Mason, Turner calling for eight-lane interstate

Update: I'll leave the original post, but here's a clarification. Mason and Turner are calling for an eight-lane interstate from the Mitchel airport exit to the Illinois border. In other words, they are in favor of four lanes in each direction, which means one new lane in each direction. They are not in favor of a 10-lane interstate as I first wondered.

In talking with Mason, he explained the state is in a comment period on the project. Some people are advocating for keeping the interstate at three lanes in each direction. Mason said he supports four lanes because it will help economic development in Racine County and create more construction jobs for local residents to help build the highway.

It's also worth noting the project will "unbraid" the frontage roads through Racine County. This is critical to future development, because the current configuration of the frontage roads prevents serious development along the I in the county.

More will be out on this tomorrow when Mason and Turner hold their press conference.

Here's the original post:

Rep. Cory Mason sent out a press release this morning titled, "Racine Leaders to Call for Maximizing Economic Impact of I-94 Reconstruction."

The release then adds: "Local Leaders Support 4 Lane Expansion" and "Four Lanes a Better Option."

So what does this mean? It seems like Mason and Rep. Bob Turner, whose name was also on the release, are in favor of adding four lanes to I-94 from Milwaukee to the Illinois border. If true, that would make the interstate a Los Angeles-esque 10 lanes through Racine County.

I wrote Mason's office for further explanation, and will update when I hear back from them.

The state is already planning to add two lanes to I-94 once it completes the Marquette Interchange project. The interstate expansion is expected to cost $1.9 billion.

Since Mason's plan is touted as an "alternative" to the state plan, it seems like he is calling for a bigger project. He's scheduled a press conference for Friday morning with representatives from the highway construction unions and local job training agencies.

Perhaps a larger roads project is a way to generate jobs for the area.

Vos pushes referendums on KRM, but opposes direct legislation

So is Rep. Robin Vos interested in direct legislation? Last week it seemed he was when he announced his support for Regional Transit Authorities that would be created through referendums. In short, if communities want to increase their sales tax to fund buses and commuter rail, they can vote to do that.

Throughout the debate over KRM, Vos supported sending the issue to voters instead of implementing a tax increase on rental cars to pay for the system. It was a courageous stance given the pressure from the business community and the fact that his district would be one of the primary benefactors of a commuter rail line connecting Kenosha to Milwaukee with stops in Racine and Caledonia.

While Vos supports voter input on KRM, he opposes it on most other issues. That became clear this week when he voted in favor of AB363, which would significantly limit the state's direct legislation law.

Under current law, people who live in cities and villages can force a referendum on an issue by circulating petitions and collecting signatures equal to 15 percent of the number of people who voted in the last election for governor. Residents in Appleton used the law to ban smoking in the city, while several other communities used to limit municipal spending and to voice disapproval of the Iraq War.

AB363 would allow local governments to ignore direct legislation petitions if the proposed resolution does not "substantially relate" to a local governmental function or responsibility, or if the proposal is primarily "ceremonial or aspirational."

The bill passed the Assembly 50-46 on Tuesday. Reps. Cory Mason and Bob Turner, both D-Racine, voted against the bill.

It's hard to say how the bill would be used, but as it's worded, it seems local governments could ignore direct legislation on smoking, Iraq and ... commuter rail, which one could easily argue doesn't "substantially relate" to local government.

It's easy to understand the need to limit direct legislation. The petitions are an added expense for local officials, and likely a nuisance, especially for smaller villages and cities.

Based on the 2006 governor's election, it would take about 10,650 signatures to force a county-wide vote. In Racine, it would take about 4,736 signatures. In Caledonia it would take 1,715. In Elmwood Park it would take 40.

But it's interesting to see Vos support a referendum on legislation he's working on, while opposing a process that encourages a swell of voter participation. If legislators are concerned about frivolous referendums, increase the number of required signatures.

It's also odd that the vote was partisan, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed (meaning it won't get through the Democrat-controlled Senate). Are Democrats more likely to push direct legislation? Who is pushing the need to shutdown this process?

Lawmakers, listening

State Rep. Bob Turner, D-Racine, didn't get home from the legislative budget fiasco in Madison until 3 a.m. this morning. But he and State Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, were on hand at the Cesar Chavez Community Center, as promised, at 10 a.m. for a listening session with northside constituents.

After a few minutes to bring the dozen participants up to speed on where the budget is -- short answer: it ain't -- they fielded questions, and strong opinions, from those present.

