Sortwell Scoop: 2nd Assembly District E-Update, February 16, 2023

This past Wednesday, Governor Evers introduced his version of the state budget, and it is shocking. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s begin.

First off, Evers is looking to increase state spending by 23% in the first year, spending a total of $103.8 billion over the next two years. Wow! That is billions of dollars that we don’t have, and it’s more than double what we could theoretically have and use.

One of my biggest concerns is that he wants to give $290 million to the Brewers to cover repairs and renovations at American Family Field. I understand a lot of people support the team, but should we be giving that much of your tax dollars to help manage a sports facility that is owned and operated by millionaires and billionaires?

Additionally, he includes policy initiatives that have nothing to do with taxpayer dollars. Let’s take a closer look. For starters, Evers wants to give special treatment to LGBTQ members to bid on state contracts. This motion suggests that it is okay to break society into classes rather than treating everyone equally under the law.

Next, the Senate currently has the power of advice and consent in regard to the governor’s appointments. This power is so important that it has been enshrined at the federal level in the US Constitution. Evers is now looking to eliminate that. By eliminating this power, he would be eliminating the division of power and checks and balances between the governor and the legislature. He also wants to eliminate the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules’ (JCRAR) ability to suspend rules more than once and limit the oversight power of the legislature to suspend illegal rules. This is a power that the legislature has exercised for decades, under Republicans and Democrats alike.

I’m sure you have heard of all the issues people are currently having with getting occupational licenses. Well, in Evers’ budget increase, he allows local governments to be more restrictive on licensing. What else does he do? He increases the attorney general’s power and makes it easier for local governments to raise local property taxes. He allows the Department of Workforce and Development (DWD) to raise the minimum wage without legislative oversight, allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, and wants to implement automatic voter registration for all new drivers. When you put those last two together, you find that it makes it easier for illegal immigrants to vote.

He then goes after school mascots, such as the Mishicot Indians, and tries to replace the mascot, strictly because it is associated with American Indians. He attempts to limit school choice so that parents can’t send their children to the school of their choosing, and on top of that, he also attempts to cap special needs scholarship programs, limiting resources many individuals with special needs will have access to.

A few other things he is in favor of are decreasing the number of people who are able to deduct private school tuition from their income, allowing local governments to increase the minimum wage, increasing the number of state employees by almost a thousand, and allowing non-citizens to become law enforcement officers.

Finally, he turns over budgetary authority for the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) to the department itself, a power (the power of the purse) that is explicitly granted in our state constitution for the legislature to control. The power of the purse has been a fundamental constitutional authority of the legislative body since the beginning of this country.

As you can surely tell, I am not supportive of a lot of what was suggested at the budget address. With all of that being said, if you have any ideas on how we should be spending state money, please reach out to my office with your thoughts. We do consider all ideas and would love to hear what you have to say.

Early Voting Ends Soon

Early voting for the 2023 primary spring election is about to end! If you don’t vote early, make sure you vote on election day, February the 21st!

For more information regarding each candidate running for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, visit: Here’s who’s running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court (madison.com).

FYI – Licensing Changes Coming Soon

The White House has announced that it plans to end the Presidential national emergency proclamation on May 11, 2023. Accordingly, a temporary license for a person who applied for the temporary license without also applying for a regular license will expire 30 days after that, on June 10, 2023.

To sum it up, if a person has a 2021 Act 10 license only under the Presidential national emergency proclamation that’s ending in May, all they need to do is apply for the regular license, and DSPS will be able to identify and manage the files to maintain the person’s 2021 Act 10 active license status while the regular application is pending.

In-District Events
February 18th will be Maribel’s 14th Annual Sportsman’s Rummage Sale and Booyah. This event will take place at the Maribel Sportsman’s Club (8824 WI-147, Maribel) and will last from 8am to 2pm.February 18th and 19th will be the annual rummage and bake sale in Two Rivers (The Washington House Museum; 1622 Jefferson St.). This event will take place on both days from 10am to 5pm.