Progressive Thinking

A high-profile investigation into claims of child abuse at the Lincoln Hills Juvenile Detention Center and serious assaults on correctional officers this year at Green Bay, Racine, Columbia and other correctional facilities across Wisconsin have prompted Democratic legislators to take action.

MADISON - Amid growing concerns with the rise in assaults at Wisconsin’s correctional facilities, Democratic legislators here are urging immediate action to strengthen worker protections and improve public safety.

A high-profile investigation is currently looking into claims of child abuse and assaults at the Lincoln Hills Juvenile Detention Center. In addition, serious assaults on correctional officers have been documented this year at Green Bay, Racine, Columbia and other correctional facilities across Wisconsin.

While Republican leaders have known about these serious safety concerns for more than a year, conditions have deteriorated as a result of additional state budget cuts and worsening staff shortages.

In an effort to improve safety in correctional facilities, Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) and several Assembly Democrats are putting forward a package of legislative proposals. The bills aim to improve worker training, limit the use of forced overtime, increase workplace safety, strengthen reporting requirements and ensure appropriate staffing levels for first responders.

“Safety in our Department of Corrections institutions in not a new issue. The staffing shortages that were a direct result of Governor Walker’s Act 10 have never been resolved by the administration or the DOC. The burden for staffing shortages continues to fall solely on the backs of officers working in our institutions. They are the ones who have to live with more consecutive days of overtime because of inadequate staffing levels,” said Senator Erpenbach in a statement released this morning.

“Safety within our corrections institutions should be a top priority in light of the growing number of incidents we have seen take place, in large part due to the inability of Corrections officials to recruit, properly train and retain staff,” said Senator Hansen, noting that 500 positions are currently unfilled in the department putting public safety at risk. “As a result we are asking fewer officers to take on more shifts and more responsibility to the point that it is putting their safety at risk.”

Hansen has announced he will join Senator Erpenbach and corrections officers at a press conference at the Brown County Courthouse at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 7th to discuss the growing crisis in Corrections and to announce his support for the package of bills.

Currently seeking co-sponsors, Erpenbach and other authors of the proposals expect introduction of the bills next week. To receive a copy of the draft legislation, contact Senator Erpenbach's  office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 608-266-6670.

As part of the Corrections Reform package, Senate Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) and Rep. Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) are introducing the Correctional Officer Workplace Safety Bill (LRB 4225). The proposal will restore the right of correctional officers to collectively bargain over workplace safety issues.

“The lack of urgency by Gov. Walker’s administration and the Republican majority to address complaints of child abuse and assaults in our correctional facilities is appalling,” said Sen. Shilling. “In the past two months, serious assaults and nearly-fatal suicide attempts have shocked families and communities who had been told not to worry about safety concerns in our correctional facilities. Wisconsin children, families and public safety officers can’t afford to continue waiting for action. It’s time to address the serious safety issues in our correctional facilities before this dangerous situation spirals further out of control.”

When does your neighbor’s property right limit your own rights? What if your neighbor built a fireworks factory next door? Or a large hog operation? Or an industrial sand mine?

A new bill introduced in Madison just before Christmas could take away local control over land use ordinances and zoning rules that protect our communities and the individual rights of neighbors to protect themselves.

ALMA, WI - “My neighbor likes to expand his lot,” Kelly told me. “First he put up a stone fence on our property and then he built a jungle gym for his kids on his other neighbor’s property.” The fence stayed but the jungle gym came down.

Laws and fences help make good neighbors.

Often these “laws” are ordinances passed by local communities. We decide collectively what works for our neighborhood, and what works in some areas will not work in other areas. You can’t have roosters in most cities. But in some cities, you can keep a few hens.

Moving at warp speed in the Capitol is legislation that would change what your neighbor could do on his/her property and would limit your local community from taking a position to protect you and your other neighbors.

When does your neighbor’s property right limit your own rights? What if your neighbor built a fireworks factory next door? How about a large hog operation? Or an industrial sand mine?

In a bill, introduced just before Christmas and due to have a public hearing before you read this, the simple action of applying for a driveway permit or a state culvert permit could “freeze in place” any local ordinance or state law.

For example, on the date a person applies for a driveway permit and discloses a proposed project, the ordinances and rules of all levels of local and state government could be frozen in place on that date provided the driveway is constructed within a stated deadline – even though some aspects of the project may not be completed for many years.

Expanding a little known part of the law related to housing developments, the bill (Senate Bill 464 and its companion Assembly Bill 582) creates a loophole so big that the approval of a culvert permit in Kenosha could affect a development in Eau Claire.

In addition, if the developer first sought permission from the state for a minor permit, locals might not even know the granting of that state permit would mean the entire project had become a “vested right” of the developer.

