Searching for Jobs in All the Wrong Places!

A list of bills that Governor Walker signed this week.  I wonder how many were designed to create jobs?  Let’s look and see!

Here’s the press release from the Governor’s office (via Patch, my comments in italics):

Special Session Senate Bill 12 This bill indicates and specifically lists the factors a court must consider when determining whether attorney fees are reasonable. Those factors include things like the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the case, and whether the case prohibited the attorney from taking on other work. The bill stipulates that when compensatory damages are awarded, reasonable attorney fees may not exceed three times the amount of the damages awarded.

Because the “job creators” (who suck at job creation, mind you) are just clamoring for tort reform. So how many jobs will this create?  How about none.

Special Session Senate Bill 22: This bill provides that a possessor of real property owes no duty of care to a trespasser on his or her property and may not be found liable for an act on the property that causes injury or death to a trespasser.

No jobs here!

Assembly Bill 48: This bill requires the Department of Natural Resources to make available to the public a written directory of all land acquired through stewardship funding that is open for public access as well as any stewardship land that was acquired before October 2007 for which public access has been restricted and the reasons for that action.

No jobs here!

Assembly Bill 60: Under current law, all county officers must be covered by a county bond, however veterans service officers and veteran’s service commissioners (VSO) must be covered by individual surety bonds, which are more costly for counties to provide. This bill extends the law to require that all county officers, including veteran service officers and veteran’s service commissioners be covered by a county bond, which can mean being included in the county’s blanket bond. By removing the requirement that county VSO’s be bonded separately from the county’s overall blanket bond, counties will be able to increase administrative efficiency and increase the amount of money available for direct benefits to veterans living and working in their communities.

Nope, no jobs in this one.  Maybe the next one!

Assembly Bill 69: This legislation creates a presumption of immunity in criminal and civil actions for individuals who use deadly force against a tresspasser who has unlawfully or forcibly entered their home, motor vehicle, or place of business.

Castle Doctrine creates no jobs.  So far, we’ve created zero jobs.  But the next one is sure to create some jobs!

Assembly Bill 81: This bill raises the forfeiture required for the fraudulent use of a disabled parking card issued by the Department of Transportation from not less than $50 and not more than $300 to not less than $200 and not more than $500.

Hmmm, no jobs.  No jobs yet….

Assembly Bill 103: Under current law, a person who intentionally receives stolen property (including a firearm) may be guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the value of the property received.

Uhhhh, no jobs there either.  I’m beginning to sense a pattern here.

Assembly Bill 245: This bill authorizes a manufacturer or wholesale distributor of prescription drugs to deliver prescription drugs to a faculty member of a public or private institution of higher education in Wisconsin as long as that faculty member is obtaining the drugs for the purpose of lawful research, teaching, or testing and not for resale.

Jobs… What happened to jobs????

Assembly Bill 274: This bill is intended to improve public safety at railroad crossings by eliminating confusion and making current law more uniform. Under current law, an operator of a vehicle may not drive across a railroad crossing when a train occupies or is closely approaching the crossing.

Railroad crossings?  Railroad crossings???  Where are the jobs?????

Senate Bill 77: The State Trails Council advises the Department of Natural Resources regarding the planning, acquisition, development and management of state trails.

I like hiking as much as the next guy… but I don’t see the jobs.

Senate Bill 85: Current law prohibits retail theft and provides a penalty for retail theft based on the value of the merchandise stolen. This legislation expands the definition of merchandise to include services. Under this legislationn a person can be charged with retail theft if they obtain a service from a provider and fail or refuse to pay for the service.

Blah, blah, blah… No jobs.

Senate Bill 95: This legislation provides K-12 schools more flexibility as well as state mandate relief in several key areas including, teacher evaluation, school district contracting guidelines, funding limits for specialized areas and reporting deadlines, among other things. This bill will allow school boards to link standardize test scores back to teachers and requires each school district to have a standard teacher evaluation plan in place.

More demonizing of teachers, but still… no jobs.

Senate Bill 107: The legislation assists landlords in screening prospective tenants which will help them secure payment for the use of their rental units. This bill prohibits a political subdivision from enacting any ordinance which may restrict certain conduct of landlords. Specifically, they may not limit how far back in time a landlord may look at a renter’s credit, criminal history or previous housing. Furthermore this bill provides that a political subdivision may not enact an ordinance which would prohibit a landlord from obtaining or using income, occupation, rental history, or court information to determine a renter’s applicability.

