Conservatively Speaking

Every county in Senate District 28 that I represent has been declared a state of disaster by Governor Jim Doyle. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is offering assistance to individuals in our area experiencing flood damage. The deadline to apply for assistance has been extended to September 15, 2008. The deadline had been August 13, 2008.

You can apply for assistance at the FEMA website here. 

The Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel has more information.

American motorists may have finally hit the tipping point when it comes to high gas prices affecting their driving habits. The Wall Street Journal says a report out today by the U.S. Transportation Department shows that during the past seven months, Americans have slashed their driving by more than 40 billion miles.

The biggest decline in miles driven came in the North Central part of the country including Wisconsin. During May 2008, motorists in this region drove 57. 2 billion miles, a reduction of 4.5 percent from the previous year.

Dramatically fewer miles driven means less federal gas tax revenue, setting up a debate in Congress about how to address the shortfall. Some of the ideas that could be considered in Washington include more toll roads and mass transit programs, delaying numerous projects, and a potential increase in the federal gas tax, though such a move would be very unpopular given the current price of gas.

Here are more details from the Wall Street Journal.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) has a website that will tell you where lane closures and constructions projects are located before you leave the house on a long trip. Just visit the new website at: http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/road/laneclosures/closures.htm.

Here are more details form the DOT.

Governor Doyle’s Global Warming Task Force has completed work and issued a final report. After 16 months, the Task Force has submitted dozens of recommendations for mandates and regulations. Unfortunately, the mandates and regulations are likely to have high costs and are not likely to result in any change to our weather or climate and will only hurt Wisconsin residents and the state’s economy.

Here are highlights from the Task Force’s final report from the Department of Natural Resources website.

State Representative Jim Ott (R-Mequon), a former WTMJ-TV meteorologist has studied this issue extensively and has an outstanding news release critical of the Task Force’s recommendations. You can read Representative Ott’s release here.

I must admit I was taken aback when I read the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel that Milwaukee is negotiating with New Berlin to sell Milwaukee water. The price tag would be hefty $1.5 million one time fee in addition to actual costs.

During the lengthy deliberations about the Great Lakes Compact, I made it clear that despite my reservations, I supported an effective document that was good for the Great Lakes, the state of Wisconsin, and would preserve our greatest natural resource.

Time and time again, I heard Compact proponents make the case that the Compact would address the water needs of New Berlin. The conventional wisdom was that the Compact needed to be approved quickly, and if it was, New Berlin’s water woes would be taken care of. Making those arguments were city of Milwaukee officials from Mayor Tom Barrett on down. They claimed the city of Milwaukee would no longer have issues with New Berlin getting water if Wisconsin would simply okay the Compact.

It seems that isn’t the case. Wisconsin has approved the Compact, but for the city of Milwaukee, on this critical public health issue, it’s still business as usual, imposing a hefty price tag for a community in desperate need of water. For the city of Milwaukee, it was never about the Compact. It was and remains a question of money and control over a suburb to the west.    

With only a few exceptions, most state parks and trails are open in Wisconsin. High water levels on southern lakes and rivers are dropping while water levels in the north are low. Fishing conditions are normal.

Fawns are active so the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says be alert of fawns following does along roadways. White-tailed bucks are showing antler development. . Black bear sows with as many as three cubs in tow have been seen as well as red fox kits.

Here are full details from the latest DNR Outdoor Report.

If information is power, then pregnant women should see an ultrasound before they ultimately decide on having an abortion.

Under Wisconsin law, “at least 24 hours before the abortion is to be performed or induced, the physician who is to perform or induce the abortion or any other qualified physician” is required to, in person, inform the woman “that fetal ultrasound imaging and auscultation of fetal heart tone services are available that enable a pregnant woman to view the image or hear the heartbeat of her unborn child. In so informing the woman and describing these services, the physician shall advise the woman as to how she may obtain these services if she desires to do so.”
Wisconsin statute 253.10(3)(c)1(g)

Wisconsin is one of 15 states to require medical officials to give pregnant women the option of seeing an ultrasound before an abortion.

This year, Oklahoma became the first state in the nation making it mandatory that a woman see an ultrasound at least one hour before an abortion is scheduled.

State legislatures around the country took up 30 ultrasound-related bills in 17 states. Similar legislation is expected to be reviewed next year.

The author of Oklahoma’s new ultrasound law, state Senator Todd Lamb (R), told Stateline.org the purpose of the law is to “ensure 100 percent informed consent. We’re short-changing these moms if they’re not receiving an ultrasound so they can see how their child is being formed.”

Here’s the story from stateline.org.

More bad news for Wisconsin’s fiscal situation. The non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) reports, “Wisconsin state and local governments devoted a larger share of state personal income to debt service in 2006 than all but nine other states.”

WISTAX came to its conclusion using new U.S. Census figures. “State government ranked 13th in the amount of personal income spent on debt service (0.53% vs. 0.37%, U.S. average), while all local governments combined ranked 21st (0.40% of income), almost 14% below the national norm (0.47%).”

Here’s the WISTAX news release.

The non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) says it is assessments.

In a nutshell, WISTAX says, “A rising (or falling) assessment does not necessarily mean higher (or lower) property taxes.”

WISTAX goes into more detail in this report.

I have blogged extensively about my opposition to government run health care. The state Legislature was successful in keeping the Senate Democrats’ $15.2 billion government health care plan out of the 2007-09 state budget. Senate Democrats promise they will re-introduce the proposal in the next legislative session, despite its exorbitant cost.

The Green Bay Press Gazette editorializes against government health care, citing the high cost of popular programs, and the inefficiencies for veterans’ care.

The newspaper writes, “We know that participants in such government programs as Medicare and BadgerCare are generally satisfied with the care they receive through those programs. But we also know that the costs for both taxpayers and participants is enormous. And we know that the nation's Veterans Affairs health care system is not all that it could be or should be”

The editorial reaches the following conclusion:

“Our instincts tell us the answer lies more in the direction of competition and the innovation of free enterprise, not in the direction of government control and centralization. We urge healthy skepticism toward politicians who advocate a government-run single-payer system.”

Here’s the entire editorial.

The Appleton Post-Crescent is reporting the state wants to add information about some of Wisconsin’s most dangerous sex offenders to a website by the end of summer. These are offenders who have failed to comply with state registration requirements and are still at large. When found, they face fines, jail, or prison time.

Here’s the Post-Crescent article and the website for  Wisconsin’s Most Wanted Noncompliant Registered Sex Offenders.