A champion of small business, Paul has owned and operated two successful startup companies since the 1990s. Prior to serving in state politics, Paul was a school board member for the Richmond School in the Town of Lisbon and a former state director of the Youth in Government program for the YMCA of Metro Milwaukee.
Paul is proud to bring the 33rd Senate District’s representation back into the Farrow family, where his mother, former Lieutenant Governor Margaret Farrow, served as its senator from 1989 until 2001.
Paul is joined today by his wife of 25 years Amy, their two sons, Andrew and Jarod, his mother and father, former Lt. Governor Margaret Farrow and John Farrow, and in-laws Bill and Barb Vaitl.”
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Upon the calling of the newly elected Senators on Monday, January 7, 2013, the following appeared before the Senate, took and subscribed the oath of office which was administered by the Honorable Pat Roggensack, Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Robert Cowles Lena C. Taylor
Nikiya Harris Alberta Darling
Sheila Harsdorf Tom Tiffany
Luther Olsen Mark Miller
Rick Gudex Glenn Grothman
Robert W. Wirch Julie Lassa
Fred Risser Mary Lazich
Dave Hansen Jennifer Shilling
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In the Chair
Senate President Risser in the Chair.
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The roll was called, disclosing the presence of a quorum.
Pursuant to Senate Rule 15, the official attendance for session was: Senators Carpenter, Cowles, T. Cullen, Darling, Ellis, Erpenbach, Farrow, S. Fitzgerald, Grothman, Gudex, Hansen, Harris, Harsdorf, Jauch, Kedzie, C. Larson, Lasee, Lassa, Lazich, Lehman, Leibham, Miller, Moulton, Olsen, Petrowski, Risser, Schultz, Shilling, Taylor, Tiffany, Vinehout, Vukmir and Wirch - 33.
Absent - None.
Absent or not voting - None.
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hist637Considered as priveleged and taken up. Relating to: notifying the assembly and the governor that the 2013-2014 senate is organized.
By Senators S. Fitzgerald, Ellis, Grothman, C. Larson and Hansen.
hist644The question was: Adoption of Senate Resolution 1? The ayes and noes were demanded and the vote was: ayes, 33; noes, 0; absent or not voting, 0; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Carpenter, Cowles, T. Cullen, Darling, Ellis, Erpenbach, Farrow, S. Fitzgerald, Grothman, Gudex, Hansen, Harris, Harsdorf, Jauch, Kedzie, C. Larson, Lasee, Lassa, Lazich, Lehman, Leibham, Miller, Moulton, Olsen, Petrowski, Risser, Schultz, Shilling, Taylor, Tiffany, Vinehout, Vukmir and Wirch - 33.
Noes - None.
Absent or not voting - None.
Adopted.
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Remarks of President Risser
“In a few moments, I will ask the new officers of the Senate come before the bar to take the oath of office. Before I do that, however, I would like to say a few words.
As we begin the 101st Session of the Wisconsin Legislature, I am hopeful that he members of this body - regardless of party or personal philosophy - can maintain the tradition of order and decorum that give the Wisconsin State Senate a reputation as a model legislative body. There are many challenges ahead of us this session, and I expect that we will handle them with dignity as guardians of the public interest.
I would like to thank my fellow Senators for allowing me to serve as Senate President. I find that it is always a great honor to serve as President and I enjoy the opportunity immensely.
For those new to this body, I will share a little history. The Wisconsin State Senate did not always select its presiding officer. The Lieutenant Governor acted as President of the Senate until 1979 when the state constitution was changed to provide that the Senate select its own president. I was the first Senator selected for that position in 1979 and have served on and off as president for approximately 24 of the past 34 years since that time.
Senator Mike Ellis, to whom I return the gavel today, is the fourth member of the Senate to be elected President from within; joining myself, Senator Brian Rude and Senator Alan Lasee. Senator Ellis also has the distinction of being the second longest serving member of the Wisconsin Legislature.