“Vested Rights” is a common law idea that means some version of – because I have the property, I have an absolute, unconditional complete right to do what I want on the property. Obviously, I can’t build on your property, as in my first example. But what if what I do affects you? What if I create an industrial site that pollutes your water and air? What if I create a new activity (like sand mining six years ago) that effects your enjoyment of your land?

The bill is written so broadly that an action in one part of the state could affect land owned by the same company in another part of the state. The bill also gives “vesting rights” retroactively. Meaning, if the bill is passed into law, the new law would apply to any project that has not yet been finally approved by the time the bill passes. The bill could also affect any pending court cases.

The provisions related to projects not yet approved and pending court cases make me think there are many unknown implications.

One consequence of the bill is to create a race between a developer, builder or contractor against a local community. If the developer can get the project started before the local community takes final action, an inappropriate “non-conforming” use is created and may be continued indefinitely.

Other parts of the bill stop a county from taking a “breather” (development moratorium) while a comprehensive zoning amendment is considered. In addition, non-conforming structures on a lake or river could be torn down and a new (probably much larger) non-conforming structure built in its place.

Land use ordinances, zoning, subdivision and shoreland zoning rules all came about to protect our communities. We, collectively through local elected leaders – want nice places to live and raise our families.

This bill is just one of several bills that take away the collective rights of a community and the individual rights of neighbors to protect themselves. Lawmakers should reject this bill and others like it.

In 2016, Wisconsin’s voter ID law is in place for all elections. Voters, even veterans and older people who are registered and have voted many times before, will not be able to vote this year without a proper government-issued identification. For many the voter ID law will just be inconvenient, but for the elderly, college students, city dwellers who rely on public transportation, people who have moved and those who frequently travel, it may mean the lose of the right to vote.

UNION, WI - “I spent all day trying to get an ID for my mother,” Joe from Union Township told me. His mother, age 84, recently gave up her driver’s license because of a vision problem. She’d moved into an apartment in Eau Claire.

By changing her address and surrendering her drivers’ license, Joe’s mom was without the necessary current “government ID” she needed to legally vote in 2016.

Happy New Year! And welcome to Wisconsin, a state that now has some of the strictest voter identification laws in the nation.

Even if you’re registered and have voted many times before, you will not be able to vote this year without a proper government-issued identification. And “government-issued” doesn’t always mean what it says. For example, a veteran cannot use an ID issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs for voting.

After four years in the courts, Wisconsin’s voter ID law is in place for all elections.

Voters in 2016 will go to the polls for nonpartisan primaries on February 16th. On April 5th Wisconsin will elect a new Supreme Court justice and many local officials including every county board member. April 5th is also Wisconsin’s Presidential Preference vote. Delegates, who will be elected in separate partisan caucuses, will be sent to the national conventions to nominate presidential candidates.

The partisan primary (not including president) will be on August 9th. The General Election for President, all members of the State Assembly, half the State Senate and other local partisan positions will be held November 8th.

For eighty percent of voters the voter ID law will be no more inconvenient than remembering to take your wallet to the polls. But voting will be more of a hassle for some elderly, college students, city dwellers who rely on public transportation, people who have moved and those who frequently travel.

To increase confusion, and despite firm opposition by the local election clerks, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board will not exist after June. In a bill recently signed into law by the governor, two partisan commissions will replace the nonpartisan GAB.

As Joe found out, the process of getting an ID may take longer than you planned. The place to start is the local Department of Motor Vehicles office. For many rural residents these offices have severely limited hours. For example, in Buffalo County, the office is only open from 7am to 5 pm on Monday and Wednesday.

DMV office locations can be found at http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/online-srvcs/find-dmv/default.aspx.

IDs are free. You will need to bring proof of your name, date of birth, Wisconsin residency and your social security card (if you have one).

If you cannot vote at the polling place, you will need to vote by mail or during much-restricted early voting hours. For those who travel, hours are so restricted you will likely need to vote by mail. You need a copy of your ID to vote by mail unless you are military or a permanent overseas voter. You can find more voter ID details at http://www.bringit.wi.gov.

While the state’s political focus will be largely on the 2016 presidential election, the state legislature will continue its One-Hundred and Second Regular Session throughout the spring. Rumors in the Capitol are that this session will adjourn earlier than its scheduled April conclusion.

Expected to pass this spring, with large bipartisan support, are a series of bills aimed at reducing drug addiction. Wisconsin, as well as many other states, has seen an alarming uptick in drug related deaths. These bills will increase funding for treatment alternatives to incarceration – the highly effective Drug Court Program; encourage best practices in prescribing pain medication; federalize some rules related to drug treatment facilities and make illegal the manufacture and use of synthetic urine used to avoid drug tests.

At the end of the session all bills not passed will die. I’ll be working to kill several bills that take away local powers to decide, among other things, where industrial sites and sand mines are located and certain actions of school boards.

Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous 2016. Exercise your right to vote, and remind your friends and family to get that Voter ID now!

