Wisconsin State Representative Rob Swearingen

06/05/2026

Kick off summer at the June Bloom Art & Craft Fair in Minocqua! Stop by Torpy Park on June 6 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and browse more than 50 booths featuring original artwork, woodturning, candles, photography, pottery, jewelry, and much more. Whether you're looking for a unique gift or just want to enjoy a great day in the Northwoods, be sure to check it out!

06/05/2026

It's Free Fishing Weekend in Wisconsin! Residents and visitors can enjoy fishing without a license on June 6 and 7. All other fishing regulations, including size and bag limits, remain in effect. Check out the link below for more information and enjoy a great weekend on the water! 🎣

Free Fishing Weekend is June 6-7!

Wisconsin residents and out-of-state visitors can fish state waters without buying a fishing license, trout stamp or salmon stamp. However, please know all other fishing regulations, including bag limits, size limits and species restrictions, remain in effect.

There will be fishing clinics providing simple, hands-on instruction such as casting, knot tying, fish identification and basic fishing techniques for those new to this sport. Wisconsin DNR Tackle Loaner Sites located statewide has rods, reels and tackle for participants needing equipment.

To learn more about this weekend, fishing clinics and more, visit: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/anglereducation/freeFishingWeekend

Photo Credit: Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports

06/05/2026

Congratulations to the Three Lakes High School Track and Golf teams on advancing to the WIAA State Championships! Your hard work, dedication, and commitment throughout the season have paid off. The entire Northwoods community is proud of your accomplishments and will be cheering you on as you compete at state. Best of luck!

06/04/2026

Great to see the 4th graders from Central Elementary School at the Capitol this week! Thanks for making the trip to Madison. I enjoyed visiting with you and sharing a little about what we do in the State Assembly.

06/03/2026

Fantastic crowd last night for the start of the Hodag Park Summer Concert Series! Folks were treated to good food, ice cream, beer, and the music of "Trainwreck Jukebox". The weather was perfect! Concerts will continue every other Tuesday night into September.

06/03/2026

This session, Assembly Republicans focused on expanding support for women, improving child welfare systems, increasing access to child care, and strengthening family services across Wisconsin through targeted grants, benefit expansions, and regulatory reforms.

Act 13 provides funding for a new Child Advocacy Center in Sheboygan County and creates the Child Advocacy Centers of Wisconsin to support and coordinate centers statewide, with $2 million in the state budget dedicated to these efforts. Act 102 extends Medical Assistance postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months after pregnancy, expanding access to maternal health care during the critical first year after birth.

The state budget includes major investments in child care and early childhood education, including $123.2 million for Wisconsin Shares to increase reimbursement rates to at least 75% of child care slots in each county, $2 million for child care resource and referral centers, and $2 million for Wonderschool to help expand licensing, certification, and provider support. An additional $65 million supports a new 4K school choice program for child care providers offering elementary readiness programs for 4-year-olds, with a requirement that all 4K programs provide at least 437 hours of instruction annually.

A two-year pilot program adjusts child care provider-to-child ratios and provides $5 million annually in ARPA interest and TANF funding to increase provider reimbursement rates, including monthly increases of $200 for children under 18 months and $100 for children between 18 months and 2½ years old. The budget also creates a new license category for large family child care centers serving 4 to 12 children and allows individuals 16 and older to serve as assistant child care teachers if training requirements are met.

Several vetoed proposals (AB 100, AB 102, AB 104, AB 105, and AB 400) addressed issues ranging from school sports participation and restrictions on gender transition procedures for minors to online age verification for po*******hy access and legal recourse for minors affected by medical procedures.

Together, these actions reflect a broad effort to strengthen support systems for families, expand child care access, improve maternal health outcomes, and enhance early childhood education opportunities across Wisconsin.

06/02/2026

Recent legislative actions and budget decisions include a broad package of investments and policy changes aimed at strengthening support for Wisconsin veterans, expanding recognition of military service, and improving access to critical services across the state. Act 153 allocates $1.9 million to the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) to administer grants to organizations providing services to homeless veterans, helping expand housing support, outreach, and related services. Act 154 allows WDVA to award up to $25 per veteran per day in additional grant funding to organizations already receiving federal per diem payments of $82.73 per veteran per day, strengthening the capacity of service providers and improving daily care for veterans in transitional or emergency housing. Act 206 increases reimbursement amounts for veteran organizations conducting military funeral honors and expands eligibility for military funeral honors to include Laotian refugees who supported American forces during the Vietnam War, formally recognizing their contributions and service.

