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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 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:
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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.
While December job numbers for the states come out next week, the preliminary November data for Wisconsin shows we had the best monthly private sector job growth in more than two decades. Specifically, the year-over-year numbers show the creation of 51,000 private sector jobs—which is the best since the end of the 1990s.
Budget reforms over the past four years reduced the burden on the hard-working taxpayers of this state by $2 billion, and we will continue to reduce that burden every year that I am in office.
In particular, I am proud to say property taxes on a typical home were $141 lower in December of 2014 than they were four years ago. That's right; property taxes are literally lower than they were in 2010. How many Governors can say that?
If property taxes had grown over the past four years at the rate they did between 2006 and 2010, a typical homeowner would have paid $385 more in property taxes this past December. Over the last four years combined, the cumulative difference is more than $800. That's real money.
We heard you loud and clear. Thanks for all of the nice notes and emails and calls to tell us how your property taxes went down. We heard from Mike and Sherry from Sheboygan, Clint from Markesan, and Tammy from Viroqua. There was Jon and Christine from Milwaukee, Karen from Portage, and Dale from Jefferson; Karen from Oregon, Diana from Elkhorn, and Louis from Marshfield. My pledge to you is that property taxes four years from now will be lower than they were in 2014.
We reduced income and employer taxes, too. And we started taking less out of paychecks for withholding last April, so you could keep more of your hard-earned money.
On top of our economic success, we empowered local school boards to hire and fire based on merit and pay based on performance, so they can keep the best and the brightest in the classroom. And it's working.
Over the past four years, graduation rates are up. Third grade reading scores are up. ACT scores are up—and Wisconsin now ranks 2nd in the country.
Our fiscal outlook is strong, too. We finished each year with a surplus, and we will again this year. Wisconsin's pension system is the only one fully funded in the country. The state's pension and debt ratio is one of the best. Our bond rating is positive. And the rainy day fund is the largest in state history—165 times bigger than when we first took office.
While the state of state is strong, we want it to be even stronger in the future. Tonight, I will layout parts of our legislative agenda for the future of this great state.
Our plan will help people get the education and skills they need to succeed. We want the opportunity to be as equal as possible with the outcome left up to each and every one of us. In other words, our plan is to help more people live their piece of the American Dream—right here in Wisconsin.
We will build off of our successes in worker training through the Blueprint for Prosperity we announced last year. So far, we helped put nearly 5,000 more students into classes at our 16 technical colleges throughout the state. Some of them are with us here tonight.
One of those is Amber Meads at Waukesha County Technical College. Amber is 24 and was on a waiting list to get into the welding program. Our Wisconsin Fast Forward grant opened up a spot for her to start in the fall semester. Amber now knows she is getting the training she needs for a high-paying career that will support her and her 5-year-old daughter, Cheyenne, who is with her here tonight.
Last year, we announced a new program called A Better Bottom Line that was patterned after an idea from my friend, Delaware Governor Jack Markell, when he was chair of the National Governors Association. It is about helping employers identify the unique abilities of people who are defined, by some, as having a disability.
Tonight, I want to recognize some of the people who I met this year through A Better Bottom Line. Including Spencer Kletzien of Dickmann Manufacturing in Grafton, Mary LaPointe, who uses her computer skills at her job with Beyond Vision in Milwaukee, Peter Wenzel, who works at Mosinee Cold Storage, and Dan Blomgren, who I met at McGlynn Pharmacy in Stoughton.
As part of A Better Bottom Line, we expanded programs helping transition people with disabilities into the workforce in a way that matched their skills with the needs of prospective employers. For the first time in more than a decade, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation eliminated a waiting list for employment services for people with significant disabilities. We will continue to expand these programs in the coming year.
