News of the Day

On Tuesday, thirteen bills recommended by the Speaker’s Task Force on Water Quality chaired by Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) passed the Assembly with bipartisan support. The task force report detailing the committee’s recommendations was released in January following a total of fourteen hearings held around the state.

“When this task force was formed one year ago, I could not have imagined how rewarding it would be to serve as chairman of this committee,” said Novak. “We heard from over 70 diverse stakeholder groups, traveled over 2,000 miles, and heard over 100 hours of testimony. We brought everyone to the table to ensure we collected information that was both balanced and comprehensive. Clean water is not a Democrat or Republican issue, it is a Wisconsin issue.”

The bills passed include investments in research and data collection, resources for our farmers to engage in conservation, and assistance for those in immediate need. Two bills authored by Rep. Novak create the UW Freshwater Collaborative to aid in developing a freshwater workforce along with additional funding for County Conservation Staff who work to build relationships and implement the state’s many water quality programs.

To assist farmers engage in conservation, the bills passed today include the creation of a Nitrogen Reduction Pilot Program which will award grants to farmers who implement nitrogen reduction strategies on their fields. Legislation passed today also increases funding for producer led groups will allow this successful program to grow.

“I’m so very proud of the work this task force has accomplished,” said Novak. “The issue we are dealing with has been decades in the making and will take time to fix. We have successfully worked across the aisle to craft meaningful legislation and build a foundation for continued work on this important issue.”

State Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly will face Dane County Circuit Judge Jill Karofsky in the April election for a 10-year term on Wisconsin’s highest court, voters decided Tuesday.

With more than three-quarters of precincts reporting, Kelly had nearly 50% of the votes, Karofsky had about 38% and Fallone had about 13% of the vote, according to unofficial results.

“I think the results tonight demonstrate that the people of Wisconsin really do want a justice on the court who is just going to apply the law, set aside the personal politics, personal preferences, and just be faithful to the constitutional text, the statutory text,” Kelly said in an interview.

He said he would take the same approach in the general election as he had in the primary. Karofsky said the same.

“I think we’re going to keep this strategy,” she said in an interview. “It was evident tonight that that strategy worked and that focusing on getting the court back on track and focusing on the things that I’m bringing to this race and I’m going to bring to the Supreme Court was a message that resonated with people all around the state of Wisconsin.”

China will grant exemptions on retaliatory duties imposed against 696 U.S. goods, the most substantial tariff relief to be offered so far, as Beijing seeks to fulfill commitments made in its interim trade deal with the United States.

China has committed to boosting its purchases of goods and services from the United States by $200 billion over two years as part of the agreement, and has already rolled back some additional tariffs on U.S. imports after the deal was signed.

U.S. goods eligible for tariff exemptions include key agricultural and energy products such as pork, beef, soybeans, liquefied natural gas and crude oil, which were subject to extra tariffs imposed during the escalation of the bilateral trade dispute.

Other products subject to exemption on additional tariffs imposed include denatured ethanol and wheat, corn and sorghum. Some medical devices and metals including copper ore and concentrates, copper scrap and aluminum scrap are also subject to exemption.

White House adviser Larry Kudlow said earlier this month that Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Donald Trump during a recent call that China will still meet its Phase 1 trade deal purchasing targets.

Beijing’s announcement on Tuesday emphasized that Chinese firms will submit applications for tariff exemptions based on market conditions and commercial considerations.

Republicans rolled out a plan to cut income taxes by $250 million, implement a $45 million personal property tax cut for businesses and direct $100 million toward paying down debt.

Port Milwaukee and the agricultural company DeLong plan to build a $31.3 million export center on Jones Island using a federal grant to cover half of the project’s cost.

The so-called Agricultural Maritime Export Facility would be the first and only “bulk agricultural transload” center on the Great Lakes to supply soybeans and dry distillers grain, an animal feed supplement derived from ethanol production. Supplies would be sent primarily by truck and rail to ships at port.

The project calls for demolishing abandoned structures that now sit at the site and building an operation to store products for shipping. Clinton-based DeLong, a food and grain supplier, would pay for part of the development and lease space there.

“To the best of my knowledge, today’s $31 million project announcement is the largest single investment in the history of the port, especially since it opened to international shipping in 1959,” said Adam Schlicht, port director.

It could still take about two years before construction on the project gets underway, Schlicht said. Port officials plan to begin negotiating a lease agreement with DeLong, and it could take a year or so before the federal government signs off on the release of grant money for the project.

Once operational, the project could initially deal with $40 million in shipments of dry distillers grain. It could also eventually be used for shipments of other goods, such as corn and wheat. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said increased commerce will bring more revenue to the Port.

“The more economic activity we have here, the more money is generated by the port and ultimately by the city,” Barrett said.

Under the deal, Port Milwaukee will pay $4.3 million for rail work and the demolition of existing properties, including a former boiler plant that has been vacant for more than a decade, Schlicht said. DeLong will pay $6.2 million in development costs. And the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will provide a $4.9 million Harbor Assistance Grant.