In fact, if you add that Senator Ellis is starting his 43rd year of legislative service to my starting my 57th year of service, the two of us log in a total of 100 years of service to Wisconsin
This session we welcome a new Senate Chief Clerk, Jeff Renk. Jeff served in the Office of the Assembly Chief Clerk for 11 years before coming to the Senate as Assistant Chief Clerk in 2004. Thank you, Jeff, for your continued service to the Senate.
We also welcome back Senate Sergeant at Arms Ted Blazel for another session. Ted and his staff helped to keep order during a number of contentious debates last session. His experience and professionalism is a credit to the body.
Finally, I would like to recognize my wife, Nancy, who is here today. Without her help and support, I would not be standing before you now.
With that, I would like to call Senators Mike Ellis and Joe Leibham, as well as Chief Clerk Jeff Renk and Sergeant at Arms Ted Blazel before the bar to take the oath of office.”
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The President, Michael G. Ellis, the President Pro Tempore, Joe Leibham, the Chief Clerk, Jeffery Renk, and the Sergeant at Arms, Edward A. Blazel, having been duly elected by the adoption of Senate Resolution 1, appeared together before the bar of the Senate, took and subscribed the oath of office which was administered by the Honorable Pat Roggensack, Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
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Senate President Ellis in the chair.
President Ellis and President Pro Tempore Leibham introduced the Senators returning from the 100th Session: Senators Lasee, Carpenter, Vukmir, Larson, Leibham, Kedzie, Fitzgerald, Cullen, Schultz, Ellis, Lehman, Moulton, Jauch, Erpenbach, Petrowski and Vinehout.
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With unanimous consent, Senator Fitzgerald addressed the members from the rostrum.
Remarks of Majority Leader Fitzgerald
“Mr. President, Justice Roggensack, Minority Leader Larson, fellow colleagues, and distinguished guests:
It is with a great sense of humility and honor that I stand before you today as Majority Leader. I thank my colleagues in the outer ring for conferring their trust in me, and I thank Minority Leader Larson and the members of his caucus for their efforts in the transition process.
As we begin the important duty of conducting the people’s business, I welcome and congratulate the 17 Senators whose oaths were renewed or taken for the first time today. Your constituents gave you the privilege and deep responsibility of representing their interests, and I look forward to working with you and each member of this body on the productive session ahead of us.
We began the difficult work of repairing our state in the last session, and we accomplished a great deal. We balanced the budget, eliminated the deficit, and created a surplus. We deposited an historic amount of money into the rainy day fund and passed a host of bipartisan jobs bills aimed at making our state a better place for employers to stay and create jobs in Wisconsin. There’s no doubt that our state is in better shape than it was just two years ago.
Getting those things done for the benefit of the people was not an easy task, and it came at a price for some of our members who refused to put their jobs ahead of what they thought was best for our state. But those days are behind us, and my hope for this session is to transcend the bitterness of the recalls and move forward together with a renewing spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation.
In this new session, we must build upon the proven reforms of the last. Our duty as senators is not to shirk the challenges we face but to confront them head on. We were elected to make the tough calls; not to run away from them. We were sent to this chamber to make Wisconsin better and more prosperous for all.
This is why one of our top priorities will be passing legislation that opens the door for safe and environmentally sound mining in an area of our state in need of revitalization. We have the opportunity to allow for the creation of thousands of good paying, family supporting jobs right here in Wisconsin, and I know that is something we can all support.
In addition to making our state a friendlier place for jobs, we’ll focus on balancing our state budget and keeping spending in line with the taxpayers’ ability to pay. We’re here to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ hard earned money, and it’s our job to ensure it’s used wisely and more efficiently.
As members, we may be defined by districts and party affiliation, but we are united by the desire to make our state a better place. It is in this spirit that I welcome you to the 101st Session of the Wisconsin State Senate. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.”
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With unanimous consent, Senator Larson addressed the members from the rostrum.
