A bill aimed at creating jobs and economic development opportunities in Wisconsin unanimously passed the Wisconsin Senate on Thursday, March 4, 2010 and will now move on to the Assembly for action.

Senate Bill 399, authored by Senator Pat Kreitlow (D-23) and Representative Donna Seidel (D-85), passed the Senate on a 32-0 roll call vote.  

"The overwhelming, unanimous support of the Senate demonstrates their commitment to getting people back to work in Wisconsin," said Wisconsin Counties Association (WCA) Executive Director Mark D. O'Connell. "We look forward to this important bill going to the Assembly and ultimately to Governor Doyle's desk so businesses right here in our state - businesses that are ready to grow once they are able to secure affordable financing, can create the necessary jobs to propel our economy and Wisconsin into the future."

Read the full media release by WCA by clicking here.

WCA legislative staff, as well as county officials, are attending this week's National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference, which runs from March 6-10 in Washington, D.C.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will speak at NACo's Legislative Conference. Sebelius will address delegates at the Tuesday morning general session, March 9, and Vilsack will speak at Tuesday's Luncheon.

The Wisconsin delegation's caucus will be held on Wednesday, March 10 at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.  Several of Wisconsin's congressional delegation are expected to attend and office visits with other representatives and senators are being arranged.

For more information about the conference including schedules and registration information, click here.

One of the foundations of WCA is the involvement of county officials on seven steering committees.  Each of the committees has now met at least once to discuss key county issues and more meetings are scheduled in the near future. 

Current topics addressed by the steering committees have included a proposal to defer conversion fees on agricultural land removed from production (a provision of the Working Lands initiative); countywide assessing of real property, which the Wisconsin Department of Revenue has now largely abandoned as a goal for 2010; invasive species including the Asian Carp in the Chicago Sanitary Canal; and WCA's continued support for ACE, the Agriculture Community Engagement program.  ACE is a joint effort of WCA, the Wisconsin Towns Association and the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin.

For additional questions on WCA Steering Committees or how you can become involved in 2010-2011, contact WCA Legislative Director John Reinemann at 866.404.2700.

NACo offers its members various educational and training opportunities to support county officials in their efforts to manage rapid change and prepare counties for new responsibilities.  One way is through their free webinar series.  March topics include "NACo Prescription Discount Card Program: An Easy Tough Times Solution for Your County's Residents," held Thursday, March 18, 2010 and "Why Should a County Conduct a Road Safety Audit? - Rural Road Safety Webinar Series," on Thursday, March 25, 2010.

To learn more and register, click here.