Port Milwaukee’s money for the project is coming from a $15.9 million Port Infrastructure Development Program grant from the U.S. Maritime Administration. That grant program also awarded a $10.5 million grant this week to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority to pay for half the cost of a $20.3 million project for a rail-connected warehouse.

The sea of red ink is getting deeper and deeper in Washington, with the federal government already racking up a budget deficit that is averaging close to $100 billion a month.

Treasury Department data released Wednesday show the shortfall at $389.2 billion in the first four months of fiscal 2020. That’s a 25% gain over the same period last year and already about 40% of the total deficit for fiscal 2019.

Over the past 12 months, the government has spent $1.06 trillion more than it has taken in. All the red ink has bought the total national debt to $23.3 trillion.

Receipts actually are on the rise comparatively, coming in at $1.18 trillion through January compared with $1.1 trillion a year earlier.

However, the rate of spending is adding to the shortfall, with outlays coming in at $1.57 trillion vs. $1.42 trillion for the first four months in fiscal 2019. That’s a 9.6% spending increase.

State Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, R-New Berlin, State Rep. Jason Fields, D-Milwaukee, and State Sen. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield, authored legislation that would give consumers additional recourse when receiving unwanted telemarketing calls.

Assembly Bill 147 incorporates federal law into state statute by prohibiting the intentional falsification of information that is transmitted to a caller ID display if it is done with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value. This portion of the legislation will help to address scam phone calls that use spoofing to disguise their numbers to look like they are coming from a local number.

“Most people have received unwanted phone calls from numbers that they think may be a friend or family member. As a matter of fact, the Wisconsin Department of Consumer Protection indicated that the number one consumer complaint is from people receiving unwanted telemarketing calls. Our bill will help ensure the Department of Consumer Protection has the ability to investigate and take action against criminals trying to scam  citizens throughout Wisconsin,” Sanfelippo said.

The bill also states a telecommunications provider may block calls so that they do not reach the called party if the origination number is not valid, is not allocated to a provider, or is confirmed by the provider to unused; or if the person who owns the phone number has asked that outgoing calls claiming to be from that number be blocked. Assembly Bill 147 includes a provision that prohibits telephone solicitors from spoofing for any purpose.

Assembly Republicans have released a plan focused on helping Wisconsin farmers that they say will take a “bigger and bolder” approach than the governor’s special session on agriculture.

The package includes amendments to two bills brought forward by Evers for the special session.

One would create a new initiative to increase Wisconsin dairy exports to 20 percent of the nation’s milk supply by 2024. While Evers proposed creating the program under the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Assembly Republicans want DATCP to create a partnership with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and change the focus to include exports of meat products and crop products. The lawmakers also proposed increasing the program’s funding to $5 million instead of the $1 million proposed by Evers.

Assembly Republicans also introduced four new bills, including one that would create a tax credit to offset property taxes on farm buildings and improvements.

Kurtz said the measure would be an immediate benefit to farmers struggling after five years of low commodity prices.  “If they’ve got a milk parlor or, like I have grain bins on my farm, you know, those are taxed at a certain rate. And so we can get that reduced to like an ag-based or an ag value tax and get that money right back into the farmer’s hands,” Kurtz said.

Another proposed bill would let self-employed individuals deduct the cost of health insurance from their income tax.

The package also includes two bills aimed at the University of Wisconsin System. One would require the UW System to study the current problems facing farmers and evaluate how the university is helping support farmers through curriculum and staffing of agricultural programs. The other bill would require the UW System to develop an agricultural science and technology program.

A slow start to the year held down Wisconsin’s average wage growth in 2019, but the state finished the year by averaging more than 3% growth during the fourth quarter in most industries.

Wisconsin averaged year-over-year wage growth of 1.9% for all of 2019, a figure that ranks 43^rd in the country. In the fourth quarter, however, Wisconsin averaged 3.6% wage growth, good enough to rank 14^th in the country.

The wage gains come amidst sluggish job growth for the state. Private sector employment increased just 0.33% from December 2018 to December 2019, according to BLS data. The state also had a strong year of wage growth in 2018, averaging 4.9% growth for the year.

Wisconsin looks to be headed for a showdown over how to spend some of the state’s expected $620 million budget surplus.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday proposed spending $252 million of that surplus on public schools in the state.

The governor wants to earmark nearly $80 million for special education reimbursement, then promise to cover 100 percent of special ed costs beyond that. He’s also proposing $130 million equalization aid. 

The governor also wants to spend more on school mental health and wellness programs as well as hire more school counselors, psychologists and nurses. 

Top Republican lawmakers in Madison aren’t so sure bipartisan support exists for the governor’s proposal. 

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, took to Twitter after the governor’s announcement to say it looks like Gov. Evers is interested in adding more people to school payrolls as much as anything. 

“Senate Republicans have been focused since late last year on using our surplus for a tax cut for hard-working families, and the governor knows that. I don’t see us budging off that position,” Fitzgerald tweeted. “It appears that the teachers’ unions are the ones calling all the shots in the East Wing.”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester echoed the same thought. 

Both Vos and Fitzgerald say they would rather return any extra money to taxpayers.