The federal government has notified the state Department of Health Services that Wisconsin’s waiver to renew SeniorCare through December 31, 2018 has been approved. Green Bay's Sen. Dave Hansen gives credit for bi-partisan support to thousands who signed petitions to save SeniorCare.

MADISON - The federal government recently notified the state Department of Health Services here that Wisconsin’s waiver to renew SeniorCare through December 31, 2018 has been approved. The approval is good news for the more than 85,000 people who are currently enrolled in the popular prescription drug savings program.

The fate of SeniorCare was in doubt when Governor Scott Walker released his budget this year that included plans to eliminate the popular plan. Green Bay area state Senator Dave Hansen, other Democrats and SeniorCare advocates collected more than 13,000 signatures in a petition drive that helped create bi-partisan opposition to the Governor’s attempt to eliminate it.

“This is good news for everyone who depends on SeniorCare to afford their needed medications,” said Hansen who voted to create SeniorCare. "And it’s good for taxpayers too who save $90 million per year as a result of SeniorCare’s ability to negotiate for lower prices directly with drug companies."

Over 4,300 people from Northeast Wisconsin signed the petition that helped save SeniorCare. As a result, Democrats and Republicans opposed the planned elimination and the program was restored in the state budget. It just goes to show that when people get involved legislators will listen.

More than 85,000 people are currently enrolled in SeniorCare, and benefit from the program's simple enrollment process, $30 annual fee, income-based deductibles, and $5 co-pays for generic drugs. Most participants save hundreds of dollars each year, over what their costs would be on Medicare Part D, and taxpayers save $90 million per year through SeniorCare’s direct negotiation with drug companies.

"SeniorCare saves money and SeniorCare saves lives, and that's why so many people were willing to sign their names and share their stories, in support of the program," said Hansen. "Thanks to their efforts SeniorCare will be here to continue helping Wisconsin seniors save money on their prescription drugs.”

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Legislative staffer Jay Wadd contributed to this story.

KENOSHA, WI - As my fellow Democrats and I speak with people around the state, people often tell us they believe “politicians don’t care about people like me.” And given what Governor Walker and Republican legislators have done over the past year – and what they have left undone – it’s not surprising that people feel that way.

First, I want to make it clear that my Democratic colleagues and I care about ordinary Wisconsinites and the issues that will build the middle class, such as education and training, job development, lower student loan debt, family leave and other important issues. We have put forward ideas and advocated for your agenda – not the extreme special-interest policies that dominate the Republican agenda.

Assembly Democrats are focused on creating jobs and strengthening our middle class, and we have brought forward numerous bills and ideas to help accomplish those goals. Our “15 for 2015” Economic Opportunity Agenda is comprised of 15 bills Democrats have introduced that are designed to help create good-paying jobs, connect workers with available jobs, increase wages and make us more competitive in a global economy. Our “Bring Back the Middle Class” package would boost retirement security and provide relief from high child-care costs and student debt. These are ideas that have broad support from our citizens, and they deserve to have bipartisan support as well.

Unfortunately, Republicans have refused to advance a single one of these bills, despite the fact that under their watch, our job growth is stalled at 37th in the nation, our middle class is shrinking faster than any other state and mass layoffs are on pace to potentially double last year’s totals. Instead, the Republicans’ number one priority is to consolidate their own power and feather their own nests, which opens Wisconsin to corruption and puts an end to clean, open and transparent government in our state.

Mounting evidence – from public opinion polls to our conversations in communities across the state – makes it clear that Wisconsinites don’t trust legislative Republicans, and there are many good reasons why. Republican rule in Wisconsin has meant more money for political campaigns with less transparency and fewer tools for prosecuting political corruption. Republicans have also turned our nonpartisan government watchdogs into partisan lapdogs. Republican legislators have also harmed our economic future by cutting a quarter billion dollars from our world-class universities and diverting millions of taxpayer dollars from public schools to unaccountable private voucher schools.

Meanwhile, the governor and Republican legislators have done nothing to provide relief for the million Wisconsinites burdened by student loan debt, taken no meaningful action on job creation and economic development, and provided no solution for fixing our crumbling roads and bridges.

I believe that Wisconsin does best when we have strong public schools, a thriving university system, robust infrastructure and a prospering middle class. My colleagues and I are doing everything possible to make that vision of Wisconsin a reality.

This year, the difference between Democrats and Republicans couldn’t be clearer. While legislative Republicans continue to pursue an agenda focused on helping special interests and their own self-interests, legislative Democrats will continue to advocate for the people’s agenda in 2016 and beyond – but we need your help.

I encourage you to talk to your neighbors, friends and families about the direction our state is headed. Get engaged and make your voice heard. Together, we can continue to advocate a people’s agenda that fosters economic opportunity and supports middle-class families struggling to get ahead.