Kaufert and Emergency Contraception

Although none of the 4 representatives seem too interested in publicly sharing their positions with non-main stream media and none of them provided their position on Emergency Contraception when asked (see a previous post which was followed by email request), Dean Kaufert is now listed as a co-sponsor of the Assembly Bill, as is Gordon Hintz.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal on 5/27:

Three Assembly Republican have signed on as co-sponsors and two key anti-abortion groups are officially neutral on the legislation -- a factor that led to the wide margin of support in the Senate.

"This is going to put more pressure on the Assembly leadership now that there's at least three Republicans supporting it," said Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, one of the GOP co-sponsors. "It's different from the whole abortion discussion because we're talking about rape."

Hintz and Tax Levies

A proposal in the legislature would raise the maximum local tax levies to 4% from 2%. The proposal is supported by most local officials but opposed by many businesses, developers / realitors, and Republican officials.

According to the Oshkosh Northwestern:

Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, opposes levy caps, but said a 4 percent cap would at least give local governments more flexibility.

"I have been critical about the state imposing arbitrary limits in the past. The state instead of imposing itself on local government should look at how they've under-funded shared revenues and the mandates they've put on local government," Hintz said.

Owens on Budget

Rep Carol Owens, Sen Carol Roessler, and other state officials recently participated in a Fond du Lac County meeting discussing the state budget and state issues.

According to the Fond du Lac Reporter:

While an increase in the cigarette tax received mostly favorable reviews from legislators at the county meeting, taxes on hospitals and oil drew grumbles.

State Sen. Carol Roessler, R-Oshkosh, and Olsen agreed the hospital tax would only hurt hospitals and patients. "It's a sick tax," Roessler said. "The sick people are going to pay for it."

Officials also aren't pleased with a tax on oil companies. Doyle has said oil companies would be prohibited from passing the expense on to consumers. Roessler said she doesn't believe the governor's claims.

A tax on big oil would only hurt Wisconsin, Roessler said. If an oil shortage occurred, providers wouldn't sell to Wisconsin. Instead, they would sell to other states that don't have taxes.

Due to the proposed taxes, legislators have a rocky road ahead of them, said State Rep. Carol Owens, R-Oshkosh. "It's not going to be pretty," she said. "That's what I see through my fuzzy, fuzzy crystal ball."

Kaufert and Autism Coverage

Dean Kaufert is one a two Republicans to co-sponsor a bill to require insurance companies to cover children with autism.

According to a Capital Times article on 5/15/07, "most insurance companies do not cover treatment for autism because they classify autism as an emotional disorder rather than a neurological medical condition".

The main advocate for the bill is the Wisconsin Early Autism Project - http://www.wiautism.com/.

Kaufert and Lake Winnebago system

Press Release from Dean Kaufert on MAY 14, 2007:

MADISON….. State Representative Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) is urging the Department of Natural Resources to take immediate action to protect the Lake Winnebago system and Fox River fisheries from the deadly viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus discovered in Little Lake Butte des Morts.

“I’m glad the DNR closed down the Menasha lock to try and contain this. But until we get a handle on how widespread the virus is we need to have greater diligence,” said Kaufert. “These lakes are world-class fisheries and we need to do everything in our power to protect them.”

Kaufert is asking Governor Doyle to create a task force to consider short-term options while the severity of the virus is studied as well as review long-term plans to open all the Fox River locks to the mouth of the river in Green Bay.

“This virus adds a new dilemma to the decision to open all the Fox River locks,” said Kaufert. “If it can truly wipe-out a fishery as suspected, it would be devastating to our ecosystem and the tourism industry in which sport fishing supports.”

Kaufert, Chairman of the Assembly Tourism committee, is considering holding an informational hearing on this issue. Sport fishing is a $2.3 billion industry in Wisconsin.



Rep Kaufert at desk pic from Milwaukee JS by Michael Speers.

Assembly and Emergency Contraception

On Wednesday, the State Senate passed a resolution (SB129) that would require hospitals to provide information about and access to emergency contraception for rape victims. The bill passed 27-6, including support from Sen Ellis and Sen Roessler.

According to the Women's Alliance for Women's Health, "Emergency contraception (EC) is an FDA approved form of contraception that is also known as the “morning after pill.” It is an extremely time sensitive drug that works for up to 120 hours, but is most effective if used within the first 12 to 24 hours
following unprotected sex, birth control failure or sexual assault. EC does not affect an existing pregnancy, and should not be confused with the “abortion pill,” also known as RU486. "

For a detailed review of emergency contraception, read this report from staff at Princeton.

According to Planned Parenthood Wisconsin, "A 2006 study found that 66% of Wisconsin emergency rooms fail to provide access to EC to rape victims."

The only group to lobby against EC was Pro-Life Wisconsin. According to director Peggy Hamill, “The Wisconsin Senate has shamefully ignored the fate of embryonic children by forcing Wisconsin hospitals to dispense a known abortion-causing drug to vulnerable women. In so doing, they have trampled upon the conscience rights of hospitals in blatant disregard of our federal and state constitutions which guarantee freedom of religious expression and liberty of conscience.”



I will send the following questions to our 4 Assembly Representatives to assist them in distributing their public opinions, support, and/or opposition to this.

