News: State

The La Follette School’s 2021 legislative outreach efforts kicked off Wednesday, January 13 with the 39^th Wisconsin Family Impact Seminar. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the seminar was the first in the program’s decades-long history presented in a virtual format

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers named Randy Romanski (MA ‘95) as secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP). This will be Romanski’s second stint as DATCP secretary, previously leading the agency during Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration.

The La Follette School completed another successful Office Hours at the Capitol event in June. Office Hours is a twice-yearly, drop-in event for legislators and staff to connect with UW–Madison faculty and staff who are doing research on timely public policy issues.

In response to increasing out-of-pocket medical costs, Professor J. Michael Collins brought together various stakeholders May 16 to discuss the intersection of healthcare and financial capability. The workshop, Managing Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses: How Well are Families Prepared for a World of High Deductibles, highlighted Collins’ survey of public employees with health plans through the Wisconsin Employee Trust Funds (ETF).

La Follette School alumni Peter Barca (MA ’83) and Randy Romanski (MA ’95) have accepted positions in Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ administration.

A supplement to the annual Wisconsin Poverty Report examines poverty and income by race and ethnicity in the state overall and in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin’s most populous county.

The La Follette School of Public Affairs has named Heidi Normandin as its director of legislative outreach and director of the Wisconsin Family Impact Seminars and Committee Connect. Since August 2016, Normandin (MA ’98) has served as associate director of the two programs.

A diverse group of more than 30 state lawmakers, legislative staff members, legislative service agency analysts, and staff from the Governor’s office attended the second Office Hours at the Capitol – presented by the Wisconsin Family Impact Seminars and the La Follette School – on Wednesday, May 16.

Wisconsin is experiencing a “tight” labor market in which employers are having difficulty filling jobs with qualified workers. The state’s aging labor force, low in-migration rates, and steady job growth are expected to exacerbate these challenges for employers and workers in the coming years.

La Follette School Professor Susan Yackee and Associate Director Hilary Shager will lead two of the five panel discussions at the opening conference of the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.