Madison, WI – On Tuesday, March 8th, the Wisconsin State Senate held their final floor session of the regularly scheduled 2021-22 Legislative Session. Five bills authored by Senator Felzkowski were voted on by the Senate and now head to the Governor’s desk.
SB 520 provides $41 million in bonding authority for the state to construct a new Type 1 Juvenile Correctional Facility in Milwaukee County, the crucial next step to closing the troubled Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake in the 12th Senate District.
“When I started my first session as your Senator last year, I knew that I would be facing an uphill battle in our fight to close Lincoln Hills. Years of stagnation and politics had turned this issue into a can everyone wanted to kick further down the road. Last fall, my staff and I spent hours on the phone and in meetings with Lincoln Hills employees brave enough to speak out and share the realities of the daily conditions of the facility with us. It became very clear that the prison had to close, for the sake of the youth, and the staff. I look forward to the Department of Corrections moving forward with site selection and breaking ground on the new facility.”
AB 874 will furnish public and private EMS providers with the ability to invest industry dollars, which will pull down a federal match for the Medicaid services that they provide to the people of Wisconsin – something they currently lose money on. The financial impact this will have on our local governments and private providers will be anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of dollars, depending on the amount of Medicaid patients they serve.
“In many communities across our state, EMS providers are struggling to hire staff and maintain life-saving equipment. In some areas, response times have sky-rocketed, with many worrying whether an ambulance will show up at all. While the Governor’s use of one time ARPA funding is very much appreciated, it’s only a Band-Aid for a much larger problem. This bill provides a long-term, sustainable solution that will ensure all Wisconsinites have a timely response to their emergency medical needs for decades to come.”
Three other bills authored by Senator Felzkowski include: updating the Managed Forest Land program, requiring MA reimbursement for group physical therapy, and authorizing Expanded Function Dental Auxiliaries in Wisconsin. All five bills now head to Governor Evers’ desk to be signed into law.
