Housekeeping activities on Friday. signed 15 bills into law, vetoed 28 others.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today took action on 43 bills. Among the 43 bills upon which the governor took action, Gov. Evers signed 15 bills into law:  

Senate Bill 115, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 253:

• Makes various changes to the definition of program sponsor and the program sponsor requirements relating to chiropractic continuing education.

Senate Bill 392, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 254:

• Establishes a certification program for expanded function dental auxiliaries to be administered by the Dentistry Examining Board; and
• Requires the board to promulgate rules for the certification and practice of expanded function dental auxiliaries.

Senate Bill 508, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 255:

• Expands the colors of lamps that are legally allowed on state, county, and municipal highway department vehicles to include green in addition to red or amber; and
• Expands the number of flashing lamps permissible on such a vehicle from two to four.

Senate Bill 519, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 256:

• Authorizes a judge to issue a permanent restraining order if the judge finds that the respondent was convicted of certain sexual assault offenses and the person seeking the restraining order was the crime victim.

Senate Bill 535, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 257:

• Creates immunity from damages, if certain criteria are met, for charitable organizations who provide previously owned eyeglasses to people.

Senate Bill 566, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 258:

• Adopts, with modifications, the most recent versions of the Uniform Limited Partnership Act and Uniform Limited Liability Company Act; and
• Makes changes to the state’s partnership laws and to laws governing business corporations and non-stock corporations to improve consistency across Wisconsin’s business organization statutes.

Senate Bill 604, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 259:

• Specifies the types of financial information that must be included in the annual exchange of information in an order for family support, child support, or maintenance; and
• Sets an annual deadline of May 1 of each calendar year by which the information must be exchanged, unless there is another date agreed upon in writing.

Senate Bill 644, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 260:

• Replaces the annuity sales suitability standard with a best interest of the consumer standard that must not place the financial interest of the insurance agent or insurer ahead of the consumer when an agent or insurer is recommending an annuity product to a prospective buyer.

Senate Bill 673, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 261:

• Specifies the Department of Military Affairs’ responsibilities relating to the statewide emergency number system; and
• Creates a new grant program through which the department must issue grants to county land information offices for the purpose of preparing geographic information systems data to help enable Next Generation 9-1-1.

Senate Bill 794, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 262:

• Makes changes related to the Department of Revenue’s audits of pass-through entities.

Assembly Bill 251, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 263:

• Expands the crime of falsely assuming to act as a public officer, a public employee, or a utility employee to also include impersonating, or representing to be, an official with intent to mislead others into believing they are an official.

Senate Bill 564, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 264:

• Requires the Department of Corrections to contract with no fewer than three vendors that allow an inmate to purchase department-approved hobby, religious, and other personal items.

Senate Bill 718, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 265:

• Make a series of changes to campaign finance laws as recommended by the Ethics Commission.

Senate Bill 719, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 266:

• Make a series of changes to lobbying laws as recommended by the Ethics Commission.

Senate Bill 720, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 267:

• Make a series of technical changes to the administration of the code of ethics, as recommended by the Ethics Commission, to provide additional clarity.

In addition to signing the above bills, Gov. Evers vetoed 28 bills. The governor’s veto messages are available below.   

Veto Message for Assembly Bill 299

Veto Message for Assembly Bill 316

Veto Message for Assembly Bill 883

Veto Message for Assembly Bill 934

Veto Message for Assembly Bill 935

Veto message for Assembly Bill 936

Veto message for Assembly Bill 937

Veto message for Assembly Bill 938

Veto message for Assembly Bill 939

Veto message for Assembly Bill 963

Veto message for Assembly Bill 966

Veto message for Assembly Bill 970

Veto message for Senate Bill 213

Veto message for Senate Bill 347

Veto message for Senate Bill 365

Veto message for Senate Bill 394

Veto message for Senate Bill 409

Veto message for Senate Bill 494

Veto message for Senate Bill 570

Veto message for Senate Bill 585

Veto message for Senate Bill 608

Veto message for Senate Bill 629

Veto message for Senate Bill 695

Veto message for Senate Bill 703

Veto Message for Senate Bill 707

Veto message for Senate Bill 708

Veto message for Senate Bill 900

Veto message for Senate Bill 936

Bridges to close for annual spring cleaning, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

GREEN BAY, WI - The Green Bay Public Works Department is announcing the temporary closure of the three downtown bridges crossing the Fox River for annual spring-cleaning activities.

