During this session, the legislature passed the new shared revenue program, and I am proud to be part of months of negotiation to see this bill pass and be signed into law. Shared revenue payments will help stabilize funding for our local government, especially our rural communities. This historic investment will go a long way in helping our local communities ensure they have the resources needed to provide necessary services like police, fire, and EMS.
Counties within the district are receiving an additional 7.2 million this biennium. This is an average increase of 146% for each county.
This new formula will close the gap between the communities that did really well under the new formula and those that did poorly, allowing shared revenue aids to increase with the growth of the sales tax. Local communities will be able to grow and benefit as the state grows and benefits. Not only will communities see an increase in funding, but will also create an innovation fund to help communities with incentives to consolidate services.
Our renewed investment in the share revenue payments will ensure that our rural communities can continue to prosper and thrive for future generations.
Capitol Meetings
Students from Pecatonica Area School District Middle School toured the Wisconsin State Capitol. I hope you enjoyed your tour and learning more about state government.
Students from Mineral Point who are part of the Youth Apprenticeship Program (YAP) visited the State Capitol. Students shared their experiences and plans for the future. The YAP allows the students to work at local businesses to help determine their future careers as they leave high school.
Thank you to Bryon Buroker (Senior), MacClain Busser (Senior), Roen Carey (Junior), Matthew Goninen (Junior), Addison Ryser (Senior), and Elin Bowers (Senior) for visiting. I look forward to continuing to support the youth apprenticeship program.
I also met with Hugh Dellios during the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Conference. Hugh is Senior Program Officer for The Joyce Foundation and he is located in Chicago. Hugh previously worked as an editor and correspondent at the Chicago Tribune, then as the Chicago-based news editor for the Associated Press, and later as a deputy national editor at NPR.
Thank you, Hugh, for taking the time to meet with me. We had a great conversation about the newspaper industry and discussing our support for local journalism.
Ethics Bill Signed into Law
Governor Evers signed Senate Bill 741, which I authored along with Senator Knodl (R-Germantown), into law this week. Act 120 is now law, which relates to recommendations from the Ethics Commission regarding campaign finance, lobbying, open records, and closed sessions. This will now provide statutory clarification as the Commission enters an election year. Modernizing statutes relating to campaign finance contact information, clarifying the creation and maintenance of a second campaign committee, providing guidance regarding transfers of contributions between the two committees, and disposal of residual conduit funds.
The bill also clarifies the due date of the 72-Hour Report for Express Advocacy Disbursements, clarifies that conduits are required to pay filing fees, clarifies how the lobbying contributions window works during special elections, and clarifies the open records and open meetings law relating to the Ethics Commission.
Mineral Point Basketball
Congratulations to Mineral Point High School Boys Basketball for making it to the WIAA State Basketball tournament and beating La Crosse Aquinas at the State Semifinals and Kenosha St. Joseph for the State Championship. These games were played at the Kohl Center in Madison.
— Rep. Todd Novak represents Wisconsin’s 51st Assembly District. He can be reached at 608-237-9151 or email rep.novak@legis.wisconsin.gov.
