Your Representatives in the News

State Assembly Representative Garey Bies

Bies recently introduced an anti-bullying bill that would create a fine for teachers and other school district employees who fail to report incidents of bullying. School staff is currently required by law to report all incidents of bullying, which the state Department of Public Instruction defines as “deliberate or intentional behavior using words or actions, intended to cause fear, intimidation, or harm,” but there are no penalties for failing to report incidents. The fine for failing to report bullying incidents would be $200.

Source:  Wisconsin State Journal (host.madison.com/wsj)

Senator Frank Lasee

In an article on Fox 11 Online, Lasee commented on the reduced tax revenue Kewaunee County and the town of Carlton will receive once the Kewaunee Power Station shuts down in May.

“We’d like to see something done,” Lasee said, according to the article. “I know we’ve worked on this over the years and yeah, it would be nice to see some type of payment at least for the town and the county so we’ll work on that as well and yes, there’s an impact. We’re aware of it and want to change it.”

Source: Fox 11 Online (fox11online.com)

Governor Scott Walker  

According to a report by the Associated Press, Walker has not considered any of the at least 1,400 pardon applications he’s taken since taking office. He has created a pardon advisory board, but he never appointed anyone to the board and has not issued a pardon since becoming governor in Jan. 2011.

Source:  The Wausau Daily Herald (wausaudailyherald.com)

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson

On March 10, Johnson appeared on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, where he said he might look at bringing in new government revenues, e.g. more/higher taxes, as long as those revenues are coupled with entitlement reform. A video of Johnson’s appearance can be found on his YouTube channel.

Source:  ABC News (abcnews.go.com)

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin

Baldwin was recently chosen to chair the Democratic Women’s Senate Network for the 2014 elections, an organization that seeks to get more women into the Senate and retain those who are already there.

Source:  USA Today (usatoday.com)

U.S. Representative Reid Ribble

Ribble is supporting a former New Orleans police officer’s bid to be released from prison, pending a retrial on charges that he shot and killed a man in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The man, a Wisconsin native, was convicted in 2010 of fatally shooting a 31 year-old man without justification, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a retrial in the case in December.

Ribble visited the man in prison and wrote a letter to U.S. District Judge Lane Africk to set a bond.

Source:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (jsonline.com)

President Barack Obama

Obama made his first visit to Israel since being elected President. Among other things, he made a call for peace to young Israelis, telling them their generation could secure a stable and democratic future for the conflict-ridden land. The speech can be viewed on the White House’s YouTube channel.

Source:  The Guardian (guardian.co.uk)