Last night Representative Thomas Weatherston and I hosted two Town Halls in Racine County.  Members of the community came to share their thoughts on issues ranging from transportation funding to reforming regulations on businesses.  It was my pleasure to hear these concerns and answer questions from my constituents.
The budget-writing arm of the legislature, the Joint Finance Committee, will begin voting on various budget proposals on Monday, May 1st. 

If you would like to share your comments on the state budget, please see the above graphic below which includes information regarding my upcoming Town Halls with Representative Samantha Kerkman.

New specialty license plates are now available.  Last session I introduced SB 388, which allowed the Department of Transportation (DOT) to create motor vehicle special registration plates expressing support, and providing funding, for the Boy Scouts of America if the cost of initial production of these plates is covered by donations.  Ultimately, the legislation was rolled into a larger bill which included: Whitetails Unlimited, Wisconsin Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and childhood cancer.  The new plates were approved in March of 2016 and are now available for purchase on the Wisconsin DOT website.  Any Wisconsin resident may apply for specialty license plates. 

Individual decals are available for Boy Scout or Eagle Scout. The plate fees include an issuance fee of $15 plus an annual $25 tax-deductible contribution in addition to the regular registration fee. These contributions go to the non-profit Boy Scouts of America National Foundation and are distributed to local Wisconsin councils.  Currently, there are around 50 license plates available in Wisconsin.  Click here to apply for new plates, or to see a list of specialty plates currently available.

Tax Freedom Day is the day when taxpayers have earned enough money to pay off their tax bill for the year. Each year, the national Tax Foundation releases its Tax Freedom Day report, listing the dates for both the nation and each individual state.  On the national level, Tax Freedom Day this year is April 23rd, meaning it will take 113 days for taxpayers to earn enough income to pay their taxes for the year.  
 
In Wisconsin, Tax Freedom Day is April 27th. Although this is still too late, we're making progress compared to our Midwestern neighbors.  Minnesota and Illinois have Tax Freedom Day on April 30th. There's more work to do!  Click here to read to full report.