Steve Hilgenberg
For State Assembly
Legislative Record
Bills Authored
AB 596 (REG) relating to: a health care program for certain veterans, providing an exemption from emergency rule-making procedures, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation.
AB 738 (REG) relating to: creating a Catastrophic Care Authority and making an appropriation.
AB 250 (REG) relating to: public financing of campaigns for the office of justice of the supreme court, making appropriations, and providing penalties.
Bills Co-sponsored
AJR 35 (REG) - relating to: a proposal calling for changes to the state's public school funding system.
SB 88 (REG) relating to: requiring health insurance coverage of hearing aids and cochlear implants for infants and young children.
SB 143 (REG) relating to: changing the members of the Council on Veterans Programs.
SB 422 (REG) relating to: senate action on nominations to the Natural Resources Board.
SJR 60 (REG) Relating to: recognizing October 2007 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
SJR 80 (REG) relating to: providing property tax relief to persons who have thier principal dwelling in this state.
Voting Record
Aging & Senior Issues
Voted for the final version of the budget (that actually passed) which Provided a $2.5 million tax cut to exclude $5,000 of pension income for seniors.
Voted for the special session budget in October which would have provided a $2.5 million tax cut to exclude $5,000 of pension income for seniors.
Voted for the SeniorCare resolution which would create a referendum so that Wisconsin voters can express their support for the successful SeniorCare program and tell the Federal government that this program should not expire in December of 2009.
Coauthored the SeniorCare resolution which would create a referendum so that Wisconsin voters can express their support for the successful SeniorCare program and tell the Federal government that this program should not expire in December of 2009.
Agriculture
Voted for the final version of the budget (that actually passed) which provides $600,000 to create a “Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin” program to increase local sales of agricultural products grown within the state.
Children
Voted for the bill to mandate insurance companies cover hearing aids and cochlear implants. This bill would help provide children across this state with a second chance at a life with normal hearing at no cost to taxpayers by requiring insurance companies cover the cost of hearing aids or surgery, just as they do with other childhood ailments.
Voted for the "Incest Victims' Protection" bill which is a common sense bill to clarify and expand on what courts can declare as incest so that more people can bring their attackers to justice.
Voted for the final version of the budget (that actually passed) which:
-Created the “Department of Children and Families”
-Increased the tax deduction for certain child and dependent care expenses
-Provided $240,000 for child advocacy centers in Rock, Milwaukee, Dane, Kenosha, Winnebago, La Crosse, Waukesha, Marathon, Chippewa, Brown, Racine, and Walworth counties.
-Provides $1.9 for domestic abuse grants
-Increased tax deduction for certain childcare expenses
Voted for the special session budget in October which would have:
-Created the “Department of Children and Families”
-Increased the tax deduction for certain child and dependent care expenses
-Provided $240,000 for child advocacy centers in Rock, Milwaukee, Dane, Kenosha, Winnebago, La Crosse, Waukesha, Marathon, Chippewa,
Brown,Racine, and Walworth counties.
-Provided $1.9 for domestic abuse grants
Voted for the autism insurance bill - which would mandate insurance companies provide coverage for the treatment for autistic children. This was the bill supported by the Autism Society of Wisconsin and families of autistic kids.
Choice, Birth Control, & Adoption
Voted for the "Compassionate Care for Rape victims" bill - which would require hospitals and emergency rooms to provide a rape victim information about emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy from their rape and provide them that emergency contraception if they request it.
Voted against the "Coercive Abortion" bill which requires a physician to inform a woman that she has the right to refuse consent to an abortion even if she feels pressured by the father, a parent, or friends to get one. (Note: Opponents point out current law pretty much already allows for this)
Voted for the "Birth Control Protection Act" - a bill to prevent a pharmacist from denying a woman her doctor prescribed birth control.
Voted to repeal the state's existing criminal abortion ban in cases of rape or incest. Currently there is a law to send women and their doctors to jail should the doctor provide an abortion. The only thing keeping that from being enforced is the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade case which this new conservative Supreme Court could overturn at any time. This bill would ensure that even if Roe were overturned at the state level, Wisconsin law would not prevent a doctor from providing an abortion in cases of rape and incest.
Voted for an amendment to the "Partial Birth Abortion" ban to allow for late-term abortion in cases where the mother's health would be at risk by continuing the pregnancy.
Voted against the "partial birth abortion ban"- (note: this bill basically duplicates current state and federal law, so it does not actually change anything)
Consumer Protection
Coauthored the "Cell Phone Do Not Call List" bill.
Voted for the "Cell Phone Do Not Call List" bill. This bill strengthens the do not call list to stop telemarketing companies from calling cell phones or from refusing to remove an individual from their list even when they request to be removed.
