Growing up on the farm, if the cows got out, it didn’t matter how they got out – what mattered was fixing the fence and getting them in. Similarly, regardless of partisan politics, the work has to get done. That is why I’m proud to have worked hard for Wisconsin’s working families this year to deliver bipartisan tax relief, improve transportation infrastructure, and support small businesses.
Plowing snow, picking up garbage, and keeping our communities safe are not partisan political issues. They are essential services that every resident of the Driftless Region expects.
That’s why I voted to increase shared revenue funding for our cities, towns, and villages to support these services. When we ensure our communities can fund police and fire protection and fix our roads, we support a higher quality of life for Wisconsin families.
A robust network of transportation creates jobs, makes our communities more attractive to live, work, and raise a family, and ensures our goods can travel to and from market. This year, I cosponsored legislation that created the Agriculture Road Improvement Program. Now signed into law, this created a grant program that will be used to fund transportation infrastructure improvements on our rural roads and bridges. The economic success of agriculture relies upon a strong transportation system, but for too long, our rural roads and bridges have not seen enough investment. Wisconsin farmers may feed the world, but if a fertilizer truck cannot cross a rural bridge or a milk truck is weight limited from driving on a town road, it is hard for Wisconsin farmers to get their products to consumers.
The success of our rural communities is linked with the success of our farmers. As Wisconsin agriculture continues to grow and evolve, we need to think creatively and advance innovative solutions to support our agriculture industry. I’m proud to have passed bipartisan legislation to update Wisconsin’s Farmland Preservation Program, which has supported farmland conservation efforts since the 1970s. As a co-author of this legislation, I recognize that
increasing the tax credits that can be earned as well decreasing the minimum length of these agreements will make this program more beneficial for Wisconsin’s family farmers.
I’m also proud of the work I’ve done to help small businesses grow and thrive.
For years, the personal property tax was a burden on Wisconsin’s small businesses and local governments alike. This year, we eliminated this more than 170-year-old-tax. Eliminating this outdated tax was a common sense, bipartisan way to help our local businesses grow, but we can do more. We must continue to think creatively to stimulate economic growth for Wisconsin’s small businesses. We have also made significant improvements to Wisconsin’s three-tier system of alcohol regulations. My colleagues and I, along with stakeholders, were able to reach a bipartisan agreement to support Wisconsin’s brewers, taverns, and distributors.
Among other provisions, small breweries, wineries, and distilleries will now have more opportunities to sell their products on our main streets, contract brewers like City Brewing Company in La Crosse will be able to continue to grow and evolve, and licensing will be more standardized across the state.
I’m glad we were able to pass these bipartisan initiatives to support Wisconsin’s working families, but there is more work to be done, especially on child care, lowering prescription drug prices, and making sure we have clean water. I’ll continue to advocate for the needs of the people of western Wisconsin.
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