State of the State 2026
On Tuesday, Governor Evers delivered his final State of the State address. As I have for the past 14 years—regardless of who was governor—I attended the speech in person.
I was disappointed that the Governor chose to spend much of his time blaming the Legislature for the challenges facing his administration. Wisconsin families are struggling with affordability, largely because of his own veto pen. He proudly signed a bill that locks in higher property taxes for the next 400 years, driving up costs and leaving families with less money in their pockets. While he tries to frame this massive property tax increase as a solution for education, the reality is that he has repeatedly vetoed countless Republican-authored bills that would actually address the root issues in our schools.
That said, there are bipartisan accomplishments this session that I’m proud to have supported:
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We delivered $2 billion in tax relief to Wisconsin families.
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We eliminated the sales tax on electricity and natural gas—a measure I worked hard to include.
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We made a historic additional investment of $500 million in special education.
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We increased funding by $108 million for local roads.
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We invested in the Office of School Safety and added more district attorneys and public defenders.
These are real wins for Wisconsinites that were included in the most recent budget ACT 15. Now, with a $2.4 billion surplus in the state budget, it’s time to finish the job: return that money directly to the taxpayers who earned it.
Wednesday Floor Session
On Wednesday I voted for a package of bills that help protect the elderly from financial abuse and scams, and regulates crypto kiosks to hinder scammers from targeting seniors.
In recent years, the number of seniors that experience financial abuse through scams has increased dramatically, reaching as high as 20% during the pandemic. Elder financial abuse in Wisconsin is estimated to reach nearly $3.42 billion per year. Assembly Bill 972 allows financial institutions to suspend the account if fraud is suspected and be given 5 – 15 days to certify the transaction. While there are scammers from all over the world that target our seniors, sadly nearly two-thirds of elder abuse is done by family or friends. This legislation implements the necessary safeguards to protect the elderly from financial abuse.
We also passed Assembly Bill 968, which aims to protect vulnerable citizens from fraud related to currency kiosks. Currency kiosks are vending machines that can exchange cash for crypto currency. Our legislation provides consumer protections including mandatory customer ID verification (collecting personal info, government-issued ID, and photographing customers per transaction), a $500 daily transaction limit per customer, fee caps at the greater of $5 or 3% of the amount, prominent fraud warning notices (with customer acknowledgment), full refunds for reported fraud within 30 days, antifraud policies, toll-free customer service, detailed receipts, and restrictions on kiosk placement near ATMs.
Madison Meeting
On Tuesday I had a meeting with the leadership of the UW-River Falls Student Government Association. They came to Madison to promote their campus, and talk to legislators about key bills that have been passed so far this session. It’s always great to hear from students who want to server their communities!
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State Capitol Tours
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The best way to experience the beauty and grandeur of Wisconsin’s Capitol building (located at 2 East Main Street, Madison, WI 53702) is to see it for yourself. It is open to the public weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and weekends and holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Free tours are offered daily, year round except on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas. Tours start at the information desk Monday through Saturday at 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 a.m. and 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 p.m.; and Sundays at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 p.m. A 4:00 p.m. tour is offered weekdays (Monday – Friday), excluding holidays, during Memorial Day through Labor Day. Plan on spending 45-55 minutes for a tour. The sixth floor museum and observation deck are open during the summer months. Groups of ten or more can make an on-line reservation for a tour of the State Capitol or call (608)266-0382.