Economy & Labor
Voted for a bill to protect workers in case a company goes out of a business. The bill says that if a company goes bankrupt, it must pay their employees any owed wages first, before paying off other creditors. This bill seeks to stop major corporations like Enron which go out of business and take care of investors, CEOs, and creditors first, but then runout of money before being able to pay employees.
Voted for the final version of the budget (that actually passed) which increased funding by $1.6 million for the Youth Apprenticeship program.
Voted for the special session budget in October which would have increased funding by $1.6 million for the Youth Apprenticeship program.
Voted for the" American Jobs Act"- Given the tough economic times our state faces, this bill would ensure state contract priority would be given to companies who are providing jobs to Americans and not exporting those jobs overseas.
Voted for a bill that shows Wisconsin's government is committed to growing Wisconsin businesses by requiring that the state government, when purchasing products and materials for projects, procure at least a portion of those materials from Wisconsin businesses.
Education (K-12)
Coauthored a bill to call on the legislature to fix the current broken school funding formula which pits property tax payers against schools. A fix would ensure that children could receive the same quality education regardless of whether they live in rich communities without severely burdening the local tax payers.
Voted for a bill to call on the legislature to fix the current broken school funding formula which pits property tax payers against schools. A fix would ensure that children could receive the same quality education regardless of whether they live in rich communities without severely burdening the local tax payers.
Voted for the final version of the budget (that actually passed) which:
-Provided an increase of $76.8 million in general school aids
-Increased funding for special education aids by $53.6 million
-Increased SAGE funding by $26.8 million
-Provided $21 million in aid to high poverty districts
-Voted for the special session budget in October which would have:
* Provided an increase of $235.4 million in general school aids
* Increased funding for special education aids by $53.6 million
* Increased SAGE funding by $26.8 million
* Provide $21 million in aid to high poverty districts
* Audited the Milwaukee school choice program to ensure these schools are using tax dollars wisely
Elections
Opposed a constitutional amendment to require a photo ID to vote- A plan that could disenfranchise thousands of seniors, minorities, and students who do not have a valid address listed on their driver's license from voting
Coauthored the "Public Disclosure for Political Ads" bill which would regulate last minute attack campaign ads by outside special interest groups who engage in mudslinging attacks while hiding who is really paying for the attacks.
Voted for the "Public Disclosure for Political Ads" bill which would regulate last minute attack campaign ads by outside special interest groups who engage in mudslinging attacks while hiding who is really paying for the attacks.
I was the lead author of the "Impartial Justice bill" which would provide full public financing for Supreme Court candidates so that Justices are not beholden to any specific special interest group or high dollar donor.
Voted against a bill to allow local governments to throw out some referendum petitions and not put them on the ballot, even if the petitioners have enough signatures. (For example, this bill would allow local governments to throw out "bring the troops home" referenda)
Environment
Voted for the" Wisconsin Safe Climate Act." This bill would combat global warming by regulating greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, in the state of Wisconsin.
Coauthored the" Wisconsin Safe Climate Act."
Voted for the bill to increase garbage tipping fees in Wisconsin. By increasing the fee, other states would stop viewing Wisconsin as a cheap garbage dump where they can send millions of tons of garbage each year.
Voted for the bill which would reduce the risk of spreading invasive species which are destroying waterways and killing native fish species by requiring shipping vessels to clean their ballast water. This issue is very important to protecting the lifeblood of Eastern Wisconsin and to our
economy overall.
Coauthored the bill which would reduce the risk of spreading invasive species which are destroying waterways and killing native fish species by requiring shipping vessels to clean their ballast water. This issue is very important to protecting the lifeblood of Eastern Wisconsin and to our economy overall.
Voted for the bill to restrict phosphorous use on lawn fertilizers statewide. Phosphorus in fertilizer enters our lakes through storm water run-off and can severely damage the ecosystems we depend on for our recreation and economic interests.
Coauthored a bill to recycle electronic waste. Electronic materials are filling our landfills and their components are seeping into groundwater and polluting the environment, this bill seeks to change that.
Voted for a bill to recycle electronic waste. Electronic materials are filling our landfills and their components are seeping into groundwater and polluting the environment; this bill seeks to change that.
Voted for the final version of the budget (that actually passed) which:
-Provided $860 million in bonding to extend the Warren Knowles-Gaylord -Nelson Stewardship program for another 10 years.
-Increased the ‘tipping fee’ to decrease the amount of out of state trash being sent to Wisconsin.
-Increased recycling grants to local government by $13 million.
Voted for the special session budget in October which would have:
-Provided $1.05 billion in bonding to extend the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship program for another 10 years.
-Increased the ‘tipping fee’ to decrease the amount of out of state trash being sent to Wisconsin.
