniorCare.
Since it was first approved in 2002, the state has asked for an extension of SeniorCare four times. It is time to make this a permanent and stable program.
For the small number of people who seek coverage through the individual market, and not through their employer or through Medicaid or Medicare, I propose that the state provide assistance to keep those premiums from making health care coverage unreachable for many of our fellow citizens.
Under Obamacare, the so-called Affordable Care Act, premiums for people in the individual market are going up an average of 36 percent this year. Some are seeing much larger premium increases. For example, Kristine from Brown County saw her premiums go up by almost $2,000 a month, that’s a 120 per cent increase!
That is unsustainable and unacceptable.
Thankfully, our Health Care Stability Plan will help keep premiums at a reasonable level here in Wisconsin. This is a market-driven approach to bring stability to health care in Wisconsin.
Just as we did years ago when we found a unique way to cover everyone living in poverty for the first time in Wisconsin history, we have a unique way to help drive down premiums.
It is not a Republican or Democrat issue. It is a Wisconsin issue.
We listened to the people and created a Wisconsin solution.
As Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton said in the past, “the Affordable Care Act is no longer afford able.” Instead of seeking to put thousands more people onto government assistance through the Obamacare expansion, our plan helps drive down premiums to make health insurance plans more affordable and will likely to lead to more choices for consumers.
Our Health Care Stability Plan is the Wisconsin Way to provide stability and peace of mind for our citizens.
Along with coverage for general health care needs, we must continue to find new ways to fight the opioid and illegal drug addiction crisis in the state.
Since I’ve been Governor, I signed 28 pieces of legislation into law dealing with this challenge.
Thanks to Representative Nygren for putting together a bipartisan coalition to fight this epidemic and for joining our outstanding Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch as the co-chair of our commission.
Today, I ask you to pass the latest recommendations from this panel of experts.
We know that if we can get people treatment or, better yet, keep them from addiction in the first place, it will not only create a healthier Wisconsin, but a happier one, too.
And that will help us build the workforce we need to keep moving Wisconsin forward.
This is one of those issues that knows no boundaries. Rich or poor, big city or small town, Republican or Democrat. These are the issues that people want us to work together on.
Issues like pushing for more ways to help our schools improve student success; growing the number of opportunities for our young people to pursue great careers that will keep them here in our state; expanding our Wisconsin Works for Everyone welfare reforms; helping small businesses grow across the state; continuing to reform our government; creating a new child tax credit to help working families; and providing stability in health care. These issues are the seven common sense parts of our Ambitious Agenda for 2018.
We are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin, but there is still more work to be done.
So today, I ask you, the members of the state Legislature to move on these important items. These are not Republican or Democrat issues. These are just Wisconsin issues.
Plus, I know that we can work together. Many might be surprised to hear this, but more than 90 percent of the bills that I signed into law were passed with more than just Republican votes. Let me repeat that: more than 90 percent of the laws I’ve signed as your Governor had more than just votes from Republican lawmakers.
So, I know you can work together to get things done, because you’ve done it in the past...and you can do it again this year.
And I ask you, the people of Wisconsin to talk to your lawmakers, and ask for rapid action on this Ambitious Agenda for 2018.
I am confident that you will, because I’ve seen you do positive things all over the state.
You see, one of my great joys as your Governor is traveling the State of Wisconsin and visiting with so many of our wonderful citizens. I love to see the people of Wisconsin.
Through our visits, I see how proud you are of your families; of your homes; of your work; of your small businesses and farms; of your schools; of your churches and places of worship; of your communities; of your state. We are Wisconsin Proud.
Today, I want you to know that I am proud to be your Governor. I’m proud of the work we’ve done here. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made together. I am proud that we are getting positive things done for the people of Wisconsin. But we’re not done yet.