A bill for the rentiers, but still no jobs!

Senate Bill 136: Under current law, a seller of residential properties is required to provide to prospective buyers a form that discloses various information about the condition of the property and related matters that could influence a decision to buy the property. This bill creates a vacant land disclosure report, similar to the residential condition report, on which the owner must disclose certain conditions of the property of which he or she is aware.

Jobs?  Anyone? Anyone??

Senate Bill 151 (Cowles/Weininger): Current law specifically excludes from the definition of a lottery, situations in which an employee refers a person to the employee’s employer to purchase goods or services, but only if the employee does not receive compensation for the referral. Under this bill, such referrals are not considered participation in a lottery regardless of whether the employee receives any compensation.

No jobs…

Senate Bill 196 (Olsen/Petrowski): Under current law, the Department of Revenue provides Wisconsin municipalities general aid payments through an Expenditure Restraint Program. Municipalities qualify for general aid funding if its property tax levy rate is greater than five mills and if its budget did not increase by more than a specified rate. Under this bill, expenditures made by a municipality on behalf of a school district are excluded from calculating the municipality’s budget figure. By excluding these payments from the budget calculation, more municipalities will qualify for the expenditure restraint program, gain additional funds and be able to maintain core services without raising local tax rates.

No jobs…

Senate Bill 208 (Grothman/Endsley): Under current law, no child under the age of eight years may be transported in a motor vehicle unless the child is properly restrained in a car seat (child safety restraint system) or booster seat. The type of restraint system required depends on the age and size of the child. The current statute language technically prohibits parents from using a more protective restraint system if the child fits into another category due to their age or weight. The law was never intended to prohibit parents from choosing to more securely transport their children in the car. This legislation rectifies that problem by clarifying that a child may be transported in a more protective category of restraint system than the minimum required by law.

No jobs…

Senate Bill 217 (Lasee/Petrowski): Under current law, the Department of Transportation must suspend the operating privileges and vehicle registrations of anyone that has an outstanding judgment of $500 or more arising from damages caused by a motor vehicle accident. This legislation changes the requirements to have driving and registration privileges reinstated. In order for reinstatement two things must happen: the judgment must either be stayed, satisfied or discharged or five years must have elapsed from the initial judgment date (whichever is earlier) and at least three years must elapse, unless the person can provide and maintain proof of financial responsibility before that time.

No jobs…

Senate Bill 241 (Lasee/Rivard): Under current law, a person’s time interest in a time share estate may be foreclosed in a court proceeding in the same manner as an interest in a real property is foreclosed. This legislation sets out nonjudicial or administrative procedures for foreclosing interests in and assessment liens against time share estates and licenses. The bill provides that individuals seeking to foreclose their interest on a time share estate or time share license must use the administrative procedure. If the owner of a time share estate objects to the administrative procedure, the foreclosing entity must go through the judicial process.

No jobs…

Senate Bill 253 (Galloway/Petrowski): The Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) is a program provided through the Department of Natural Resources. It is a voluntary process whereby a person can perform an investigation and cleanup of a contaminated property while being exempt from liability. The program has been very successful in helping businesses and local governments cleanup and redevelop abandoned, idle or underused commercial or industrial properties where the expansion may be hindered by potential contamination. Under current law, the VPLE is not available for landfills that are licensed by the DNR. This bill expands the VPLE so that it is available for any landfill that was licensed by the DNR before May 1975.

No jobs…

Assembly Bill 63 (Wynn/Grothman): This legislation changes current state statute with regard to businesses operating under a Class A liquor license. This bill changes the morning closing hours for retailers from 8:00am to 6:00am. This bill does not change the closing hours for the sale of liquor. Meaning, a retailer selling beer can do so lawfully from 6:00am to midnight and a retailer selling intoxicating liquor or wine can do so lawfully from 6:00am to 9:00pm. This legislation also retains current power of municipalities, allowing them to alter these hours by ordinance if they choose.

No jobs…

A wasted year, a wasted legislative session, a useless party.  So, 21 bills and not a single one targeting Wisconsin’s biggest issue: Job Loss.  Scooter has overseen a massive drop in Wisconsin’s job opportunities.  Well done, Republicans.  Well done.

We can’t recall these jerks fast enough!

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