MON AM News: Transmission line bill most lobbied legislation in ‘23-’24 session; UW study explores regionalizing shared-ride taxi service in western WI

August 19, 2024

— Only three of the top 10 most lobbied bills during the 2023-24 legislative session have been signed into law by Dem Gov. Tony Evers.

For the other seven, they mainly failed because lawmakers couldn’t muster the support needed to get the legislation through both GOP-run houses.

A prime example of that was a hotly debated transmission line bill that cleared the Assembly, but failed to get a floor vote in the Senate.

WisPolitics reported in February the legislation — dubbed “right of first refusal” by advocates — was the most lobbied bill over the last half of 2023 with 2,234 hours spent trying to influence lawmakers.

For the first 18 months of the session, groups spent 5,071 hours on the legislation. It cleared the Assembly on a voice vote, but died when the Senate declined to take it up before adjourning in March.

Lobbying reports filed with the Ethics Commission two weeks ago showed groups had spent $57.6 million seeking to influence the state Capitol between Jan. 1, 2023 and July 31 of this year. Following the deadline for groups to file those reports, WisPolitics asked the Ethics Commission to provide a breakdown of hours spent lobbying each bill that was introduced this session. WisPolitics then pulled together a list of the top 10 most lobbied legislation over the 18-month period.

AB 470/SB 481 was by far the most lobbied bill over the 18-month period. Forty groups lobbied on the bill with utilities in support and conservative groups such as Americans for Prosperity opposed. Environmental groups like Clean Wisconsin Inc. also opposed the legislation that sought to give utilities already doing business in Wisconsin the right of first refusal to construct, own and maintain a new transmission line that connects to one of their existing ones.

It was drafted in anticipation of new transmission line work coming into Wisconsin. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the regional electric grid that covers the upper Midwest, has approved $10 billion in work on new transmission lines over the next decade, with Wisconsin expected to see about $2 billion of that.

The debate has pitted those who argue it would bring continued stability to the state’s transmission system against those who believe it would stifle competition and lead to higher costs for ratepayers.

See the rest of the top 10 most lobbied bills for the period and their fate here.

— A new study from UW-Madison graduate students recommends River Falls take over shared-ride taxi services for neighboring cities Hudson and New Richmond to reduce costs and better connect the region.

The study, from the university’s La Follette School of Public Affairs and its community development-focused UniverCity Alliance, explored models for regionalizing these publicly subsidized transit systems.

The existing SRT systems for the three western Wisconsin cities cover the cities themselves as well as a five-mile radius around each.

By combining them into one system using equalized fares, the students found residents would have increased access to jobs, health care and grocery stores. And the proposed model would be “politically feasible and more administratively efficient” than the current structure, according to the release.

Katie Gienapp, Johanna Schmidt, Quinn Wakley and Yiding Zhang conducted the analysis, which was requested by River Falls officials. They looked at possible grant funding, costs and the impact of the proposed change for their master’s degree capstone course.

Under their recommended model, residents would be able to travel between the three cities through a unified service while “redundant” administrative burdens and costs would be reduced.

The study also suggests local officials could consider adding smaller towns and villages in the area to take the concept further.

Amy White, community services director and city clerk for River Falls, says the existing taxi service has been a “valuable asset” for locals.

“These findings will help us make informed decisions as we consider what the future of the SRT service looks like in River Falls,” she said in a statement.

See the release.

— Wisconsin’s total equalized property values grew 8% last year to reach $907 billion, according to a recent Department of Revenue report.

The agency’s latest Equalized Values Report shows a $75 billion increase in equalized value, based on data from Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31 of last year. Of that amount, $59.3 billion or 7% is from market value increases and $14 billion or 2% is due to new construction.

The report notes growth was seen across all types of property, led by residential and commercial. Residential gained 9% to reach about $667 billion and commercial gained 10% to reach about $180 billion.

The greatest increase by percentage was in the “other” category, which grew 14% to reach $18 billion.

By county, Oconto had the largest increase at 16% followed by Lafayette and Pepin, 14%.

See the report.

— Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson will leave his post on Sept. 11 to take on a new position as vice chancellor for university relations for UW-Madison.

Gov. Tony Evers on Friday announced he is appointing Deputy Secretary Kristina Boardman to replace Thompson. She will be the first woman to serve as DOT secretary.

The guv said Thompson has done a “tremendous job” leading the department.

“We cannot thank him enough for his years of dedicated service to the state, and we wish him all the best in this next chapter,” Evers said.

UW-Madison announced Thompson will start the new job Sept. 16, succeeding Charles Hoslet, who retired earlier this year.

Evers tapped Thompson in December 2018 to become his first Transportation secretary. At the time, he was head of the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin, where he spent 16 years after working for the Wisconsin Counties Association for a dozen years.

Thompson’s departure will leave Children and Families Secretary Emilie Amundson as the only original member of Evers’ cabinet from when he first took office in January 2019.

— An inhalable flu vaccine based on UW-Madison research could offer better protection against the disease when taken along with the annual flu shot, according to a recently published study.

The study was conducted in 2022 by Madison-based FluGen, a spinoff company based on the work of UW-Madison researchers Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Gabriele Neumann. They developed the technology behind the nasal flu vaccine candidate, called M2SR. Study results were published recently in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The vaccine was tested in a group of more than 300 people aged 65 to 85 years for safety and immune response. Participants received either the annual flu shot, the nasal spray vaccine, both vaccines or the shot and a nasal spray placebo.

Along with showing the nasal vaccine was “well tolerated” with some minor side effects such as a runny nose and congestion, testing found those who got both the nasal spray vaccine and flu shot had “significantly more protective antibodies along with other protective immune responses” than those who only got the shot.

Pamuk Bilsel, chief scientific officer for FluGen, led the study. Bilsel noted those who received both “got not just the antibodies that those normal flu shots give you, but also the local immunity, mucosal immunity and T-cell immunity … It’s a multifaceted, broad spectrum response.”

The M2SR vaccine candidate differs from the typical flu shot, which delivers an inactive form of the influenza virus to create an immune response, resulting in antibodies that can identify and fight the virus. Instead, it uses a live form of the virus that’s been genetically altered to remove an “essential replication gene,” and given through a nasal spray device.

Because of this change, Bilsel notes it “can’t continue replicating and make you sick, but it stimulates the immune system just like a natural virus infection.”

The university’s release notes larger studies are planned to confirm the new vaccine is safe and effective, which will take several years.

See the release.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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