MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today signed three bipartisan bills, vetoes two others.

Senate Bill 50, now Wisconsin Act 26:

• Requires the Department of Workforce Development to promulgate rules to allow an employer to require tipped employees to electronically sign, or otherwise acknowledge electronically, the counting of tips to fulfil the employer's requirement to pay the minimum wage.

Senate Bill 64, now Wisconsin Act 27:

• Expands the purposes for which proceeds from the sale of state-owned properties controlled by the Department of Natural Resources may be spent;
• Allows the use of proceeds from land sales to acquire or develop land or easements;
• Prohibits the use of proceeds to pay for program administration costs, but allows the proceeds to be used to fund costs payable to the Department of Administration;
• Clarifies that if the land was originally purchased with federal funds, the department must comply with federal limitations; and
• Requires the department to submit a biennial report to the Joint Committee on Finance and the relevant standing committees regarding parcels sold and how the proceeds were used.

Senate Bill 85, now Wisconsin Act 28:

• Adds text messages, electronic messages, e-mails or other electronic communications, or causing the device to ring or generate notifications repeatedly or continuously to the definition of stalking; and
• Modifies the definition of "course of conduct" for stalking to include sending physical or electronic material to a member of the victims family or household, employers, coworkers, or friends.

Additionally, the governor vetoed Assembly Bill 23 and Assembly Bill 24. 

Veto message for Assembly Bill 23. 

Veto message for Assembly Bill 24.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/clergy-sexual-abuse-s5.jpgSurvivors have suffered and struggled for years urging justice officials to finally take action to protect children in our faith-based institutions.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/covid-19-restaurant-empty-s5.jpgParticipating businesses to receive $5,000; grant program to potentially help approximately 84,000 Wisconsin small businesses.

Executive order pledges state to plant 75 million trees by 2030.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers proclaimed today, April 22, 2021, as Earth Day in the state of Wisconsin. The governor also celebrated the day by signing Executive Order #112. In an Earth Day pledge, Gov. Evers committed to working with public, private, and non-governmental partners to conserve 125,000 acres of forest land and plant 75 million trees by the end of 2030, while continuing to support the responsible management of public and private forestland across Wisconsin.

When fully realized, the state pledge will result in 28.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide stored over the next 50 years. That is equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide produced by six million passenger vehicles for a year. 

“We value our forests for clean water, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities and wood products. Wisconsin’s 17 million acres of forests are also a crucial tool in our fight to slow climate change if they remain as healthy, working forests,” Gov. Evers said. “Our climate is changing at a pace faster than at any time known in history. Sustainably managing Wisconsin forests will not only generate climate change mitigation benefits, but also contributes $24.4 billion annually to Wisconsin’s economy, supports the health of our citizens and helps maintain the high quality of life that defines our state.”

Wisconsin’s tree pledge focuses on the stewardship of forests and trees in both rural and urban areas. Because urban forests are vital for the health of residents as well as the ecological and economic well-being of our communities, the pledge includes planting a million trees in Wisconsin towns, cities and suburbs by 2030. Associated benefits of urban tree planting include improved public health, reduced city temperatures (heat islands), stormwater reduction, reduced heating and cooling costs, improved air quality, increased property values and other social, community, wildlife and economic co-benefits.

With this pledge, the state of Wisconsin recognizes that healthy forests are one of the best nature-based solutions to climate change and joins a wide variety of corporations, governments and non-profit organizations in the U.S. Chapter of the Global Trillion Trees Initiative, led by the World Economic Forum and American Forests. Gov. Evers is a member of the U.S. Stakeholder Council, comprised of senior-level representatives from US based governments, corporations and non-profit organizations.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be coordinating the implementation of this pledge on behalf of the state of Wisconsin. The DNR’s forestry program began in 1904 with the hiring of Wisconsin’s first chief state forester and is committed to working with partners to manage Wisconsin forests to provide ecological, economic, social and cultural benefits for Wisconsin residents today and in the future.

The 1t.org U.S. Chapter was created in August 2020, shortly after the Forum launched its initiative to support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration by conserving, restoring and growing 1 trillion trees globally by 2030. The chapter is championing a new approach in the US to creating healthy and resilient forests. Central to this approach is a diverse community of forest champions from the public and private sectors who help facilitate knowledge exchange, surface new collaboration opportunities and unlock the full potential needed to accelerate and scale up forests-related ambitions and actions. There is no other means in the US for bringing together entities that have made commitments related to forests so they can learn from each other and help each other achieve their goals.

American Forests is the first national non-profit conservation organization created in the U.S. Since its founding in 1875, the organization has been the pathfinders for the forest conservation movement. Its mission is to create healthy and resilient forests, from cities to wilderness, that deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water and wildlife. The organization advances its mission through forestry innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building. 

The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Read the complete tree pledge online here: https://us.1t.org/pledge/state-of-wisconsin-forest-conservation-and-tree-planting-pledge/.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/clean-drinking-water-faucet-s5.jpgDemocrats reintroduce the CLEAR Act to enact and enforce statewide PFAS standards, fund PFAS testing, monitoring, and mitigation efforts.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/kenosha-shooting-082320-s5.pngGovernor signs Executive Order to review and update DNR. Capitol Police, and State Patrol policies after George Floyd verdict, asks for Special Session on issues of policing accountability and transparency.

Social advocacy group calls for the structural reforms needed to end the police assault on Black lives.

MILWAUKEE - Citizen Action of Wisconsin praises the murder conviction of George Floyd’s killer, former Minneapolis Police officer Derrick Chauvin, and calls for the structural reforms needed to end the police assault on Black lives.

“This murder conviction is a step forward and a great relief to everyone who cares about true human equality, but it must only be a start, not an exoneration of the system that made it possible,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “The downside is that the verdict required singling out one police officer while giving cover to the police department in Minneapolis (and others around the country) for the responsibility of a structurally racist system that does not truly respect Black life. The only real solution is an unwinding of the current systems of policing and mass incarceration and its replacement with a new balanced system that truly promotes community safety for everyone in America.”

“The truth is, without the over policing of Black and Brown communities, the over funding of police departments compared to nonviolent interventions, and the social and economic investments needed in low-income and marginalized communities, George Floyd would not have had to fight for his life after being accused of a petty crime. This verdict does not change what we know to be true: the deadly official violence aimed at Black people in America will not end until we uproot the whole system, root and branch, and replace it with a system that equally values all human lives, especially Black lives and the many others that are devalued by our out of control system of policing and mass incarceration.”

The whole Citizen Action of Wisconsin team supports and fights alongside George Floyd's family and the people demanding justice and accountability. But we also know that Justice is not just Chauvin's conviction. Justice would be George Floyd being alive.

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"One cannot make clear division between the innocent and the guilty. We are all involved, more or less, in the human, especially social, wrongs of our time." James Luther Adams

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/george-floyd-death-s5.jpgThe verdict was read late Tuesday afternoon in downtown Minneapolis. It took the jury less than a day to come to its decision.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/door-county-people-s5.jpgSen. Smith reflects on the budget listening session he hosted last week. The conversation was a reminder of how the budget connects us to one another and will help us build stronger communities.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/foxconn-wall-s5.jpg$80 million, six-year agreement to guarantee taxpayer savings, protect local and state infrastructure investments, require job creation to receive incentives.