Political Digest

State announces improvements to nursing home administrator licensing

The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) has taken steps to bring clarity to the credentialing process for future nursing home administrators at a time when the nursing home sector continues to face staffing concerns, the agency announced this week.

A University of Michigan School of Public Health study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) finds no segment of healthcare has lost as many workers as nursing homes since the start of the pandemic. Employment at nursing homes is 10.5 percent below pre-pandemic levels compared to 3.3 percent for hospitals and 1.6 percent for physician offices.

The recent moves by Wisconsin DSPS impact licensing of nursing home administrators.

First, DSPS has added clarity by specifically identifying existing courses that would help fulfill the department’s requirements for a nursing home administrator license and highlighted those courses on its website.

Second, the agency has added pre-approved courses and programs that would help fulfill DSPS requirements for the license. The biggest addition involved working with the University of Minnesota to have its program and specialized courses pre-approved.

“The work of our Division of Policy Development administrator, Sarah Barry, was instrumental in making this happen,” said DSPS secretary-designee Dan Hereth. “The nursing home sector asked for clarity and more options, and Sarah and her team responded, working with the professionals and the universities to create more options and improve our processes in ways that do not compromise our commitment to public safety.”

Other recent steps by Wisconsin DSPS to bring more efficiency to state licensing processes include the streamlining of testing for dental and pharmacy school graduates, as well as an agreement to dramatically increase time and location options for those taking a trades exam.

Lawmakers: Give residents priority on state park campsite reservations

Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) are circulating legislation to create a 14-day window where Wisconsin residents would be able to reserve campsites at Wisconsin’s most popular state parks prior to non-residents.

“Under the current system, the online campsite reservation window opens exactly at 9 a.m., 11 months prior to the date of the reservation,” Marklein said. “This leads to highly stressful situations for groups who are trying to reserve their favorite campsite for family reunions or holiday weekend vacations. I have heard stories from families needing to use multiple devices just to reserve a campsite.” 

Marklein said Wisconsin residents should never lose out on a campsite to a non-resident because their internet is too slow or they couldn’t click on the campsite soon enough.

Similar to other activities where individuals pay to move up in the queue or “skip” the line, Wisconsin residents would have to pay the non-resident camping fee, generally $10-$15 more per night, to take advantage of the early reservation window. 

The bill is currently circulating in the legislature for co-sponsorship and will proceed through the legislative process.

Baldwin calls on Biden to address fentanyl trafficking at the border

Ahead of President Biden’s meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) called on President Biden to address the flow of fentanyl being trafficked into the United States through the Southwest border and highlight the deadly impact it is having in the United States. 

Between 2019 and 2021, fentanyl overdose deaths in Wisconsin grew by 97 percent, and in 2022, nearly 1,400 Badger state families lost a loved one to opioid overdose or poisoning.

“To save lives in Wisconsin, we must stop illicit fentanyl at its source,” Baldwin wrote in a letter to Biden. “While cartels appear to be feeling the pressure of U.S. sanctions and law enforcement, Wisconsin families and law enforcement should not be forced to shoulder the burden of Mexico’s failure to prevent illicit fentanyl production and trafficking within its own borders.” 

Baldwin says she has long worked to both increase opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts and disrupt the flow of fentanyl into the country and communities. Baldwin’s FEND Off Fentanyl Act was included in the Senate-passed 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, bipartisan legislation that would combat the country’s fentanyl crisis by targeting the illicit fentanyl supply chain, including chemical suppliers in China and cartels that traffic the drugs from Mexico. 

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Baldwin said she is working to fulfill the administration’s domestic and national security supplemental requests that include necessary investments to both disrupt fentanyl trafficking and help those struggling with substance use disorder. 

As chairwoman of the appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, Baldwin advanced funding legislation for Fiscal Year 2024 that includes an additional $20 million for state opioid response grants to help communities with prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts.

