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Capitol Update
HCAPITOL UPDATE
NATALIE WHITE Communications Director
Looking at the forecast for the 20232024 session, not much has changed in the political landscape. After many competitive months of campaigning and close races, November came and went with most things left unchanged and with a general lean towards incumbents in races where there was one.
Democratic Governor Evers won reelection, keeping the executive branch and agencies under the same leadership. Nathan Houdek is expected to continue in the role of OCI Commissioner in the Evers administration. The Legislature had little change in terms of the number of seats under the control of each party, with Republicans gaining three Assembly seats for a 64-35 majority and one Senate seat for a 22-11 majority. With this additional seat, Senate Republicans picked up enough seats to have a veto-proof majority, but the Assembly Republicans came up short of the five they needed for a supermajority. Though the party makeup of the Legislature remains relatively the same in both houses, there are many new faces this session - nearly 25% of legislative members are incoming freshmen!
The majority-party leaders in each house are largely the same with Senate Republicans re-electing Devin LeMahieu (R - Oostburg) as Majority Leader and Chris Kapenga (R - Delafield) as Senate President and Assembly Republicans reelecting Robin Vos (R – Rochester) as Assembly Speaker. Tyler August (R – Lake Geneva), the former Speaker Pro Tempore, tmoved up to become Majority Leader. The minority in the Assembly remains unchanged with Assembly Democrats re-electing Greta Neubauer (D – Racine) as Minority Leader and Kalan Haywood (D – Milwaukee) as Assistant Minority Leader. With the retirement of former Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley (D – Mason), Senate Democrats have now elected Melissa Agard (D – Madison) to lead the caucus as Minority Leader and Jeff Smith (D – Brunswick) to take up the role of Assistant Minority Leader.
As mentioned in the last issue, the forecast for the next session and budget seems to be looking bright. With the anticipated record surplus ($6.6 BILLION!), there is money to spend in the budget to accomplish top goals – determining what those will be is the difficult part. Governor Evers held a few different budget listening sessions throughout December to hear from Wisconsinites on what those priorities should be and is expected to give his Biennial Budget Address on February 15th at 7pm. The Joint Finance Committee will begin its work shortly after that, either working with the budget the Governor provided or starting from scratch – most likely the latter of those options. Your lobbyists at PIAW follow the budget process closely, watching for any provisions that may affect insurance agents.
One item that has been the subject of much discussion going into the session is the elimination of the personal property tax. This is an issue that PIAW has been advocating for many sessions and one you are likely familiar with. Legislation to eliminate this burdensome tax almost crossed the finish line last session, but some final objections to certain provisions in the final bill led to a veto from Governor Evers. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu has remarked that it is his priority this session to reduce taxes, including repealing the personal property tax. He is of the belief that Governor Evers would like to work to get the repeal of this tax done. PIAW will continue to advocate for the full repeal of the tax this session and during the budget process.
During the first few months of the session, many pieces of legislation will come forward and hearings will begin. Be sure to stay up to date with current happenings at the PIAW Blog (at piaw.org) and with the Capitol Report in every issue of the Wisconsin Professional Agent.
LEGISLATIVE Excellence AWARDS
PIAW is excited to announce the creation of a new award to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of legislative leaders who are working with PIAW to improve Wisconsin for independent agents. The PIAW Legislative Committee named the award the “Professional Insurance Agents of Wisconsin Legislative Excellence Award,” and selected the design and criteria. The award will be given annually to a member of each house of the Legislature whom the committee determines has worked during the session and throughout their career to keep the insurance industry and small business climate strong in the state.
PIAW Past President Julie Ulset, CPIA presents Representative Kevin Petersen with his award at his Capitol office with (from left) Executive Director Pete Hanson, CAE, CISR, Board Member Octavio Padilla and Communications Director Natalie White.
PIAW Legislative Committee Co-Chair Tracy Oestreich, CIC, CPIA, AU, CPIW, presents Senator Mary Felzkowski with the award at her Capitol office with (from left) Executive Director Pete Hanson, CAE, CISR, and Legislative Committee members Scott Faris, CIC, CPCU, CRIS, and Octavio Padilla.
Representative Kevin Petersen was elected to the Assembly in 2006 and serves the 40th Assembly District. He is based in Waupaca, WI and has served several sessions as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Insurance. In the 20212022 session, he served in the role of Vice-Chair and continued to lead as the author of 2021 Senate Bill 160/Assembly Bill 147, which was a key priority for PIAW. During the legislative process, Representative Petersen worked continuously with stakeholders to ensure that the final bill protected consumers and that there were fair regulations for the insurance industry. His efforts during the session led to its final passage and eventual enactment as 2021 Wisconsin Act 73. Thank you to Representative Petersen for his work on this important legislation. PIAW looks forward to continuing working with him in his new role of Speaker Pro Tempore of the Assembly!
Senator Mary Felzkowski served eight years in the Assembly and is now in her first term as a State Senator. She serves northern Senate District 12 and is based in Tomahawk, WI. During the 2021-2022 session, she served as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Insurance, Licensing and Forestry and worked with PIAW on a variety of issues that came through the committee such as the data cybersecurity bill, travel insurance legislation, and important technical updates for OCI. As an agency owner and Past President of PIAW, Senator Felzkowski has a personal background in insurance and deep knowledge of the needs of small businesses and independent agency owners. Her work this session displays a strong dedication to improving the insurance industry and keeping Wisconsin a great place to do business. Thank you to Senator Felzkowski for all of her hard work!
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