-Increased recycling grants to local government by $13 million.
Voted for the Great Lakes Compact the first time it came up but was killed by the Assembly Republicans. With other states getting bigger and thirstier, Wisconsin needs to ensure that the largest freshwater source in the world, and our economic livelihood, is protected for generations to come.
Voted to ratify the Greatlakes compact.
Fiscal Responsibility
Officially ended the budget stalemate on the state budget negotiations by voting for the final version of the budget that passed.
Attempted to end the budget stalemate on the state budget negotiations that dragged on months too long by voting for the Governor’s special session budget in October.
Government and Ethics
Voted for the ethics reform bill to create a Government Accountability Board to merge the ethics board with the elections board in an effort to clean up government.
Voted for the bill to prohibit the "Frankenstein veto" where the governor can use his veto pen to vastly modify the budget the legislature sends to him.
Voted for a bill to eliminate the loosely regulated "sick leave" benefit legislators can claim when they retire to pay for health care.
Voted for a bill to ban legislators from fundraising during the state budget process.
Coauthored the "Former Legislators as Lobbyist" ethics bill.
Voted for the "Former Legislators as Lobbyist" ethics bill which would require a former member to wait 12 months before they could become a lobbyist. This bill addresses a tough issue of ethics reform by preventing an elected official from cutting backroom deals with lobbyists in order to get a job right after they step down.
Voted against the bill to allow the legislature to overrule the Governor's approval of a new Native American gaming casino.
Voted for the bill to de-politicize the DNR Secretary. The Dept. of Natural Resources has become a lightening rod for contention over the years. This bill would de-politicize the post by removing the partisan appointment process involving the Governor and the Senate and would instead require the Natural Resources board to take up the task instead. This proposal is supported by the WLCV.
Coauthored the bill to prevent felons from serving as lobbyists.
Voted for the bill calling on the Attorney General to grant the resources necessary to retry Scott Jensen's corruption case. This bill shows the
legislature's support for cleaning up corruption by sending the former Speaker of the Assembly Scott Jensen to trial for his misconduct in office.
Voted for a bill to require the corrupt former Assembly Speaker, Republican Scott Jensen, repay the legal fees he billed to the state to pay for his failed defense in his corruption trial. He owes the tax payers tens of thousands of dollars, it's time for him to pay us back.
Voted against adjourning the special session the Governor called to deal with campaign and election reform issues. The Republicans voted to
adjourn without even debating a single campaign reform bill. Because the Republicans refused to work on this issue, no campaign reform passed.
Health Care
Voted for the Health Savings Account bill (HSAs) - This bill creates a tax credit for health savings account. Republicans claim HSAs as their main healthcare reform plan. In reality, while HSAs may be one part of a larger solution, HSAs alone will not drive down the cost of healthcare.
Voted for the final version of the budget (that actually passed) which:
-Increased the income tax dedication for health insurance by $11.8
-Increased the cigarette tax by $1.00 per pack to generate additional revenues to pay for tobacco cessation programs.
-Implement the BadgerCare Plus
-Provided $80 to fully implement the Family Care Expansion program.
-This budget also included a $200 million transfer from the injured patients and families compensation fund which Doctors/Hospitals opposed.
Voted for the special session budget in October which would have
- Increased the income tax dedication for health insurance by $11.8
- Increased the cigarette tax by $1.25 per pack to generate additional revenues to pay for tobacco cessation programs.
- Created the “Hospital Assessment”, the program hospitals requested to help the State secure more federal Medical Assistance dollars to provide
to Wisconsin hospitals.
- Implemented the BadgerCare Plus
- Provided $80 to fully implement the Family Care Expansion program.
- This budget also included a $175 million transfer from the injured patients and families compensation fund which Doctors/Hospitals opposed
I was the lead author of the "Catastrophic Health Care Authority" bill - a bill to create a healthcare pool for Wisconsin businesses to pool insurance costs. This would help reduce healthcare costs to business, especially in cases of expensive catastrophic care so they can compete for and retain the best workers.
Voted against the health care price transparency bill. This bill requires hospitals to provide an itemized list of the cost of procedures so consumers can choose to go to less expensive hospitals and drive down prices. Republicans claim this, plus HSAs, as their healthcare reform plan. But, while Transparency and HSAs may be a part of a larger health care reform plan, they alone certainly will not bring down the skyrocketing healthcare costs
we all face.
Voted for a bill to remove the enrollment fee for the BadgerRx Gold program - a program which helps provide low cost prescription drug options for many Wisconsin citizens. Removing the enrollment fee ensures that during these difficult economic times, lower income residents can still maintain access to prescription drugs which they could not otherwise afford
Voted against the constitutional amendment to prevent health care reform. This constitutional amendment would prevent the government from creating a healthcare program to cover all Wisconsin citizens. It is worse than doing nothing about healthcare; it is an amendment to protect the status quo of our broken health care system.
