La Crosse Rep. Billings on why Democratic bills are stuck, public school regulations and reviving water testing bill

Covered a bunch with Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Jill Billings last week on La Crosse Talk — from Democratic bills being ignored and a new water law she's introducing, to state regulations on public schools, La Crosse's newest arts district, and a set of worker-related legislative packages. We began the show discussing how Wisconsin law requires public schools to start on Sept. 1 because of the tourism industry, but has no such rule for private schools. Currently, the La Crosse School District is asking for a state waiver from the regulation so it can save about $200,000 on busing private school students — which the state also requires. After that, Billings (D-La Crosse) talked about reintroducing what’s called the Water Testing Notification Act, which would require the DNR to notify local health departments if there are abnormal levels in wells tested near Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Right now, there are no rules, and homeowners with private wells next to contaminated factory farm sites may never know their wells are also testing high for things like nitrates. That led to a conversation about bills that seem obvious to pass but do not — partly because a Democrat has introduced them in a Republican-led legislature. This bill was first introduced in 2019, had bipartisan support, but did not pass. We then talked about Billings attending the opening of the Rivoli Arts District and what that might mean for taking advantage of the Wisconsin Film Office and having movies potentially shot in La Crosse. Lastly, we discussed a set of worker protection bills that Billings and Democrats unveiled last week, including restoring Wisconsin’s prevailing wage law and repealing Act 10, among other things.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.