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What to Expect From Door/Kewaunee Legislative Days

The biennial Door/Kewaunee Legislative Days will take place in Madison on April 5 and 6. More than 120 delegates from Door and Kewaunee Counties, including 30 students, are expected in the capitol to lobby for issues relative to this corner of the state.

“Everyone might not agree with everything you say, but our goal is give them a good idea about what’s going on in Door and Kewaunee County,” said Rob Burke at an informational session before the event. Burke is head of the UW-Extension branch in Sturgeon Bay.

“We were told there’s a conception in Madison that we are problem-free and pretty and we want them to understand that we’re normal,” said Burke. “We have challenges creating jobs, keeping jobs, the environment. So we want them to know that.”

There are five issues on the agenda for the delegates:

Rural broadband: Delegates will support Senate Bill 49, which provides $11 million in additional grant funding for broadband projects in the current fiscal year. They will also support continued increases in funding for the Broadband Expansion Grant program in the future.

Clean water: Delegates will support the rule-making process that the Department of Natural Resources initiated in 2016 to rewrite the rules on water quality protection in the karst region. This is a continuation of an agenda item in past Legislative Days events.

TMDL study: Delegates will ask for support of the Total Maximum Daily Load study that has been proposed for rivers in Kewaunee, Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties. The four-year study will cost $520,000 and include three rivers in both Door and Kewaunee Counties.

School start date: Delegates will oppose the repeal of the statewide school start date, which is currently Sept. 1. Many school districts are seeking the flexibility of setting their own start date while many in Door and Kewaunee County say an earlier start date would hurt the tourism economy.

Harbor Assistance Program: Delegates are supporting the current funding recommendation of $15.4 million in the proposed 2017-19 budget to ensure the success of commercial harbors in the area.

Pulse News Writer Jackson Parr will be in Madison providing coverage on the event.

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