Traffic Impacts and Detours

Donald A. Tilleman Memorial Bridge (Mason Street over the Fox River)

Tuesday, April 19. Closed 6:00 a.m. Open 3:00 p.m.
Closed east of the Fox River on East Mason Street at South Monroe Avenue.
Closed west of the Fox River on West Mason Street at South Ashland Avenue.
Detour is South Ashland Avenue, Walnut Street, and South Monroe Avenue.

Bart Starr Memorial Bridge (Walnut Street over the Fox River)

Wednesday, April 20. Closed 6:00 a.m. Open 3:00 p.m.
Closed east of the Fox River on East Walnut Street at Washington Street.
Closed west of the Fox River on West Walnut Street at Broadway.
Detour is North Broadway, Dousman Street, Main Street, and North Monroe Avenue.

Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge (Dousman Street and Main Street over the Fox River)

Friday, April 22. Closed 3:00 a.m. Open 2:00 p.m.
Closed east of the Fox River on Main Street at North Washington Street.
Closed west of the Fox River on Dousman Street at North Broadway.
Detour is North Broadway, East Walnut Street, and North Monroe Avenue.

Access to residences and businesses will be maintained. All closures, detours, and work operations are weather dependent and subject to change. Motorists should anticipate backups, use caution while driving through the work zone, and are encouraged to find alternate routes.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/counseling-services-child-s440.jpgHelp Nearly Every Wisconsin School District Provide School-Based Mental Health Support for Kids

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers announced Wednesday his appointment of Eric Sparr to serve as Winnebago County District Attorney. The appointment fills the vacancy being created by District Attorney Christian A. Gossett’s resignation, effective May 7, 2022. Sparr will serve for the remainder of the unexpired term that ends January 2025.

“Eric Sparr is a skilled prosecutor with strong ties to the local community,” said Gov. Evers. “In addition to his roots in the Oshkosh area, he has great experience implementing evidence-based practices and working collaboratively with law enforcement and partner organizations. He will make an excellent district attorney for the people of Winnebago County.”

Sparr has worked in the Winnebago County District Attorney’s Office since 2005, first as an assistant district attorney and, since 2020, as the deputy district attorney. He has prosecuted a wide variety of cases, including domestic violence, sexual assault, drug crimes, property crimes, and homicides. Additionally, he has helped develop programming aimed at reducing recidivism and substance use disorders, including securing grant funding to initiate a misdemeanor drug diversion program.

“I would like to thank Governor Evers for appointing Deputy District Attorney Eric Sparr for the position of Winnebago County District Attorney,” said current Winnebago County District Attorney Gossett. “Not only was I pleased to recommend Deputy District Attorney Sparr, I was happy to see the unanimous support within the office and tremendous support within the community and our criminal justice partners for his appointment.”

Sparr grew up in Oshkosh and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin Law School. He is active in a number of professional and community organizations, including serving as a board member for the Rotary Club of Oshkosh and the Day by Day Warming Shelter.

“I am honored to accept the Winnebago County District Attorney appointment and am grateful to Governor Evers and his office for their consideration,” said Sparr. “I look forward to continuing to work closely with our excellent law enforcement agencies. I appreciate the foundation that has been established in the District Attorney’s Office and will keep advancing our collaborations with our numerous community partners. I frequently describe, with emotion and great pride, my feelings about this office, how it functions, and what it means to me. I care tremendously about the office, our legal community, and the community as a whole, and I am eager to put that passion to work in a new role.”

MADISON, Wis. — In case you missed it, WPR highlighted how Governor Tony Evers’ Main Street Bounceback program is growing small businesses and revitalizing Main Streets across Wisconsin. 

During Gov. Evers’ first term, more than 3,400 small businesses in all 72 counties have benefited from the Main Street Bounceback program — and funding is still available for roughly 1,600 more small businesses.

In Crawford County, 30 small businesses have received Main Street Bounceback grants. Carol Roth, executive director of Driftless Development, Crawford County's economic development organization, said “downtown Prairie du Chien has been revitalized, in part, because of the grants and the new businesses that the funds have brought into the area.”

“For your small mom-and-pop businesses that’s on Main Street, it’s huge,” Roth said on Gov. Evers’ Main Street Bounceback program. “It can pay your rent for a whole year.”

Read more below on how Gov. Evers is prioritizing small businesses and helping power Wisconsin’s record economic growth.