“While these measures and investments will strengthen our nation’s ability to fight against the flow of fentanyl in the future, we cannot afford to wait,” Baldwin wrote. “The United States and Mexico share a nearly 2,000 mile border and, along with it, a shared responsibility to ensure that the criminal production and trafficking of fentanyl in Mexico does not harm Americans and American interests.”

Baldwin urged Biden to impress upon President López Obrador his nation’s obligation to stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States and to secure commitments for additional defense and law enforcement cooperation.

Stubbs would require studies of environmental hazards on vulnerable communities 

After introducing a bill that would require the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to investigate the disparate impacts of pollution and toxic waste on vulnerable communities during the facilities permit application process, Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) said that all Wisconsinites deserve equal access to clean, breathable air and clean, drinkable water. 

“However, our marginalized neighbors have not been granted the same access to these necessities as their more privileged counterparts,” Stubbs said. “As we have seen throughout our nation and in our own communities, people of color and those living in poverty are at a disproportionately high risk of health issues caused by exposure to environmental elements, from lead poisoning to asthma to cancer.”

According to the NAACP’s 2017 Clean Air Task Force report, Stubbs says African Americans in particular are exposed to 38 percent more polluted air than white Americans. Additionally, African Americans are 75 percent more likely than the average American to live in a fence-line community, or a community that is directly affected by the noise, odor, and chemical emissions of a facility.

To combat the disproportionate hazards posed to the most vulnerable communities by pollution from facilities, Stubbs said the state must attack the root cause. 

“The groundwork for much of the damage caused by environmental racism and discrimination is laid in the planning and permitting stage,” she said. “This bill will not only pave the way toward environmental justice in Wisconsin, but will also put more control in the hands of communities. By requiring the DNR to take additional steps in collecting public comment and assessing the impact certain pollution-causing facilities could have on BIPOC and low-income neighborhoods, we will lessen the toxic burden of pollution and hazardous waste on the most vulnerable populations in our state.”

Stubbs quoted Dr. Robert Bullard who maintained that the laws that codify racial segregation have been eradicated but those practices continue on and explains why refineries, chemical plants and landfills disproportionately appear in communities of color. 

“There have been four decades of studies documenting that it’s not land values or property values – the most potent variable is race,” Stubbs said. “It’s the driver of who gets pollution and who doesn’t. America is still segregated and so is pollution.”

State labor force participation rate holds steady in October

The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has released the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showing Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 3.2 percent last month, up slightly from 3.1 percent in September and 0.7 percent below the national rate of 3.9 percent in October. 

The state’s total labor force participation rate held steady at 65.8 percent, 3.1 percent higher than the national labor force participation rate of 62.7 percent.

Wisconsin’s total non-farm jobs remained at a near-record high at 3,013,900 in October, even with a decrease by 1,400 from September. This is 32,800 more jobs than October 2022.

The unemployment rate of 3.2 percent in October was up from 3.1 percent in September and mirrored the 0.1 percent increase in the national unemployment rate, which was 3.9 percent in October compared to 3.8 percent the previous month. The number of unemployed people increased 5,400 over the month and increased by 8,500 over the year to 102,000, still remaining around record lows.

The labor force gained 3,600 workers over the month for a total of 3,142,100 workers. The number of people employed decreased by 1,800 over the month for a total of 3,040,100 employed.

Total jobs increased by 32,800 over the year and decreased 1,400 over the month to 3,013,900 total jobs in October. Private sector jobs increased by 24,500 over the year and decreased by 2,800 over the month to 2,607,600. 

Health care and social assistance jobs grew by 13,600 over the year. Construction jobs decreased by 900 over the month and increased by 1,500 over the year.

“With the supply of Wisconsin workers increasing slightly over the month, the state’s long-term economic picture remains one of expansion, with total jobs hovering around record highs and state unemployment still low compared to the national rate,” DWD secretary Amy Pechacek said. “Initial and weekly unemployment claims remain around record lows. Our state’s labor force participation rate held steady even as the national rate decreased. On balance, Wisconsin’s labor market economy is robust heading into the final months of 2023.”