The state budget also includes significant investments in veteran services and infrastructure. It provides $4 million for the Veterans Trust Fund, which supports programs including $129,200 for County and Tribal Veteran Service Officers and $200,000 for veteran transportation services to medical appointments. An additional $5 million is allocated for Wisconsin Veterans Homes to support long-term care facilities, $2.5 million for the Veterans Community Project of Milwaukee to address veteran homelessness and transitional housing needs, and $5 million for the Wisconsin War Memorial Grant to preserve and enhance memorial sites honoring service members.

Together, these investments and policy changes reflect a continued commitment to supporting Wisconsin veterans through housing assistance, healthcare access, recognition of service, and long-term care support.

06/01/2026

This legislative session, Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature advanced several tax relief measures focused on lowering the tax burden on working families, retirees, and homeowners across the state.

Among the proposals passed by the Legislature were measures to eliminate state income taxes on overtime pay and tips. AB 38 would exempt up to $25,000 in tips from state income taxes, while AB 461 would allow workers to deduct qualified overtime pay from state income taxes. Both bills were vetoed by Governor Tony Evers.

Lawmakers also passed AB 391, which would have eliminated Governor Evers’ controversial 400-year veto related to annual per-pupil school funding increases. That bill was also vetoed.

The state budget included approximately $1.5 billion in overall tax relief. One major provision creates a retirement income exclusion beginning at age 67, allowing the first $24,000 of retirement income for single filers and $48,000 for joint filers to be exempt from state income taxes.

The budget also expanded Wisconsin’s second income tax bracket, allowing more income to be taxed at the lower 4.40 percent rate. Additional tax relief measures included tripling the adoption expense deduction from $5,000 to $15,000 and expanding the sales tax exemption on residential electricity and natural gas.

These measures focused on providing tax relief to Wisconsin workers, retirees, and families while reducing the overall tax burden across the state.

05/31/2026

During the legislative session, Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature advanced several proposed constitutional amendments focused on election integrity, religious freedom, government accountability, and legislative oversight. Constitutional amendments must pass two consecutive legislative sessions before being presented to Wisconsin voters on a statewide ballot.

One of the measures approved by voters was AJR 1, which codifies Wisconsin’s voter photo identification requirement into the state constitution. The amendment was approved statewide with approximately 60 percent voting in favor and 40 percent opposed.

Lawmakers also advanced several constitutional amendments that are expected to appear on the November ballot following second consideration by the Legislature. These include AJR 10, which would prohibit state or local governments from closing or forbidding gatherings in places of worship during a state of emergency.

Another proposal, AJR 102, would prohibit government entities from discriminating against or giving preferential treatment based on race, s*x, color, ethnicity, or national origin in areas such as public employment, education, contracting, and administration.

The Legislature also approved AJR 127, which would restrict a governor’s ability to use the partial veto to create or increase taxes or fees, and AJR 133, which would allow the Legislature to suspend administrative rules by a majority vote of both legislative houses.

These proposed amendments focused on placing additional protections and limitations directly into the Wisconsin Constitution while expanding the role of voters in deciding major policy questions facing the state.

05/30/2026

This legislative session, Assembly Republicans advanced a number of reforms focused on government accountability, public safety, parental rights, and responsible budgeting. While several measures were signed into law, others were vetoed by Governor Tony Evers after passing the Legislature.

Among the bills approved by the Legislature were measures limiting the types of flags flown on government buildings to official government flags, protecting visitation rights for long-term care residents and hospital patients during communicable disease outbreaks, and establishing a maximum judicial service age of 70 years.

Other Republican-backed proposals vetoed by the Governor included requiring most state employees to work in-office at least 80 percent of the time, prohibiting schools from changing a student’s name or pronouns without parental consent, restricting taxpayer-funded health care coverage for undocumented immigrants, protecting against forced organ harvesting in transplant procedures, and strengthening cybersecurity protections related to foreign adversary-owned applications such as TikTok.

Republicans also focused heavily on the state budget process by reducing government growth and limiting long-term borrowing. The Legislature’s budget eliminated 303 state positions compared to the current base budget, maintained the UW System employee position cap, and lowered bonding levels to less than half of what Governor Evers originally proposed.

In addition, Republicans removed several proposals from the Governor’s budget, including billions in proposed tax increases, repeal of right-to-work laws, full Medicaid expansion, new gun control measures, climate initiatives, changes to voting laws, and proposals related to undocumented individuals receiving tuition exemptions or identification cards.

These reforms focused on limiting government expansion, strengthening accountability, protecting taxpayers, and advancing conservative priorities throughout the legislative session.