Questions about voter ID, drunk driving, cigarette taxes, tax breaks for seniors, legislative in-fighting.

CIGARETTE TAX: Partisan wrangling over an increase in the cigarette tax -- Republicans want an additional 75 cents per pack, Democrats want $1.25 -- was particularly galling to one woman. "People are getting sick and tired of government telling them what they can and cannot do. People know smoking is bad for you." A man added, In California you can't even smoke in your own apartment or condo!"

Both Lehman and Turner responded, almost in unison: "I'm never going to vote for that!"

Turner noted, "If my mother was alive, she'd hate my guts for supporting the $1.25 tax. She smoked all her life." Lehman said this is a bigger political issue in northern Wisconsin than here, and predicted there'd be a compromise. The tax increase, on top of already existing state cigarette taxes, is expected to reduce smoking by teenagers. (Neither could remember how much excise tax Wisconsin currently adds to a pack of cigarettes. We, with the benefit of Google, learn in a fraction of a second that it's now 77 cents; Wisconsin tax on smokes ranks 29th.)

SENIORS: "Will our legislature allow retirees to stay in the state," one man asked, adding, "If I lived in Georgia, I wouldn't have to pay any school tax." Others chimed in, "When is the state not going to tax Social Security?" "Why not freeze property taxes at 65?"

Lehman said proposals to exempt the first $10,000, $20,000 or more of property tax were an effort to help all low and middle-income taxpayers, not just the elderly. And next year, exemption of Social Security benefits from state income tax takes effect.

VIDEO GAMING: A question about lax enforcement of video gaming in taverns caused Lehman to note "the struggle between Indian gaming and small taverns. Small taverns are on the decline; they're not the gathering places they used to be." Laws against such gaming devices, he and Turner agreed, are not well-enforced.

DRIVING WITH CELLPHONES was something one respondent wanted the legislature to do something about. "A lot of people have contacted me about this," Lehman said, but he cited studies showing that other distractions -- talking, drinking coffee -- are just as hazardous. "Cellphone haven't changed accident rates," he said. And then he turned the question around, noting that in the cigarette tax discussion his questioners had opposed the government regulating what they do in their homes: "Do you want government going into your car?" Turner added, "There are adequate laws regulating inattentive driving now."

VOTER ID: "Why are you people in Madison opposed to it? Today it's helter-skelter; why not just require everyone to show an ID when they go to vote?" Lehman replied that this is not really a problem in Racine, and Turner recalled that there were fewer than half a dozen vote fraud cases statewide in the last election. Both pointed out that people have to show ID when registering to vote, and said that implementing a specific voter ID card would discriminate against the poor and disabled, who would have to make a special trip to get one. "We try to balance access to the polls and showing who the person is."

THE MESS IN MADISON: Lehman waxed philosophical when asked, "Why is there so little cooperation in government?"

"Redistricting! The creation of safe seats; there are very few competitive seats in Wisconsin. Robin Vos (R-Racine) said to me, 'I'm going to be the Representative (53rd District) as long as I live.' "

Referring to his own State Senate race last fall against Racine County Executive William McReynolds, Lehman said "Mac spent $400,000, and I spent $220,000. Including all that was spent, the race cost more than $1 million.

"There were only four competitive races like that in the state, out of 17 or 18 Senate races this year. Only 8 or 10 Assembly races are competitive.

"Could I even run against (U.S. Rep.) Paul Ryan? I don't think so; that sucker has been redistricted into a safe Republican seat."

Racine County, he said, is lucky in that the 21st Senate district is roughly 50/50, which is why Republicans and Democrats have traded control of it over the past decade: George Petak (R), Kim Plache (D), Cathy Stepp (R), and now Lehman (D). Pointing to his plastic chair in the gym, Lehman said, "You're looking at a guy sitting in a million-dollar seat."

Assembly rejects state budget

The Assembly rejected a compromise state budget Monday night, sending legislators back to the negotiating and further delaying the latest budget in the nation.

The nearly $60 billion budget was rejected 53-44 in the Assembly. Reps. Robin Vos, R-Caledonia, and Steve Gunderson, R-Waterford, voted no. Reps. Bob Turner and Cory Mason, both D-Racine, voted for the plan.

Here's the full roll call vote.

The Senate passed the budget, with Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, voting yes.

Wisconsin is the last state in the nation with a budget for next year. Local governments and school districts across the state are in limbo waiting for legislators to finalize the amount of state aid that will be distributed next year.

If no budget is passed, the previous year's spending levels are put into place - an act that would amount to a more than $2 billion budget cut.