$22 billion.

That's how much money Wisconsin taxpayers have saved since 2011 thanks to responsible budgeting and reforms. This week, the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau announced our efforts have put $22 billion back into the pockets of taxpayers.

Not long ago, our state was one of the highest-taxed in the nation. Since then, almost no other state saw a bigger drop in the tax burden than Wisconsin. I'm proud of our work to lower your taxes and will continue to fight to cut taxes even more.

Finally, congratulations to two communities in our area for making the website Stacker.com's Best Midwest Small Towns to Live In. Thiensville is ranked #15 and River Hills comes in at #11 on the list.

As always, if you have any concerns or ideas on how to improve our great state, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 608-266-5830 or by email at Sen.Darling@legis.wisconsin.gov.

On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Education, which I chair, held a public hearing on several bills that put children and parents first by reforming our state’s K-12 education system.

On Tuesday, the State Assembly approved six of those bills. They are part of the Empowering Parents Agenda I authored with Senator Roger Roth, along with Representatives Robert Wittke, Jeremy Thiesfeldt, Rick Gundrum, and other leaders in education.

Assembly Bill 963: Parental Bill of Rights - Establishes several parental rights relating to decisions regarding a child's religion, medical care, records, and education, and creates a cause of action for the violation of these rights. Allows a parent to bring a suit if those rights are violated.

Assembly Bill 965: School Accountability Reports – Establishes uniform standards for school accountability reports. Our state’s educational accountability system relies heavily on the state school and district report card. This bill improves the accountability reports to provide a clear assessment of student success. 

Assembly Bill 966: Milwaukee Public School Reform – Establishes by 2024, MPS will be divided into smaller community districts that are more manageable and accountable to parents and their communities. The new community district boundaries will be developed by a commission made up of elected officials with a vested interest in the community, including the Mayor of Milwaukee, the Governor, and the State Superintendent.  

Assembly Bill 967 & Assembly Bill 968 High-Performing Charter Replication and Creation of Statewide Charter Board – Charter schools are public schools that operate with less red tape. This bill will streamline replication for the highest performing charter schools in our state and will increase opportunities for more students and families statewide.

Assembly Bill 970: School Choice Expansion - Opens school choice to all Wisconsin families by removing state enrollment caps, family income limits, and grade entry points – marking the beginning of true school choice for all our students and families and ensuring money follows the student into the classroom.

Two more common-sense election reforms I authored are headed to Governor Evers' desk.

This week, two bills that will help clerks better operate elections were approved by the Senate and Assembly.

Senate Bill 938, which I authored with Representative Dan Knodl, originated with a concern raised by the Mequon City Clerk.

During a recent local election, someone tried to register to vote. When they were asked if they were a citizen, they said “no,” and were turned away. The clerk is concerned that a less honest person would have received a ballot. Senate Bill 843 requires non-resident driver’s licenses to indicate “Not Valid for Voting Purposes.” It also will confirm the citizenship of people on the voter registration list.

Senate Bill 943 helps make sure major changes in election law are approved by the Legislature. During the 2020 election, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) made several changes to the way the state handles elections without approval from the Legislature. Senate Bill 943 will improve the legislative review process of WEC guidance. This is a simple change that will improve how we handle elections. Major changes need to be approved by the Legislature and enacted into law.

These bills won’t create an unnecessary burden on anyone who is legally eligible to vote. They will improve the way we handle elections and help make sure everyone in the state is operating under the same rules. I hope the governor signs both bills.

This didn't happen by accident. Wisconsin is on solid economic ground because we lived within our means, cut taxes, and reformed government. We were careful with your money.

We stopped Governor Evers from hiking taxes by more than $1 billion during the pandemic and raising the gas tax permanently. Instead, we delivered the largest tax cut in state history. Even after tax cuts, we continue to fund our schools at historic levels, balance the budget, and grow our economy.

Click on the picture above to read more.

As a former teacher, I am extremely concerned about the significant drop in reading and English scores.

As I told the MacIver Institute, our state is facing an educational crisis. We have a reading and learning crisis and the only solution coming from Governor Evers and DPI is to study it more. I’m sick of studies. The shelves at DPI are stacked with studies. It’s time for action.

Sadly, every bold initiative we have proposed over the last couple of years has been met with strong opposition to protect the status quo. In fact, Governor Evers already vetoed one bill to improve reading scores. Our kids deserve better and I’m not giving up on them.