Dear Representative,

Please answer the following questions regarding the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims bill.

1. What are the positive points of the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims bill?

2. What are the negative points of the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims bill?

3. Without access to EC, what other avenues for support and assistance do you believe are available to rape victims that adequately address the situation?

4. Do you support a proposal similar to SB129? Why or Why not?

Wisconsin Eye now Open

Wisconsin Eye, the C-Span type coverage of state politics, has now officially launched its coverage of Wisconsin state assembly and senate sessions and committee meetings.

You can access live video of sessions, and you can access archived video of past sessions.

Visit http://www.wiseye.org/.

This is a great step in the state of Wisconsin to increasing government accountability, openness, and accessibility.

Congratulations to the recent UW Oshkosh grad working on the Wisconsin Eye Team.

Hintz holds budget forum in Oshkosh

Gordon Hintz held a forum on the state education budget Monday night. The Oshkosh Area School District is depending on the state budget to pass before it passes its own 2007-08 budget later this year.

Hintz on Budget and UW System

AT reporter Jessica Koehler covered a recent budget session by Gordon Hintz at UW Oshkosh on 4/30/07. You can read the entire story from 5/3 here. Coverage of Hintz included the following:

Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, said the open forum was meant to show the public where the state’s dollars have gone in the past, what the current budget proposal is for 2007-09, and how those changes affect students and faculty at UW-Oshkosh. “I’ve largely believed that we ask people to participate in elections, but rarely are decisions being made as they are affecting us,” Hintz said. “My goal is to put everybody in the decision-making seat.”

Hintz said the UW System is one of the top five general-purpose revenue programs funded by the states budget, but due to declining state support, students and staff at UW-Oshkosh have been negatively affected over the past few years. Hintz showed that during the 1992-93 school year, the state spent 11.1 percent of the budget on the University of Wisconsin. In 2006-07, the state spent only 8.0 percent of the budget on the UW System. Since 1991, tuition prices for the UW System, excluding UW-Madison, have gone up almost $3,000, and during the 2006-07 school year, students were paying more than half of their tuition on their own.

However, Hintz added that the budget proposal for 2007-09 includes additional funding for UW-Oshkosh for the first time several years. Hintz said the new budget proposal addresses the problems the campus and the city are facing. One goal of the proposal is called the UW-Oshkosh Growth Initiative, which allocates $2.6 million to raise the number of graduates in higher demanding programs at the university, such as biology, microbiology, medical technology, psychology and business.

Hintz said the initiative should aid in planning the budget and help the university to adapt to the way Wisconsin has evolved.“We’ve never been good at making long-term budget plans at the state level,” Hintz said. “Our revenue and tax system is built for an outdated economy. We’re moving toward a service economy. The global economy will require more graduates with bachelor degrees to keep up with the high-skilled jobs.”

Another goal of the UW-Oshkosh Growth Initiative is to increase the number of students on campus by 480 by the end of 2009, to help increase the number of adults with college degrees in Wisconsin. Hintz explained that Oshkosh would have to increase its annual degree production by 36.1 percent by 2025 to match some of the best-performing schools in the country. “Wisconsin lags in bachelor degree holders and that’s something that these budget proposals are aimed at,” Hintz said. “This is something we need to put in our goals of what higher education should provide. The state needs higher education to play a bigger role in increasing the skills of our citizens.”

Kaufert and Roth to hold Budget Listening Session

Press Release From Rep Dean Kaufert:

May 7, 2007

For further information, contact:

Michael Ellis (608) 266-0718
Dean Kaufert (608) 266-5719
Roger Roth (608) 266-7500
Steve Wieckert (608) 266-3070


19th Senate District Legislators to Host Budget Listening Session

Madison... State Senator Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) along with Representatives Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah), Roger Roth (R-Grand Chute ) and Steve Wieckert (R-Appleton) today announced a State Budget Listening Session that will be held Thursday, May 10, 2007 at the Town of Menasha Town Hall from 6 pm to 8 pm. The listening session will allow local citizens the ability to directly address local legislators on the state budget.

“Citizen participation is vital to our form of government and this listening session will provide an excellent chance for people to offer their opinions and have questions answered about specific issues in the budget,” said Roth.

“It is important to schedule events like this in the district and do it in the evening because not everyone can make it to Madison, and it is often difficult to get away from work during the day,” said Kaufert.

The Joint Finance Committee recently finished a number of public hearings around the state and began voting on the $60 billion biennial budget last week. Legislative Fiscal Bureau Director, Bob Lang or a representative from his office will also be in attendance to give a brief overview of the biennial budget and to answer any fiscal questions that arise during the session.

“I hope this listening session will further my understanding of the priorities that Fox Valley residents see as the most important in this budget,” Wieckert said.

“This budget is critical for the State of Wisconsin and it is important to know how this budget is going to affect the residents of the 19th Senate District,” Ellis said.
State Budget Listening Session

May 10, 2007

Town of Menasha Town Hall
2000 Municipal Dr.
Neenah, WI 54956

6 pm to 8 pm

Confirmed Participants: Senator Mike Ellis, Rep. Steve Wieckert, Rep. Roger Roth, Rep. Dean Kaufert and Bob Lang or an analyst from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau