MADISON -- Rep. Dan Meyer, R-Eagle River, plans to introduce today, Nov. 16, the first of a series of bills designed to stem job loss in Wisconsin. The bills, which are co-sponsored by Rep. Donald Friske, R-Merrill, will focus on stimulating the economy in rural areas of the state, especially in the Northwoods, Meyer said, adding that jobs and the economy are among Wisconsin residents’ biggest concerns right now.
“Unemployment is almost 10 percent and we’re losing jobs,” Meyer said. “We’ve got to get some jobs in the state.”
(Editor’s note: Meyer and other legislators planned to hold a news conference at the Ponsse North America Headquarters in Rhinelander at 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, to discuss the job creation plans in more detail.)
Although Meyer declined to give exact details before the bills are unveiled, he said they would focus on northern Wisconsin and the wood products industry in particular, which Meyer called one of the state’s greatest strengths. Meyer intends for the legislation to address the tendency of policymakers to neglect the Northwoods.
“Sometimes when legislation gets passed down here [in Madison], the bulk of the legislators are from Madison, Milwaukee and the Fox River Valley and they forget about northern Wisconsin,” he said.
Meyer noted that the bills will include incentives for homeowners who install biofuel furnaces. Such furnaces can burn wood pellets, which may be made from recycled wood products.
In an earlier interview, Friske explained that the legislation would provide tax credits for installing a biofuel furnace. Friske called this incentive scheme a “win-win situation,” since it will improve lagging sales of biofuel furnaces, support green jobs and lower carbon emissions without increased spending or taxes.
Another piece of legislation directed at the wood products industry would use federal stimulus bill funds to improve bridges used by logging company trucks, as Friske said these shortcomings in infrastructure are making the industry less competitive.
More funding for northern Wisconsin schools
In addition to the wood products legislation, Meyer is co-sponsoring a bill with Rep. Garey Bies, R-Sister Bay, to increase state funding for schools in areas with high property values. Currently, the state allocates school funding according to local property values, a formula Meyer says allocates northern Wisconsin disproportionately little funding.
“We’re property rich, but we don’t have high incomes,” Meyer said. “That needs to be thrown into the mix (for education funding reform).” The legislation proposed by Meyer and Bies would guarantee $1,000 worth of state funding annually for each Wisconsin student.
“That means additional revenues for almost every school in my district,” Meyer said. “It makes a big difference to most schools in the 34th assembly district.”
Although Meyer is unsure what kind of bipartisan support the bill will garner as it moves through the legislature, he is counting on other representatives outside Milwaukee and Madison with similar high-property value districts to back the legislation. Furthermore, the bill addresses a timely issue in light of indications from the governor’s office that the state may change how it allocates school funding.
Race to the Top
Meyer and other legislators have been wrestling with separate issues related to education reform in the wake of President Obama’s recent visit to Madison’s Wright Middle School. The legislators were in session until nearly 4 a.m. Friday morning due to holdups over a controversial bill allowing the use of student test scores to evaluate teacher performance.The bill eventually passed by one vote, with no Republicans voting in favor.
The measure is designed to make Wisconsin competitive for a portion of $4.35 billion in federal “Race to the Top” funds by removing a statewide ban on evaluating teachers using student test scores. Obama has been using the competition for the funds to lure states into taking steps toward his vision of school reform, which includes tying teacher pay to student performance.The bill that Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law Monday, however, only allows teachers to be evaluated, not disciplined or fired, based on student performance.
Although Meyer said he supports the idea of the stricter teacher evaluations—“weed out the [teachers] that can’t cut the muster—I don’t have a problem with that,” Meyer said—he voted against the bill because of the provisions for it makes for a bargaining process between teachers and schools.
“I’ve worked for a Fortune 500 company and I had performance reviews all the time,” Meyer said.“I didn’t sit down and tell the company what I was going to be evaluated on … I think what you’re going to find here is nothing has really changed; you’re not going to get the bad teacher, they’re going to be protected.”
Meyer remains unconvinced that this legislation will put Wisconsin in good stead to win the money.“I don’t believe this bill is going to meet the criteria the federal government is looking for,” he said.
Mixed martial arts in Wisconsin
One final item of business on Meyer’s agenda for the week was a public hearing on legislation to regulate mixed martial arts held by Committee on Consumer Protection, of which Meyer is a member. Fighters, trainers, referees, promoters and a physician involved in mixed martial arts—a combat sport incorporating various fighting styles and most popularly seen in Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts—testified in favor of Assembly Bill 438, which, if passed, would become the first legislation in Wisconsin to regulate the young sport.
The bill mandates that a ringside physician be present at mixed martial arts matches and stipulates health examinations for competitors, including HIV and hepatitis screening.All of those who testified at the hearing spoke in favor of the bill.
Since the meeting was a public hearing, no action was taken on the bill, but Meyer said later that he supports regulating the sport in Wisconsin to prevent unethical promoters from taking advantage of competitors and to open the state to large MMA events.
“They want the regulations to protect the participants and I get that,” Meyer later said. “The other side of it is if you do regulate, you draw big matches and that’s a boost for the economy.”
The bill will next be discussed in an executive session of the committee.
