News of the Day

A group of Republican lawmakers is hoping to block local governments from using a relatively new approach to fund road maintenance through what are known as transportation utility fees.

On Wednesday, Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, introduced bills that would punish local governments that enact transportation user fees by forcing them to lower the amount they can collect from property taxes by however much they raise from the new transportation fees.

A statement from Stroebel’s office said lawmakers have worked to ensure a favorable tax climate and have increased local transportation aids in recent state budgets.

“A municipality must not be allowed to circumvent the popular levy limit law through the creation of a transportation utility to extract more money from taxpayers,” Stroebel said. “The option of a referendum is always available if the people actually want higher taxes.”

At the same time, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is arguing in Outagamie County Circuit Court that transportation utility fees are unlawful taxes. The firm is suing the Town of Buchanan for adopting a transportation utility district and corresponding fees in 2019.

A 2020 legal opinion written by the League of Wisconsin Municipalities states that local governments have “broad statutory and/or constitutional home rule powers to create a transportation utility and charge property owners transportation utility fees.”

Wisconsin spent or made plans for some $2.8 billion in federal pandemic aid funding through the end of 2021, and the state has more than $1.8 billion in federal funds that have yet to be spent.

Gov. Tony Evers this week issued an update on how the state has spent the COVID-19 relief funding it received as a result of federal aid bills passed in 2020 and 2021. The data show the state has spent or allocated the great majority of aid intended for businesses, schools and local governments. What remains of the $4.6 billion the state was granted include major investments in broadband expansion, health care and neighborhood infrastructure. Some of the new grants are set to be announced this month.

According to data released by the governor’s office, some of the federal funds yet to be allocated in Wisconsin include:

• $205 million in Neighborhood Investment Fund grants, which could go to the creation of new buildings or other infrastructure aimed at “help(ing) neighborhoods recover from negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
• $125 million in workforce innovation grants aimed at addressing worker shortages.
• $83.9 million for broadband access expansion. The state has spent or allocated $21 million of a total $113.7 million in funds.
• $75 million for health care infrastructure, especially in areas disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
• $59 million in public safety grants, including grants to fund victim services and violence prevention initiatives.

The data release comes as Republicans in the Legislature are proposing a constitutional amendment that would give the Legislature greater oversight on the spending of federal funds. In Wisconsin, the governor has authority to allocate federal funding. Given the large amounts of aid that have come from federal pandemic relief, this has meant an unusually large amount of spending in the last two years was overseen by Evers rather than allocated through the state’s budget process.

The constitutional amendment proposal passed the state Senate and may pass the Republican-controlled Assembly as well. But in order to change the state constitution, it would have to pass two consecutive sessions of the Legislature and win a statewide popular vote. That process would necessarily take years.

Short of amending the constitution, some lawmakers are calling for more information about how funds have been spent. On Tuesday, a legislative committee considered a proposal to have the state’s Legislative Audit Bureau review the state’s use of COVID-19 funding. That audit proposal, which appeared to have bipartisan support, would be aimed at assessing whether funds were used appropriately.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted its full approval of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine will now be marketed under the name Spikevax for the prevention of COVID-19 in people 18 years of age and older.

“The FDA fully approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine last August for those 16 and older and now has done the same with the Moderna vaccine for those 18 and older. These approvals are further confirmation that these vaccines are effective and safe,” said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. “We urge those folks that have waited to get vaccinated to do so now and join their nearly 3.7 million fellow Wisconsinites who have received their COVID-19 vaccine.”

This is the same vaccine people have been getting for months. In order to grant full approval, the FDA required extensive data on safety and effectiveness, inspection of manufacturing facilities, and a comprehensive review of all clinical and real-world use. The full approval means that even more data were gathered and analyzed following the grant of emergency use authorization in December 2020 to further confirm that this vaccine works and is safe. All of the COVID-19 vaccines are extremely effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalization, and death – including from the Delta and Omicron variants.

The Moderna vaccine was the second COVID-19 vaccine to receive emergency use authorization (EUA) in the U.S. This authorization came after the Moderna product underwent rigorous clinical trials and an expedited review process to ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. FDA granted the application for full approval through a priority review designation, and reviewed updated data from the clinical trial which supported the EUA and included a longer duration of follow-up in a larger clinical trial population.

The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States rose slightly for the fifth week in a row, climbing 2.9 cents from a week ago, according to an industry expert.

Currently, the national average is sitting at $3.34 per gallon, according to GasBuddy, which compiled price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The current figure reflects a nearly 76-cent increase per gallon compared to a month ago and a nearly 93-cent increase per gallon compared to a year ago.

Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said in a blog post Monday that the continued uptick at the pump is because oil prices are being “pushed into territory unseen in over seven years.”

By June, GasBuddy estimated that the national average price for a gallon of gasoline could climb to a high of $4.13.

Yesterday, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) announced the creation of the Special Assembly Committee on Trade and Supply Chain. State Representative Rob Brooks (R-Saukville) will Chair the new committee.

“Across the state and country, demand is high, quantity is low, prices are increasing, and workers are scarce. The creation of this committee is another step Assembly Republicans are taking to support the Wisconsin businesses, families, and individuals who are impacted by these economic factors. I have full confidence Representative Brooks and the members of the committee will work hard to address these issues,” stated Speaker Vos.

The Committee on Trade and Supply Chain will focus on the relationship between the labor shortage and supply chain interruptions and the impacts and barriers this creates for businesses and consumers. The committee will examine the disruptions in production and distribution of products over the last two years, the lack of workers in the labor market, and Wisconsin’s role in recovering.

