Billings on 3 bills passing committee

Wisconsin Assembly Rep. Jill Billings hopped on La Crosse Talk PM on Wednesday from Madison to describe what she called the most chaotic end to a legislative session of her 15-year career.

Most of the conversation centered on the volume of bills moving through committee and the frenetic pace for lawmakers, staff, and lobbyists, as Republicans have scheduled legislative work to conclude for the rest of 2026 on Feb. 19 ahead of the upcoming campaign season.

In these final days, Billings has seen three of her bills pass through committee and hopes they receive a vote from the full Legislature and reach the governor’s desk.

The bills that cleared committee were AB 1000 out of Children and Families, while AB 957 and AB 958 passed through Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

Billings is also hoping to see her Water Notification Act advance — a bill that would require the DNR to notify local health departments within seven days of discovering contaminated well water.

Wisconsin Assembly Rep. Jill Billings hopped on La Crosse Talk PM on Wednesday from Madison to describe what she called the most chaotic end to a legislative session of her 15-year career.
Most of the conversation centered on the volume of bills moving through committee and the frenetic pace for lawmakers, staff, and lobbyists, as Republicans have scheduled legislative work to conclude for the rest of 2026 on Feb. 19 ahead of the upcoming campaign season.
In these final days, Billings has seen three of her bills pass through committee and hopes they receive a vote from the full Legislature and reach the governor&rsquo;s desk.
The bills that cleared committee were AB 1000 out of Children and Families, while AB 957 and AB 958 passed through Criminal Justice and Public Safety.
Billings is also hoping to see her Water Notification Act advance &mdash; a bill that would require the DNR to notify local health departments within seven days of discovering contaminated well water.

Listener conversations about the days events in and around the La Crosse area.  Weekdays from 5-6pm on WIZM 1410AM and 92.3FM

La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

Rick Solem talks about the days events in and around the La Crosse area. Weekdays from 5:07-6pm on 1410 WIZM

Rick Solem talks about the days events in and around the La Crosse area. Weekdays from 5:07-6pm on 1410 WIZM

WIZM - La Crosse

La Crosse state Rep. Jill Billings on most chaotic end to session of career, as she gets 3 bills through committee

Legalizing recreational marijuana

The "bike lanes or no" plan

Turning King, Pearl streets into parks

City administrator

Economist Dr. Adam Hoffer in studio to discuss some wild ideas we have, a day after the La Crosse council took votes on city administrator and the “bike lanes” plan for downtown.

Hoffer, the director of excise tax policy at the Tax Foundation, helps brainstorms some new ideas for La Crosse, like turning Pearl Street and King Street into greenways — basically turning them into parks. 

We also break down what’s been called the “hybrid option” for downtown La Crosse. The council is recommending that plan to the Wisconsin DOT, which is preparing to revamp downtown from storefront to storefront starting in 2030.

We end the show by breaking down the city administrator proposal, including the cost of the position, plus how the city could go about having a position like that to make government more efficient in different ways.

Economist Dr. Adam Hoffer in studio to discuss some wild ideas we have, a day after the La Crosse council took votes on city administrator and the &ldquo;bike lanes&rdquo; plan for downtown.
Hoffer, the director of excise tax policy at the Tax Foundation, helps brainstorms some new ideas for La Crosse, like turning Pearl Street and King Street into greenways &mdash; basically turning them into parks.&nbsp;
We also break down what&rsquo;s been called the &ldquo;hybrid option&rdquo; for downtown La Crosse. The council is recommending that plan to the Wisconsin DOT, which is preparing to revamp downtown from storefront to storefront starting in 2030.
We end the show by breaking down the city administrator proposal, including the cost of the position, plus how the city could go about having a position like that to make government more efficient in different ways.

Economist Hoffer discusses ideas for a better La Crosse after council votes on bike lanes, city administrator

US Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) joins as a midnight Friday deadline looms to fund the Department of Homeland Security and rein in what she describes as "unidentified, masked, armed, untrained agents" roaming residential streets.

The negotiations come in the wake of the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a Green Bay Preble High School graduate and ICU nurse, who was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis last month. Baldwin, who recently honored Pretti on the Senate floor, is calling the current federal activity "chaos" and is demanding "common sense guardrails" be added to the DHS funding bill.

Baldwin is calling on these agents to "take the masks off and put their body cams on" and stop "roving patrols" that target people who "look different."

