Thanks to careful budgeting, common-sense reforms, and preventing Governor Evers from raising taxes during a pandemic, Wisconsin's tax burden continues to drop. According to the Tax Foundation, our property tax ranking improved to the 16th best in the country. We are significantly more competitive than our neighbors Michigan (21), Minnesota (32), Iowa (39), and Illinois (48).

Since 2011, Republicans have saved taxpayers $22 billion and it's paying off. Wisconsin’s tax burden dropped more than any other state over the last 20 years. Back in 1999, state and local taxes took up 12.2% of personal income. That was the fourth-highest in the nation. By 2019, the percentage dropped to 10.3%. Now, we are ranked 23rd in the country. I will continue to look for ways to lower your tax burden and make our state more competitive.

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.

The pandemic and school closures are incredibly hard for children. Our state now has the fifth-highest increase in self-harm and attempted suicide in the nation. The rate nearly doubled during the pandemic.

Recently, 60 Minutes featured Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and how they have helped children in crisis. I'm proud to have authored legislation that helped Children's Hospital combat our state's mental health crisis.

In 2013, I helped take steps to counteract the psychiatrist shortage by providing funds for the Child Psychiatry Consultation Program (CPCP). This innovative program connects primary care providers with child psychiatrists. Operated by the Medical College of Wisconsin, the program allows providers to receive consultations on youth mental health cases and also provides educational seminars on mental health for providers.

This session, I worked with Representative Jim Steineke of Kaukauna to expand the program and create a comprehensive Mental Health Consultation Program (MHCP) for Wisconsin. The MHCP would be a resource for primary care providers throughout the state for services related to perinatal, child, adult, geriatric, pain, veteran, and general mental health consultation services. The MHCP would provide education, consultative support, and community resource referrals for primary care physicians.

Our bill is an innovative solution to serve more constituents’ mental health needs and better prepare our primary care providers to face the emerging mental health concerns in our communities.

I'm very proud of my work in improving mental health care in our state. I helped create and fund mental health programs in the budget and we doubled our investment in the most recent budget. Next session, I hope to build on those successes.

Happy National Charter Schools Week! Charter schools are public schools that have more freedom in how they educate children. They are also an important option for many families. Charter schools help empower parents to make the best educational decisions for their children. In fact, 3.6 million children nationwide attend charter schools.

In this session, I authored Assembly Bill 967 & Assembly Bill 968. The bills created a process to streamline the process for replicating high-performing charter schools and create a statewide charter board. Unfortunately, Governor Evers vetoed both of these common-sense bills that would increase opportunities for more students and families statewide.

I will continue to fight for successful charter schools like Adeline Montessori School in Waukesha. Click on the video above to learn how they are making a difference in the lives of children.