Higher Education (UW & Tech Colleges)
Voted against a bill that would prohibit a person from threatening or harming a technical college employee or school district employee.
Voted for a bill which would make a college student ineligible for state financial aid if he or she has been convicted of possession of a controlled substance.
Voted for the final version of the budget which:
- Increased spending to need based financial aid funding for the UW by $26.4 million
-Provided $11.6 million to reimburse the UW system for Veterans Tuition Remission
-Created the “Wisconsin Covenant Scholars Program”
-Provided $3 million for Jobs training grants to the Tech colleges.
-Increase tax deduction for college tuition.
•Voted for the special session budget in October which would have:
-Increased spending to need based financial aid funding for the UW by $26.4 million
- Provided $11.6 million to reimburse the UW system for Veterans Tuition Remission
- Created the “Wisconsin Covenant Scholars Program”
-Increase budget funding by $121.8 million
-Also included a clause to provide nonresident tuition remission for certain undocumented persons.
-Provided $3 million for Jobs training grants to the Tech colleges.
-Increase tax deduction for college tuition
Coauthored a bill to ensure that state financial aid to students increases if tuition also increases by index the Wisconsin Higher Educational Grants
(WHEG) to tuition increases.
Voted for the "UW Collective Bargaining" bill to let UW faculty and staff form a union if they wish.
Justice
Voted against a bill which would allow an employer to refuse to employ or terminate a person convicted of a sex offense or violent offense.
Voted for the final version of the budget (that actually passed) which:
-Fully funded the GPS tracking program for certain child sex offenders.
-Provided $23 million increase for youth aids funding to counties.
-Provided additional funds to Assistant District Attorneys in Polk, Rock, St. Croix, Kenosha, Chippewa, Milwaukee, and Dane counties.
-Provided $7.7 million and 31 positions to fund additional staffing at the state crime lab for DNA analysis
Voted for the special session budget in October which would have:
-Fully funded the GPS tracking program for certain child sex offenders.
-Provided $23 million increase for youth aids funding to counties.
-Provided additional funds to Assistant District Attorneys in Polk, Rock, St. Croix, Kenosha, Chippewa, Milwaukee, and Dane counties.
-Provided $7.7 million and 31 positions to fund additional staffing at the state crime lab for DNA analysis
Voted for the "E-Sex Predator Protection Act" which would help the state better track online sex predators who endanger our children through the internet by requiring convicted sex offenders to inform the state of their online screen names, email addresses, and personal web pages.
Voted for a bill to require law enforcement recruits to undergo psychological screening before being given a gun and sent out on the streets.
Local Control
Voted against the Cable Franchising bill - A complicated bill to make it easier for another cable provider, such as AT&T, to enter the cable market and provide additional competition. However, this bill cuts local government out of the negotiation process and puts local public access channels at risk.
Voted against a budget proposal that included a TABOR like language to restrict local government control over their own budgets.
Voted for the final version of the budget (that actually passed) which provided a 3% annual increase for general transportation aids to counties and municipalities.
Taxes
Coauthored a bill to close the "Las Vegas Loophole."
Voted for the final version of the budget (that actually passed) which:
-Created a property tax credit called the “First Dollar Credit” with a funding level of $75 million which would be distributed similarly to the lottery credit.
-Increased funding for the Earned Income Tax Credit by $25.3 million
-Imposed a responsible levy limit on local government to keep property taxes down while not crippling local police, fire, and schools like the Republican plan would have
-Increased the vehicle registration fee for passenger vehicles from $55 to $75.
Voted for the special session budget in October which would have:
- Created a property tax credit called the “First Dollar Credit” with a funding level of $100 million which would be distributed similarly to the lottery credit.
- Increased funding for the Earned Income Tax Credit by $25.3 million
- Imposed a responsible levy limit on local government to keep property taxes down while not crippling local police, fire, and schools like the Republican plan would have
Coauthored H.O.P.E
Voted for H.O.P.E (the HomeOwners Property tax Exemption)- This bill would restore fairness to our tax code by closing abused corporate tax loopholes and passing the savings on to home owners on average of $600.
Voted for the "Corporate Tax Accountability Act" - This bill seeks to restore fairness to our tax code by requiring businesses to disclose which tax loopholes they exploit in order to avoid paying taxes in Wisconsin.
Veterans
Voted for the final version of the budget (that actually passed) which provided $4.8 million in property tax credits for veterans and their spouses.
Voted for the special session budget in October which would have provided $4.8 million in property tax credits for veterans and their spouses.
