KNODL WINS SENATE SEAT!
TLW Member Dan Knodl (R-Germantown) won a Special Election to fill the seat of former Senator Alberta Darling on April 4th. Dan was first elected to the State Assembly in 2012. He will serve the remainder of the term and be up for re-election in November 2024. Senator Knodl was an active member of the Washington County Tavern League and recently sold his business the Reef Point Resort on Pike Lake in Hartford, WI. Governor Evers will call a Special Election to fill the open Assembly seat of Rep Knodl likely in early summer.
Also on April 4th, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated Dan Kelly for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Protasiewicz will take her seat on the State Supreme Court on August 1, 2023.
The Joint Committee on Finance has begun its work on the state budget and the Legislature is hoping to pass their version of the budget by the end of June. The TLW is opposed to the following provisions included in Governor Evers’ budget:
WINE SALES IN PUBLIC PARKS - TLW Opposed
Governor: Permit municipalities and counties to sell wine in its public parks without an alcohol beverage license. Under current law, no person may sell alcoholic beverages to a consumer without holding the appropriate license, permit, or authorization issued under Chapter 125 of the Wisconsin Statutes. However, certain exceptions in state law waive the requirement to hold a license or permit. An exception currently applies for sales of fermented malt beverages (beer) in any public park operated by a county or municipality, if the beer is sold by officers or employees of the county or municipality under an ordinance, resolution, rule, or regulation enacted by the governing body. This bill would expand the current law exception to include sales of wine in public parks. This provision would take effect on the bill’s effective date.
LOCAL SALES TAX AUTHORITY - TLW Opposed
Governor: Specify that a county, other than Milwaukee County, or a municipality, other than the city of Milwaukee, with a population exceeding 30,000 may enact an ordinance, if approved by a majority of electors in the county or municipality at a referendum, to impose a 0.5% local sales and use tax. Provide that the revenue from the taxes may be used for any purpose designated by the county board or governing body of the municipality or as specified in the ordinance or in the referendum approving the ordinance. Specify that a municipality with a population exceeding 30,000 would be determined by data from the 2020 federal decennial census or under the Department of Administration’s population estimates for 2020.
Go to https://legis.wisconsin.gov/ to find your legislator’s contact information and urge them to oppose municipal wine permits and increase in the sales tax.