WPR: Main Street grant program gives millions to Wisconsin small businesses, nonprofits

Wisconsin small businesses are still able to receive $10,000 grants to help start up or expand their operations as part of the state's Main Street Bounceback Program. Around $34 million has gone to more than 3,400 businesses and nonprofits throughout the state as of April 1, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., which manages the program.

The program launched in August and gives businesses grants they can use to pay leases and cover other costs that come from opening up a physical storefront.

Federal stimulus funds have made the grants possible.

Business applications in Wisconsin reached record levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grant program gives people more chances to shop local and support their communities, Missy Hughes, secretary of WEDC, said.

"When you put this money to work in a small business in a community, that dollar gets stretched and used again and again by our small businesses," Hughes said. "You really see the local economies benefiting from having that influx and that stimulus."

Hughes said while many small business have survived the pandemic, seeing empty spaces along main streets across the state can be discouraging.

"Folks just aren't stopping in their cars to walk around because it doesn't look like much is happening," Hughes said. "By filling those vacant spaces, we can help not only the new businesses, but also the businesses that survived the pandemic."

That especially goes for smaller counties. Hughes said businesses in all 72 Wisconsin counties have received funds.

Carol Roth is the executive director of Driftless Development, Crawford County's economic development organization. She said $10,000 can go a long way.

"For your small mom-and-pop business that's on Main Street, it's huge," Roth said. "It can pay your rent for a whole year."

[...]

Roth said downtown Prairie du Chien has been revitalized, in part, because of the grants and the new businesses that the funds have brought into the area.

"We're actually looking for more spaces," Roth said. "It's creating a bigger sense of community with our residents and with our businesses."

As of March 31, Crawford County has received 30 of the program's grants. Roth said that helps create jobs in a county that had a 5.3 percent unemployment rate in February, well above the state's unemployment rate of 2.9 percent.

"Granted, these aren't like those huge jobs, but that's really important for our workforce development," Roth said.

Roth notes that funding helps public services such as local schools by way of tax revenues.

"This amount of money that's injected into the economy, it reaches way farther than really impacting businesses," Roth said. "It helps everything else in our communities as well."

Cynthia Olmstead is business operations director for Driftless Brewing Company in Crawford County. She said the grant money allowed the brewery to expand its patio and make its indoor space safer.

"It's been particularly hard because we have so many small businesses around here, they've been hit very hard by the pandemic," Olmstead said. "These types of grant programs have been great."

Roth said she hopes there will be ways to keep the momentum going.

"Is there a way that we can learn from this grant to make future things, future opportunities like this accessible to all communities, regardless of population?" Roth said.

It's one of multiple ways the Evers administration has used federal stimulus funds to help small businesses during the pandemic. Last month, he announced more than $86 million will go to organizations that support small businesses owned by the state's marginalized communities.

The Bounceback program still has funds available for approximately 1,600 more businesses. Small businesses that move into a vacant commercial space in the state before the end of June can apply with WEDC's regional partners.

Hughes said small businesses play a role in creating communities people want to live in.

"Our quality of life in Wisconsin is really dependent on our communities and our neighborhoods being thriving, safe, interesting," Hughes said. "That's what small businesses bring to the table, you know, they're unique, they're quirky, they're different."

***

About Governor Tony Evers
Tony Evers is Wisconsin’s 46th Governor. A lifelong Wisconsinite and former educator, Tony is running for re‑election because he believes Wisconsin needs a common sense approach to the issues facing our state. Tony is focused on bringing people together to do the right thing for Wisconsin, whether that’s signing a middle-class tax cut, restoring funding to public education, or helping folks get access to high-speed internet. In addition to his accomplishments as governor, Tony has three children and nine grandchildren. He loves to play euchre, polka dance, and the Wisconsin Badgers.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/potawatomi-state-park-tower-s450.jpgAnnouncement on Door County project Tuesday follows a DNR-led public input opportunity and publication of a Public Feedback Summary outlining input received.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/wi-senate-swearing-in-s5.jpgSen. Smith writes about what motivated him to enter into public service and the potential for Wisconsin’s future once we work past the politics.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/road-repair-wi-3-s5.jpgCap Times reports Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha, Green Bay, and Appleton will receive funds to support their local transit agencies.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/vote-47-mb3-s5.jpgOn Friday, Evers vetoed bills that would have created barriers to the ballot box for voters with disabilities, older voters, communities of color, and voters in nursing homes.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/tony-evers-1038-bill-signing-s5.jpgActions will finally ensure movement of kids out of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake to a Type 1 facility in Milwaukee County, vetoes a package of anti-voter bills passed by the Legislature.