Messaged.
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Consideration of resolutions and joint resolutions not requiring a third reading
Senate Joint Resolution 95
Relating to: honoring the life and public service of Representative William Vander Loop.
Senate Joint Resolution 99
Relating to: proclaiming January 2022 as human trafficking awareness and prevention month.
hist151211The question was: Adoption of Senate Joint Resolution 99? Adopted.
Senate Joint Resolution 100
Relating to: honoring the life and public service of Dr. Jacob Albert “Doc” Hines, D.V.M.
Senate Joint Resolution 107
Relating to: proclaiming February 2022 to be American Heart Month in Wisconsin.
hist151221The question was: Adoption of Senate Joint Resolution 107? Adopted.
Senate Joint Resolution 108
Relating to: honoring the life and public service of Senator Joseph Leean.
Assembly Joint Resolution 108
Relating to: proclaiming February 21 to 27, 2022, as American Birkebeiner Week in Wisconsin.
hist151225The question was: Concurrence of Assembly Joint Resolution 108? Concurred in.
Senator LeMahieu, with unanimous consent, asked that all action be immediately messaged to the Assembly:
Messaged.
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Announcements, Adjournment Honors, and Remarks Under Special Privilege
Senator Wirch, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn in honor of a dear friend of his, Bill Duberstine, who passed away. They were friends for a long time and Duberstine was quite a character. He was larger than life and a good hearted guy. He had a photographic memory and could remember little things that happened many years ago. When Duberstine retired, he volunteered thousands of hours at the hospital helping people out. He didn’t just help out patients and families, but he noticed the staff who were hard working and often not paid enough. He bought small gas gift cards and gave them to staff so they could stretch their paycheck a little further. He was a frugal guy, but generous with family and a devoted father and grandfather. At Christmas he would tell Senator Wirch, “I hate to shop, and I know what my kids want-money. I know what they want and I know what they need.” Bill Duberstine, a wonderful volunteer, a good friend. Rest in peace, Bill. Rest in peace.
Senator Wanggaard, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn in honor of his son John Allen Jensen on the 31st Anniversary of his 21st birthday. Senator Wanggaard is blessed to call you his son.
Senator Bewley, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn in honor of defending Olympic curling gold medalist and five-time Olympian, Skipper John Shuster from Superior, Wisconsin. John is leading his team of curlers again at the Beijing Olympics after winning gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyongyang, a first for an American curling team. John also received bronze at the 2006 Torino Olympic Games. A few weeks ago, John had the additional honor of being selected by his peers to be the flag bearer at the opening ceremony. John told Today in an interview, “It's one of the biggest honors that I've ever had bestowed upon me." Please join Senator Bewley in thanking, John and all of our Olympians competing to represent Team USA.
Senator Darling, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn in honor of James “Jim” Wigdale, who passed away recently.
Senator Taylor, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn in honor of Thomas Mundy Peterson, the first black person in the United States to cast the first vote.
Senator Taylor, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn in honor of Dr. Carter, who passed away at 90 years old.
Senator Taylor, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn in honor of Lena J. Taylor and Wilbur Taylor for shaping her into who she is today.
Senator Felzkowski, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn in honor of all the snowmobile clubs and volunteers that do an amazing job in keeping our trails open.
Senator Ballweg, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn in honor of Senator Joseph “Joe” Leean. In 1984, Senator Leean was elected to represent the people of the 14th Senate District, which he went on to serve for 10 years, until 1995. Senator Leean, a public servant and dedicated husband, father, and grandfather, passed away on February 2, 2022.
Senator Ballweg, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn in honor of the life and public service of Dr. Jacob Albert “Doc” Hines. In 2001, Rep. Hines won a special election to represent the 42nd district of Wisconsin and retired in 2008. Dr. Jacob Albert “Doc” Hines, D.V.M., passed away on March 3, 2020, at the age of 92.
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President Kapenga appointed Senators Bernier and Ringhand to escort his Excellency, the Governor, to the Joint Convention.
Senator LeMahieu, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate recess until 6:40 p.m. 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 Thursday, February 17, 2022, upon the rising of the Joint Convention.
2:36 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 Kapenga in the chair.
The Committee to wait upon the Governor appeared with his Excellency, the Honorable Governor Tony Evers, who delivered his message as follows:
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State of the State Address
“Good evening, Wisconsin!
Honorable Supreme Court Justices, Tribal Nation leaders, constitutional officers, Maj. Gen. Knapp, members of the Wisconsin National Guard and active and retired members of our armed forces, cabinet members, Sen. President Kapenga, Majority Leader LeMahieu, Minority Leader Bewley, Speaker Vos, and Minority Leader Neubauer, legislators, distinguished guests, and, most importantly, all of the folks tuning in from home, welcome, and thank you for joining us.