Interim UW System President Tommy Thompson will resign his post in March, writing to Regents President Edmund Manydeeds on Friday that doing so will allow the university to put its full attention on his successor.

Thompson, the longest serving governor in Wisconsin history, was brought in to lead the system on an interim basis on July 1, 2020, after a failed search to find a permanent replacement for the retiring Ray Cross.

In his letter, Thompson wrote he agreed to accept knowing two things: “that I was needed, and that it would be temporary.”

The three-page letter opens with the line, “I love Wisconsin.” It then ticks off a series of accomplishments, including leading the system during the COVID-19 pandemic and working with the Legislature and guv to restore authority to the Board of Regents to set tuition after a decade-long freeze for in-state undergraduates.

“While I firmly believe that the pursuit of excellence never ends, I am satisfied that I have accomplished what has been asked of me and what the people of this state have sought,” Thompson wrote.

Thompson noted the regents will soon identify a candidate to become the full-time president, writing “the onboarding process will require the full attention of System staff, chancellors, faculty, and the many remarkable people that carry out the business of the System every day.”

The committee overseeing the search for a new president was to meet in closed session today to select finalists for the job. The finalists won’t be announced until a later date.

“Until the end, I will work to accomplish all that is needed before allowing staff the ability to prepare for the transition,” Thompson wrote.

People who test positive for the coronavirus need to isolate themselves for only five days if they don’t show symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. This cuts in half the earlier recommendation of 10 days of isolation.

Data shows that the majority of coronavirus transmission “occurs early in the course of illness,” the CDC explained — generally in the one or two days before symptoms begin and two or three days after.

“Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others,” the CDC said in a statement.

The CDC has also updated its recommended quarantine period for people exposed to the virus. It says unvaccinated people should quarantine for five days, followed by five days of “strict mask use.” Exposed people who are more than six months past their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or two months out from a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, should also quarantine for five days.

People who have gotten their booster shot don’t need to quarantine after exposure but should wear a mask for the next 10 days.

The release of COVID-19 federal relief funds has unleashed a wave of individuals and criminal networks responsible for what the Secret Service says is nearly $100 billion in stolen benefits.

The Secret Service has tapped Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAIC) Roy Dotson to lead the pandemic fraud recovery effort. In this role, Dotson is coordinating with financial institutions and money services businesses, U.S. attorney offices, and other federal agencies.

According to Dotson, who is based in the Jacksonville field office, the Secret Service has more than 900 active criminal investigations into pandemic-related relief fraud.

The Secret Service has established a Cyber Fraud Task Force (CFTF), partnering with federal and state, local, tribal, and territorial partners, as well as foreign law enforcement, academic, and private sector partners.

Part of these efforts will also include spearheading cryptocurrency investigations centering on unsuspecting money mules who have moved stolen funds from one account to another – a trend that also picked up during the pandemic, according to Dotson.

As of December 2021, the Secret Service says it has recovered more than $1.2 billion and returned more than $2.3 billion of fraudulently obtained funds through automated clearing house reversals. Amid these investigations, approximately 100 people have been arrested on loan fraud charges.

A new report from Forward Analytics shows that the state of Wisconsin will face challenges in the coming years due to stagnating population growth during the last decade. According to the report, “Slowing Down: Wisconsin’s Waning Population Growth,” the state’s population increased 3.6%, the slowest 10-year growth rate on record. This trend is being driven by a declining youth population. Over the decade, Wisconsin’s under-18 population fell 4.3%, more than double the 2.1% decline during 2000-2010.

The decline in the youth population was largely driven by falling birth rates. During 2010-2020, the number of births dropped in every year but one, resulting in about 44,000 fewer babies born than during 2000-2010. With deaths rising due to aging baby boomers, the state’s natural population growth (births minus deaths) was 153,000 compared to 243,000 during 2000-2010.

According to Forward Analytics Director Dale Knapp, “Fewer young people in the state affects Wisconsin’s future labor force. With this recent decline, the state may not have enough young people to replace retiring baby boomers and GenXers over the next two decades.”

With the exception of Milwaukee County, urban counties continued to grow. However, many rural counties saw populations fall due largely to the lack of growth in the youth population. From 2000-2010, 18 rural counties had more deaths than births, a phenomenon that was rare in previous
decades. In each of those rural counties, natural population loss continued during 2010-2020 with 11 additional counties joining them, bringing the total to 29 rural counties with natural population loss.

Without natural growth, the only way to increase or even maintain the state’s population and workforce is through migration. Unfortunately, that is trending in an unfavorable direction as well. With the state’s population growth at an all-time low, the state will need to attract significantly more
people over the next 10 years or risk a critically shrinking workforce and declining tax base.

President Biden is signing an executive order on Monday intended to cut back on the bureaucracy around government services for the public such as renewing their passports, applying for loans or changing their name.

The order, which Biden will sign on Monday afternoon, affects 36 “customer experience improvement commitments” across 17 federal agencies. The order targets various government services dealing with travel, retirement, business, health and updating personal information, according to a White House fact sheet.

For example, the order will call for a streamlined enrollment experience for retirees looking to enroll in Social Security, and it will allow retirees to more easily claim benefits online.

Taxpayers will be given new online tools to make filing more easy, and filers will have the option to schedule customer service call-backs instead of waiting on hold.

The order will call for Americans to be able to renew their passports online rather than dealing with print forms, and it will aim to streamline the process for travelers with urgent questions for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The order will also aim to ease the bureaucracy around both student loans and business loans.

The order will create a single portal for the millions of individuals with student loan debt, and small business owners will have a more streamlined process for working with the Small Business Administration on loans, grants and certifications.