Remarks of Minority Leader Larson
“Hello and welcome to Wisconsin’s 101st legislative session. It’s an honor to join my Senate colleagues, their family and friends, and our Wisconsin neighbors at this momentous event.
As we embark on another journey together, we must acknowledge that Wisconsin faces a number of steep mountains we must scale in the new legislative session. From disappointing job creation and economic development efforts, devaluation of our education system, to a lack of accountability and transparency measures for our tax dollars, Wisconsin’s middle class families are counting on us to summit these high ranges.
Starting today, we have a choice between more extreme ideology or real bipartisan solutions. Extremism has cost Wisconsin dearly. Despite jobs numbers growing nationally over the past 34 months, Wisconsin has stumbled; adding only 38,000 jobs during 2011 and 2012. Just last month, Forbes Magazine dropped its ranking of Wisconsin to 42nd out of 50 on its list of best states for business. We have had a costly reminder that putting up “Open for Business” signs is not enough to create real jobs. Wisconsin needs honest change, not just talk and political gimmicks.
By working together, we can reverse the failed policies that led to projections showing Wisconsin’s job growth will be second worst in the country through 2016. Without bipartisan efforts to move Wisconsin forward for all, working families from Menasha to Altoona, Beloit to Superior, will continue to go underemployed or unemployed. As we all know, Wisconsin’s working, middle class families are the key to creating a robust economy, and that is why they are our first priority this session.
Wisconsin also faces the challenge of a growing values deficit. I challenge each legislator to again go out and visit their community schools. See what we have seen. During my recent visits, I saw educators struggling to teach kids in overcrowded classrooms, with up to 44 students in each one. I visited schools that no longer teach art and music. By continuing to steal from our children’s piggy bank, we’re robbing them of their opportunity to live up to their full potential. It’s our challenge to fully restore the devastating cuts to education and reclaim a promising future for our next generation.
If Wisconsin’s going to be a pro-jobs state, it must be pro-education. Statistics show there is a direct correlation between education and one’s ability to obtain a family supporting job. The 2011-2012 budget cut over $1 billion from K-12 and higher education--the largest cut to education in Wisconsin’s history. As a result, Wisconsin has ranked in the top five for cutting education spending per pupil while ranking 23rd on unemployment. On the other hand, states such as North Dakota, Wyoming, and Vermont that chose to increase investments in education have fared much better with unemployment, as they are all ranked in the top 10.
We have another challenge this session. With real bipartisanship we can rip away the curtain of secrecy and let the light of accountability and transparency shine on our state programs.
We recently saw what can happen when accountability and transparency are sacrificed by state agencies, like the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Tasked with creating much needed jobs, this hastily-created agency was handed $85 million in taxpayer dollars, but never given a rule book. As a result, we saw WEDC circumvent our fair and competitive bidding process, ignore federal and state laws when giving out grants, and lose track of $50 million in loans, including about $12 million overdue.
With Wisconsin still struggling economically, it is unacceptable to allow our job creation corporation to continue to play fast and loose with our tax dollars. Wisconsin citizens will not allow us to double down after finding out that the deck is stacked against them.
Wisconsin voters spoke with one voice this fall. They voted for more jobs. They voted for a strong education system. They voted for more transparency. But most importantly, they voted for bipartisanship over the continuation of extremism. Neither political party has a monopoly on good, common sense ideas. My colleagues and I encourage members of the Legislature to heed the calls of those we represent and work together as Wisconsinites. We look forward to tackling these difficult but important issues with our Republican colleagues, as well as the governor, to move Wisconsin forward again.”
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Report of Committees
The joint committee on Legislative Organization reports and recommends:
Senate Joint Resolution 1
Relating to: the session schedule for the 2031−2014 biennial session period.
Introduction.
Ayes: 10 − Senators Ellis, S. Fitzgerald, Grothman, Larson and Hansen. Representatives Vos, Suder, Steineke, Barca and Pasch.
Noes: 0 − None.
MICHAEL ELLIS