I’m Tony Evers, and I’m incredibly proud to be your governor–the 46th governor of this great state.
The rest of my kids are watching from home this evening, but my daughter Katie is with us tonight. And my forever junior prom date, Kathy, is also up in the gallery. We’ll be celebrating our 50th anniversary later this year. Kathleen Frances, I’m just as crazy about you as I was 50 years ago–thanks for your support, your wisdom, your patience, and your wit. I love you so much.
As I deliver my fourth State of the State address to you tonight, I recognize there are those who would’ve said it was unlikely I’d ever become governor. I was a scrawny kid with big glasses who grew up in Plymouth–that’s the Cheese Capital of the World, by the way. I raised hell and played bass guitar in a rock band in high school. I worked in a cheese factory scraping mold off of cheese. I took my kindergarten classmate to junior prom and ended up spending the rest of my life with her.
I didn’t plan my career just so I could be standing up here tonight. I didn’t spend years pining to run for this office. And I’d much rather spend time listening to others than talking about myself–which, I’ve found out, isn’t something I have in common with most politicians.
I guess, in many ways, maybe it was unlikely. But you might not know just how close I was to ending up on a much different path. So, tonight, for the first time, I want to begin by telling a story I haven't shared before.
I grew up in a house of healthcare workers. My mom was a nurse, and my dad was a doctor who took care of tuberculosis patients at a sanitorium in Sheboygan County. And I’d grown up always wanting to be like them–I wanted to help people just like they did.
In 1974, I was doing just that and trying to follow in their footsteps. I was in my first year of medical school in Austria when Kathy and I found out that we were expecting our first kid. Well, as you can imagine, spending years going to medical school wasn’t exactly ideal for raising a newborn–I needed to figure out a better way to help support our family, and I needed to do it pretty quickly. So, Kathy and I packed up our things, and we headed back to good old Plymouth. We found an apartment. And I applied and got a job at the Kohler Company.
Well, there I was the night before I was supposed to start my job at Kohler. My mom–who’d collected mail for us while we were away–said, “Oh, by the way, I’ve got a stack of mail here for you,” and she handed me a stack of a year’s worth of mail.
Well, in that stack of mail was a letter. It was from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. And I opened that letter that night. It said “congratulations” because I’d been accepted into their master’s program for education.
That moment changed my life. That letter changed my entire trajectory. Because of that letter, I went on to become a science teacher. Because of that letter, I went on to become a principal and state superintendent. And there is no doubt that it is because of that letter that I’m standing here today as your governor.
And I tell you that story tonight, in part, to state the obvious–things don’t always go the way we plan. In fact, for these past few years, that’s sort of been one constant. If we’d had our way, we would not have faced the worst pandemic in a century or the worst economic crisis since the Great Recession. If we’d had our way, we would’ve expanded BadgerCare and access to affordable healthcare for tens of thousands of Wisconsinites. We would’ve met two-thirds funding for the first time in two decades and we would’ve done it by fully funding our public schools. We would’ve passed meaningful legislation to address PFAS and lead and justice reform. If we’d had our way, 11,637 Wisconsinites would still be here with us today—they’d be at our dinner tables, they’d be in our classrooms, our hospitals, our churches, our farms, and our factories, and they’d still be here celebrating more birthdays, more holidays, and more milestones with us.
But I also tell you that story because this work has always been a responsibility and an obligation I’ve met without regret or reservation—to do what needed to be done, to do what I must with what I was given, and to always try to do what is right. Not because it was perfect. Not because it was always easy. But because, however different things could have ended up for me, I have never doubted that I’m right where I needed to be because I welcome the duty of doing the right thing when it matters most.
Tonight, I am proud to be able to report that the state of our state is stronger and better than it was a year ago, or two years ago, or even three years ago.
We’ve worked hard to ensure our workers had jobs to return to after this pandemic. Through federal pandemic aid to our state, we’ve invested $1 billion into supporting our small businesses, farmers, and tourism, lodging, and entertainment industries. To date, we’ve supported more than 100,000 small businesses, and nearly 3,000 of those small businesses have opened up new storefronts on Main Streets across our state.
Throughout the pandemic, we were also able to keep all 375 transportation projects during the 2020 construction season on track. And because we did, we secured $105 million reallocated from other states to invest back into our infrastructure. We’ve also improved more than 1,770 miles of highways and more than 1,250 bridges–and if you laid out all the highways we’ve fixed end to end, you could just about drive from Platteville to Denver and back.
I also directed $100 million to support Wisconsin farmers through our Farm Support Program. In one round alone, we were able to help more than 20,000 farmers, and in more than half of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, our support for farmers through this program exceeded $1 million.
