Notes from the West Wing
By
State Representative Garey Bies
Year in Review
As 2003 draws to a close, I’d like to use this edition of the Notes
from the West Wing to reflect upon the first year of this legislative
biennium. The year has had its ups
and downs, with it successes, failures and misunderstandings.
Coming back to the front pages
recently is the issue of State Employee Contracts. Remember, this was an issue this time last year with the
employee contracts being delivered to the legislature on the afternoon of
Christmas Eve! It’ll be a big
issue again in 2004 as the costs associated with health care continue rise very
quickly. There is much discussion
about having the employees pick up part of their insurance premiums. Right now, the state pays 100% of nearly all employees’
premiums.
The State Budget deliberations
were also a big issue this year. Specifically,
the cuts needed and the Assembly Republican attempts to implement a property tax
freeze. The goal was to make the
necessary cuts at the state level, but then avoid a situation where local taxing
jurisdictions raised their property tax levies dramatically.
The Governor vetoed the property tax freeze, saying local governments
pledged to hold their tax levies in line. Those
of us who supported the property tax freeze anticipated local taxes increasing
substantially as a result of the Governor’s budget.
Now that most of you have received your property tax bills, what changes
have you noticed? Have your taxes
increased?
A major issue in the legislature
this year has been the Stewardship Fund. Initially
brought to the forefront as a result of budget deliberations, the topic has
remained one of interest for the legislature.
Several proposals have been introduced pertaining to the fund regarding
everything from administration and oversight to funding.
At this time, it appears the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources is
anticipating holding a “Stewardship Fund Day” where they will hold public
hearings on the bills relating to the fund that have been referred to the
Committee. Assembly Bill 618, which
I authored, is anticipated to be on the agenda that day.
My proposal would establish a trust fund for the Stewardship Program that
would allow people to make contributions that could only be used for the
Program. The contributions would be
tax deductible. Hopefully the
Committee will view my proposal in a favorable manner.
An ongoing issue for me, as a
Representative from Northeast Wisconsin is the commercial fishing rule being
modified by the Department of Natural Resources. This issue is not yet resolved but I am confident that a
reasonable compromise can be reached. It
is my position that the long heritage of commercial fishing in Door County and
throughout the great lakes should not be forced into history.
The industry is small and not much activity occurs now, but that is no
reason to eliminate the industry from Door County.
Encouraging news from the economic
front continues to be reported. It
would appear that both the nation’s and the state’s economy are starting to
emerge from the recession of the last few years. The small yet steady progress would seem to indicate that
this recovery is sustainable. We’re
not rising too high, too fast. So
that’s good. Policies emerging
from Congress and the White House appear to be having their desired effect.
Now here at the state level, we need to make sure future legislative
action supports this trend.
In an effort to keep this column
to a reasonable length, my last issue today will be shared revenue.
The Governor’s shared revenue program severely penalized the
municipalities in the 1st Assembly District.
Cuts to municipalities were typically in the range of 20-25% with some
fairing a little better and others fairing worse.
Meanwhile Milwaukee and Madison faced far more modest reductions.
Hopefully the republican legislature can work to correct this severe
injustice in the future.
In closing, I’d like to wish everyone a happy, and safe holiday season. I hope all are able to spend time with family and friends and enjoy beautiful Northeast Wisconsin. Those of you with loved ones overseas know that they are in our thoughts and that we wish them a safe return home.