Absent with leave - Senator Darling - 1.
Vacancies - 20th Senate District - 1.
The Senate stood for a moment of silent meditation.
The Senate remained standing and Senator Ringhand led the Senate in the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (6), the Chief Clerk makes the following entries under the above date. _____________
Chief Clerk's Entries
Amendments Offered
hist31511Senate Amendment 1 to Senate Resolution 2 offered by Senator L. Taylor. hist31512Senate Amendment 2 to Senate Resolution 2 offered by Senator Miller. _____________
Petitions and Communications
hist31508Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative Brooks added as a co-sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 2. _____________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
January 12, 2015
The Honorable, the Senate:
I respectfully request a joint session of the Wisconsin State Legislature for January 13, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. This joint session will be for the purpose of delivering the 2015 State of the State Address.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. I look forward to addressing the full Legislature as well as the citizens of Wisconsin.
Sincerely,
SCOTT WALKER
Governor
_____________
Relating to: the senate rules.
Senator Fitzgerald moved that Senate Amendment 1 to Senate Resolution 2 be laid on the table.
hist31514The question was: Shall Senate Amendment 1 to Senate Resolution 2 be laid on the table? The ayes and noes were demanded and the vote was: ayes, 17; noes, 14; absent or not voting, 1; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Cowles, Farrow, S. Fitzgerald, Gudex, Harsdorf, Lasee, Lazich, LeMahieu, Marklein, Moulton, Nass, Olsen, Petrowski, Roth, Tiffany, Vukmir and Wanggaard - 17.
Noes - Senators Bewley, Carpenter, Erpenbach, Hansen, Harris Dodd, C. Larson, Lassa, Miller, Ringhand, Risser, Shilling, L. Taylor, Vinehout and Wirch - 14.
Absent or not voting - Senator Darling - 1.
Tabled.
Senator Fitzgerald moved that Senate Amendment 2 to Senate Resolution 2 be laid on the table.
hist31515The question was: Shall Senate Amendment 2 to Senate Resolution 2 be laid on the table? The ayes and noes were demanded and the vote was: ayes, 17; noes, 14; absent or not voting, 1; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Cowles, Farrow, S. Fitzgerald, Gudex, Harsdorf, Lasee, Lazich, LeMahieu, Marklein, Moulton, Nass, Olsen, Petrowski, Roth, Tiffany, Vukmir and Wanggaard - 17.
Noes - Senators Bewley, Carpenter, Erpenbach, Hansen, Harris Dodd, C. Larson, Lassa, Miller, Ringhand, Risser, Shilling, L. Taylor, Vinehout and Wirch - 14.
Absent or not voting - Senator Darling - 1.
Tabled.
_____________
Leaves of Absence
Senator Fitzgerald, with unanimous consent, asked that Senator Darling be granted a leave of absence for today's session.
hist31516The question was: Adoption of Senate Resolution 2? The ayes and noes were required and the vote was: ayes, 25; noes, 6; absent or not voting, 1; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Bewley, Cowles, Farrow, S. Fitzgerald, Gudex, Hansen, Harris Dodd, Harsdorf, C. Larson, Lasee, Lazich, LeMahieu, Marklein, Moulton, Nass, Olsen, Petrowski, Ringhand, Risser, Roth, Shilling, L. Taylor, Tiffany, Vukmir and Wanggaard - 25.
Noes - Senators Carpenter, Erpenbach, Lassa, Miller, Vinehout and Wirch - 6.
Absent or not voting - Senator Darling - 1.
Adopted.
_____________
Announcements, Adjournment Honors and Remarks Under
Special Privilege
Senator Carpenter, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourns, it do so in honor of Zablocki Library, which has so graciously hosted his Town Halls over the years and allowed residents the opportunity to become informed on state government issues affecting the Third Senate District.
Senator Carpenter, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourns, it do so in honor of Greenfield Public Library, which has so graciously hosted his Town Halls over the years and allowed residents the opportunity to become informed on state government issues affecting the Third Senate District.
Senator Carpenter, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourns, it do so in honor of West Allis Public Library, which has so graciously hosted his Town Halls over the years and allowed residents the opportunity to become informed on state government issues affecting the Third Senate District.
Senator Carpenter, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourns, it do so in honor of Wilson Park Senior Center, which has so graciously hosted his Town Halls over the years and allowed residents the opportunity to become informed on state government issues affecting the Third Senate District.
Senator Carpenter, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourns, it do so in honor of Wisconsin Humane Society, Milwaukee Campus, which has so graciously hosted his Town Halls over the years and allowed residents the opportunity to become informed on state government issues affecting the Third Senate District.
Senator Ringhand, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourns, it do so in honor of Jim Olsen. Jim is a former Whitewater Common Council member, firefighter, and funeral director, who passed away unexpectedly at the end of December. He is survived by his daughter, six siblings, family, and friends. Jim was known for his hard work, open mind, and dedication to making Whitewater a better place.
Senator Hansen, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourns, it do so in honor of the Green Bay Packers. He attended the Ice Bowl in 19687 and was in attendance on Sunday as the Pack beat the Cowboys. Best of luck for the Green and Gold against the Seahawks.
_____________
President Lazich appointed Senators LeMahieu and Bewley to escort his Excellency, the Governor, to the Joint Convention.
Senator Fitzgerald, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate recess until 6:45 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 20, 2015, upon the rising of the Joint Convention.
2:47 P.M.
_____________
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.
_____________
In Assembly Chamber
In Joint Convention
7:00 P.M.
Senate President Lazich 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:
_____________
State of the State Address
“Speaker Vos, Speaker Pro Tem August, President Lazich, Majority Leader Fitzgerald, Minority Leader Shilling, 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 parents, Llew and Pat.
Sitting next to my wife is the Adjutant General of the Wisconsin National Guard, Major General Donald Dunbar. Last Friday, General Dunbar and I saw off 522 members of the 115th Fighter Wing here in Madison. They answered the call of our nation's Commander-in-Chief, while still being fully prepared to respond to needs right here in Wisconsin. This is the strength of the National Guard. When you go to bed tonight, I ask that you keep these men and women—as well as each of the other units deployed from Wisconsin—and their families, in your prayers until their safe return.
And how about those Packers? If there is one thing that can bring together Democrats and Republicans here in Wisconsin, it's the Green Bay Packers. Forgive me tonight if I'm a bit hoarse, but like most of the state, we spent a fair amount of time cheering on Sunday.
I had plenty of fun hugging owners in the stands at Lambeau. Best of luck to the man who should be the League MVP—Aaron Rodgers—and to the rest of the team.
Much like our military and the Packers, tonight, I am proud to report the state of our state is strong.
The source of our strength is our people. I see it when I tour factories and farms and small businesses; I see it when I visit schools and hospitals and places of worship all across this great state. The citizens of Wisconsin are decent and smart and hard-working—and they are strong.
Over the past four years, we put the power back into their hands. In turn, Wisconsin is more free and prosperous.
If you remember nothing else, remember this: more people are working, while fewer are unemployed. State government is more effective, more efficient, and more accountable, and the state's financial condition has improved. Budgets are set based on the public's ability to pay, instead of the government's hunger to spend. School scores are up and more students are graduating, and we are helping more of our fellow citizens to transition from government dependence to work.
The Wisconsin Comeback is working.
According to preliminary numbers from the Department of Workforce Development, there are now 7,600 more private sector jobs in Wisconsin than there were before the recession.
The unemployment rate that peaked at 9.2 percent in January of 2010 is now down to 5.2 percent. Trends show it will continue to drop this year.