She argues that these federal units must be held to the same "rules of engagement" and "basic rules of conduct" as local law enforcement.

The Senator also breaks down her opposition to the GOP-backed SAVE Act, labeling it an "effort on the part of this administration to intimidate voters."

Baldwin warns one part of the bill would "disenfranchise people who take their husbands' names" because their current IDs often don't match their birth certificates.

Baldwin calls the legislation "crazy the way in which they are trying to make it more difficult to vote" and says the plan has no chance of passing the Senate.

US Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) joins as a midnight Friday deadline looms to fund the Department of Homeland Security and rein in what she describes as "unidentified, masked, armed, untrained agents" roaming residential streets.
The negotiations come in the wake of the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a Green Bay Preble High School graduate and ICU nurse, who was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis last month. Baldwin, who recently honored Pretti on the Senate floor, is calling the current federal activity "chaos" and is demanding "common sense guardrails" be added to the DHS funding bill.
Baldwin is calling on these agents to "take the masks off and put their body cams on" and stop "roving patrols" that target people who "look different."
She argues that these federal units must be held to the same "rules of engagement" and "basic rules of conduct" as local law enforcement.
The Senator also breaks down her opposition to the GOP-backed SAVE Act, labeling it an "effort on the part of this administration to intimidate voters."
Baldwin warns one part of the bill would "disenfranchise people who take their husbands' names" because their current IDs often don't match their birth certificates.
Baldwin calls the legislation "crazy the way in which they are trying to make it more difficult to vote" and says the plan has no chance of passing the Senate.

Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin calls for ICE agents to 'take the masks off' in Senate funding battle

Airport update, hiring new positions

Fire Dept. EMT plan

Bike lanes or no?

 To bike lane or not to bike lane? That’s one of the questions La Crosse's city council will answer Thursday at its monthly meeting.

If that isn't enough, the council will also vote on whether to hire a city administrator. Council President Tamra Dickinson stopped in studio to help break down the legislation and discuss some other city business.

Before getting into bike lanes and the administrator position, Dickinson gave us the rundown on recent airport news, including Thursday's upcoming confirmation of new director Lauren Koss and two new airlines launching service in La Crosse. Dickinson also talked about the La Crosse Fire Department working with Tri-State Ambulance to provide EMTs three nights a week.

After that, we dove into the city administrator decision — which involves two “charter ordinances” for a position the council has put off multiple times since September 2024. The first ordinance, created in 2024, received no recommendation from the committee last week, while a new ordinance passed through committee with a 7-0 vote.

We closed out the show discussing the Highway 53 Corridor Project, where the Wisconsin DOT will tear up downtown La Crosse down 3rd and 4th streets, storefront to storefront. There are three plans the council could recommend to the DOT: one without bike lanes, one with bike lanes down both 3rd and 4th, and a hybrid plan that features two blocks of bike lanes north of downtown.

We also talked about where the roundabout on La Crosse Street fits into that plan. 

&nbsp;To bike lane or not to bike lane? That&rsquo;s one of the questions La Crosse's city council will answer Thursday at its monthly meeting.
If that isn't enough, the council will also vote on whether to hire a city administrator. Council President Tamra Dickinson stopped in studio to help break down the legislation and discuss some other city business.
Before getting into bike lanes and the administrator position, Dickinson gave us the rundown on recent airport news, including Thursday's upcoming confirmation of new director Lauren Koss and two new airlines launching service in La Crosse. Dickinson also talked about the La Crosse Fire Department working with Tri-State Ambulance to provide EMTs three nights a week.
After that, we dove into the city administrator decision &mdash; which involves two &ldquo;charter ordinances&rdquo; for a position the council has put off multiple times since September 2024. The first ordinance, created in 2024, received no recommendation from the committee last week, while a new ordinance passed through committee with a 7-0 vote.
We closed out the show discussing the Highway 53 Corridor Project, where the Wisconsin DOT will tear up downtown La Crosse down 3rd and 4th streets, storefront to storefront. There are three plans the council could recommend to the DOT: one without bike lanes, one with bike lanes down both 3rd and 4th, and a hybrid plan that features two blocks of bike lanes north of downtown.
We also talked about where the roundabout on La Crosse Street fits into that plan.&nbsp;

La Crosse state Rep. Jill Billings on most chaotic end to session of career, as she gets 3 bills through committee

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