Monday, May 2, 2011

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VOTER REFORM! ACTION NEEDED!

If you value fair elections, I need your help now.

Representative Jeff Stone is working on the final draft of the Voter ID bill. Even though this bill accomplishes a lot of necessary reforms it is still lacking in IMPORTANT REFORMS that must be included:

1) MAKE THIS BILL MANDATORY FOR THE RECALL ELECTIONS ESPECIALLY VOTER ID AND 28 DAY RESIDENCY.
2) People assisting voters at the polls should be required to show their IDs, sign the ballot and poll book.
3) The clerk should have the right to hire qualified poll workers from their county not just their municipality.
4) The sharing of our personal information should only be with border states, not every state, to help stop "border jumping."
5) The request for an absentee ballot should be for each election not for an entire year.

PLEASE CALL REP. STONE'S OFFICE AT 608-266-8590 AND LEAVE HIM A MESSAGE OR EMAIL Rep.Stone@legis.wisconsin.gov


Alert From Founder's Compass

Help Repeal the RTA

The Joint committee on Finance ( Budget) Committee meets tomorrow (5/3/11) 11 am on Rm 412 East State Cap Exec. session, . One of the items under "Transportation" will be Repeal the RTA statewide. Please call and leave a message supporting the Repeal the RTA state wide at the Republican Senators and Representatives listed below:

Senator Alberta Darling,(R) Co-Chair 266 5830
Representative Robin Vos,( R), Co-Chair 266 9171
Senator Luther Olsen ( R) 266 0751
Representative Dan Meyer ( R) 266 7141
Senator Sheila Harsdorf ( R) 266 7745
Representative Dan LeMahieu ( R) 266 9175
Senator Joe Leibham ( R) 266 2056
Representative John Nygren (R) 266 2343
Senator Glenn Grothman (R) 266 7513
Representative Pat Strachota (R) 264-8486
Senator Randy Hopper (R) 266 5300
Representative Joel Kleefisch (R) 266 8551
Senator Lena Taylor ( D)
Representative Tamara Grigsby (D)
Senator Robert Jauch ( D)
Representative Jennifer Shilling (D)

Committee Clerk: Joe Malkasian
(608) 264-8314


BCC (Please send blind copy (BCC) to:
Rep.Nass@legis.wisconsin.gov 266 5715 and
Sen.Grothman@legis.wisconsin.gov 266 7513
Rep.Ripp@legis.wi.gov 266 3404

This is likely the last chance to express your opinion, as the Transportation committee has not moved on AB 36 and its joint bill in Senate SB -25. Please call/Email the R's today/tomorrow morning.

Use your own words and ideas here's a few also:

Budget Bill - History and action

The RTA bill was pulled into the 2009 Budget Bill and passed with little discussion- it is a poorly written bill and should be Repealed the same way it was created- in the 2011 Budget bill. Repeal now and let those that favor RTA's use the normal legislative process for the future. Prove via referendum there is local support for specific types of Transit and taxing themselves to pay for it before making a new statewide law allowing it.

Dane county- Unelected, appointed pro-train RTA Board still has taxing power to raise up to ½ % sales tax to pay for commuter rail- still in their Phase two plan. Also has condemnation and bonding ( borrowing) power at this time. This would raise taxes in Dane county approx. $32-36 million a year forever and increasing each year the economy grows. No new taxes, no new borrowing, no new taxing authority is needed in Dane county or the state.

New County Exec. of Dane Cty, Parisi is on record strongly in favor of commuter and "Car speed Rail. County Board on record in favor of commuter rail. OPPOSITION to Comm. rail shown in county board hearings, on Nov 2, 2010 44 or 45 Dane municipalities rejected commuter rail- voting no 72% and higher with a specific referendum on commuter rail for Madison. Most of the Madison MPO area has still not had a referendum on commuter rail for Madison.

Budget- The Kenosha-Racine- Milwaukee (KRM) RTA for commuter rail has $100 million in bonding authority now and would jack car rental fees to outrageous levels hoping to cover the subsidy levels needed for rail. The state is $3.6 billion in debt, no need to borrow for a train that duplicates the existing Chicago- Mil Amtrak, the bus and highway system at a much higher cost per passenger mile.