— Republican lawmakers want to establish a grant program to encourage new pharmacists to practice in rural Wisconsin.
Sen. Rob Stafsholt, R-New Richmond, and Rep. Alex Dallman, R-Green Lake, are circulating a bill for co-sponsorship that would create this program under the state’s Higher Educational Aids Board. The bill would also exempt from taxation funds received through the program.
In their co-sponsorship memo, the legislators noted the state’s rural and underserved areas were facing a shortage of health care providers even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. They say the proposed rural pharmacy practice grant program would help address this issue.
As with most other health care professions, statewide vacancy rates for pharmacists in Wisconsin rose several percentage points in 2021 relative to the prior three years, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association’s latest workforce report.
“Our goal is to specifically address, with this legislation, the rural pharmacy area,” Stafsholt and Dallman wrote in the memo. “One potential solution to address the shared goal of improved access and improved community outcomes would be to incentivize graduates from Wisconsin’s schools of Pharmacy to serve in rural/underserved communities upon graduation.”
Under the pilot program they’re proposing, graduates that commit to practice in rural or underserved communities for three years would have the cost of their higher education offset with state funding. The support would be limited to those working in “medically underserved areas” as defined by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, the memo shows.
The Higher Educational Aids Board could provide up to $30,000 per recipient in annual financial assistance for up to three years, with a cap of 10 pharmacists getting support per year, according to analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Students enrolled in pharmacy schools would be able to apply before becoming licensed, but the financial help would only be provided after a year of pharmacy practice in an underserved area.
The co-sponsorship deadline for the bill is this Friday at noon.
See more details: https://www.wisconsinlobbyists.com/resources/Co-Sponsorship%20Memos/4.14.2023/LRB-2820%20creating%20a%20rural%20pharmacy%20practice%20grant%20program%20Memo.pdf
See a recent story on the state’s health care workforce challenges: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/legislative-briefing-highlights-health-care-workforce-concerns/
See WHA’s report: https://www.wha.org/MediaRoom/DataandPublications/WHAReports/Workforce/2023
<br><b><i>Top headlines from the Health Care Report …</b></i>
— COVID-19 activity in Wisconsin continues to decline, according to the latest figures from state health officials.
<i>For more of the most relevant news on COVID-19, reports on groundbreaking health research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com.</i>
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— GOP lawmakers are circulating a proposal to bar any “foreign adversary” of the United States from acquiring agricultural or forestry land in the state.
Currently, a foreign person may acquire, own and hold unlimited amounts of Wisconsin land for most non-agricultural and non-forestry purposes such as mining and manufacturing. But there’s a cap of 640 acres for agricultural or forestry purposes.
The bill would define “foreign adversary” as a foreign government or nongovernment person determined by the federal secretary of commerce to have engaged in conduct significantly adverse to the security of the U.S. or its citizens.
It would retain the current restriction on how much land a non-citizen can own for agriculture or forestry while adding the provision barring ownership by a foreign adversary.
The deadline for co-sponsorship is 5 p.m. April 26.
See the Association of Wisconsin Lobbyists’ summary of last week’s bills circulated, including links to the co-sponsorship memos:
— South central Wisconsin home sales in the first three months of 2023 were down 21.6 percent compared to the same period of last year.
That’s according to the latest report from the Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin, which shows 2,332 homes were sold in the 18-county region between January and March. By comparison, that number was 2,976 for the first three months of 2022.
Meanwhile, the average sale price climbed 6.2 percent over the same period, from $320,321 to $340,030.
“The year-to-date median sales price has generally been resilient, confirming that lack of supply is the major factor in sales reduction,” the group wrote in its report.
Still, total active residential listings for the region rose 22.2 percent over the year, from 933 to 1,140.
“Month’s supply, or the number of months it would take to sell all the existing listings at the current pace, remains incredibly tight,” RASCW said. “A balanced market is considered 3-5 months, yet only a few regions have over 1 month of inventory available.”
See the full report: https://www.wisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Jan-March-2023-SC-WI-Housing-Market.pdf
— WMC has announced a lawsuit against the city of Neenah, arguing its sign ordinance is “anti-business” and violates free speech rights.
The city’s ordinance prohibits signs advertising “off-premises” businesses and commercial advertising on parked vehicles, according to a release from the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Litigation Center. As an example, the release notes plumbers aren’t allowed to park a work van in their driveway if it advertised the plumbing company and was visible from the street.
Scott Rosenow, executive director of the center, says Neenah is violating the First Amendment right to free speech, noting that it covers commercial speech.
“Signs are a relatively inexpensive form of advertising that small businesses depend on, especially if many of their customers are local,” he said in the release. “This ordinance virtually bans commercial advertising via signs within the city, which is a slap in the face to small-business owners.”
The city attorney’s office for Neenah declined to comment.
See the release: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/wisconsin-manufacturers-commerce-litigation-center-files-first-amendment-suit/
#TOP STORIES#
# Federal, state officials say nuclear is key to cutting carbon emissions to combat climate change
# Embedded technologies power Milwaukee
# ‘Step in the right direction’: First collective bargaining agreement brings peace of mind to minor league players
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association calls for state funding for Food and Farm Exploration Center
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=426&yr=2023
– Wisconsin goodness returns to Capitol square with new vendors and mild weather
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=428&yr=2023
# CONSTRUCTION
– UW-Madison wants to replace engineering building for $355 million
– Hoffman completes AZCO headquarters and Harbor Lofts in the Fox Valley
– High water pauses Indianford Dam construction
# EDUCATION
– UW-River Falls Ag Day builds bridges between farmers and community
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=427&yr=2023
– Wide variety of research shown at opening day of NCUR at UW-Eau Claire
– Howard-Suamico students are growing 8,000 pounds of lettuce for 80,000 salads.
# ENTERTAINMENT
– Madison duo Seasaw makes upbeat rock using the buddy system
# ENVIRONMENT
– Late season winter storm drops up to 22 inches of snow in parts of Wisconsin
– Wisconsin’s rural governments are at a disadvantage when it comes to competing for federal climate funds
– State snowfall totals: 10 inches of snow dumped on western Wisconsin
# LEGAL
– Milwaukee judge stays city’s request to take over the Northridge Mall
# MANUFACTURING
– Inside the Deal: Palermo’s acquisition of Funky Fresh Spring Rolls and the company’s big plans to grow the brand
# MEDIA
– Entrepreneur’s Greek almond dip catches attention of Project Pitch It moguls
# REAL ESTATE
– Developers pursuing Cardinal Stritch’s big, border-hopping property
– This $6.9M Oconomowoc lake home is the priciest local property on the market: Open House
– $47 million warehouse sale in Bristol was region’s biggest at start of 2023
# TRANSPORTATION
– Port Milwaukee’s 2022 tonnage levels decreased as demand for materials normalized
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
