jONLine

An e-newsletter from Senator Jon Erpenbach 5-15-08

 

State Budget Fix Not Perfect But Needed - In politics, like in life, you can’t always get everything that you want. The compromise budget repair the Legislature passed this week is not perfect. The slowing National and Wisconsin economy has resulted in less projected revenue for the state; therefore, we are in the situation in which we must either raise taxes, cut state services, or be creative to come up with the funds we need. Read the full Senator Erpenbach guest column that describes the compromise in detail online.

 

Great Lakes Compact Passes - Wisconsin’s Great Lakes will be preserved with the passage of Great Lakes Compact through the Senate today. Completing another Special Session, the Senate took positive action on a vote of 32-1 in favor of the Great Lakes Compact, a negotiated deal between the eight Great Lakes states and Canadian providences. The Great Lakes Compact is an important step to ensuring our quality of life in Wisconsin. Environmentally, this is the strongest implementing legislation of any state ratifying the compact. We will all have an opportunity to enjoy the Great Lakes for many years to come with this deal.

 

Link to Gubernatorial Appointments – Unfortunately the link from last week’s jONline to the Boards and Appointments webpage did not work because of a program conversion program. If you would like to view the list use this link http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/section.asp?linkid=275&locid=19 . Thank you to those that replied about the error.

 

Wisconsin Corn Growers Association to Give Away $20 Gas Cards – Get a free $20 gas card if you are one of the first 100 motorists to fill up with E85 fuel.

Tuesday, May 20th, Monroe

11am to 1pm, Badger State Ethanol Smart Station, 1637 4th Ave. W

Wednesday, May 21st, Madison

10am – Noon, PDQ, 401 N 3rd Street (near Packers Ave)

 

Survey of School Superintendents: Revenue Caps Continue Hurting Schools – The continuation of school revenue caps for over a decade has meant several harsh realities for school districts. The 14th annual School Superintendents Survey replies show areas of concern. 54% of respondents said that revenue caps have kept the school from making school safety improvements. In addition, 75% of the respondents reported increasing class sizes because of the caps. 62% offered fewer courses and 67% increased student fees.

 

Digital Television Transition Information: Conversion Box Coupons – Tell your friends and family to start preparing now for the mandated federal digital television conversion. The switch from analog to digital broadcast television is referred to as the digital TV (DTV) transition. Congress mandated that February 17, 2009 would be the last day for full-power television stations to broadcast in analog. Broadcast stations in all U.S. markets are currently broadcasting in both analog and digital. After February 17, 2009, full-power television stations will broadcast in digital only. Visit www.dtv.gov for more information.