While talking with you at listening sessions, during events in the community, and looking through your responses and comments on this year's spring budget survey, it was evident that increasing funding for our local roads is incredibly important to you. In fact, when my spring budget surveys were tallied, 81 percent of respondents stated that local road funding was a top priority. That is why I supported the recent bi-partisan state budget, which includes additional funds for road repair and maintenance.

Building off of the progress the legislature made in the last budget, this year, Wisconsin will put a total of $1.6 billion into Wisconsin roads. This includes a $100 million funding increase for local roads, $25 million more than the governor had requested. With the 93rd_Assembly District being mostly rural, these additional funds are needed to ensure that the roads you use daily are receiving the repairs and maintenance they need and deserve.

Especially this year, more Wisconsinites and other outof- state guests are traveling within and through Wisconsin more frequently. It is important to ensure that our highway system receives the repairs and maintenance necessary for the safety of all travelers. To address this need, once again, the legislature went above and beyond the governor's proposal by allocating $60 million more than what the governor requested to the State Highway Rehabilitation Program.

Not only were we able to make significantly larger investments in local roads and the State Highway Rehabilitation Program compared to what the governor proposed, the legislature was able to pay for these upgrades in a way that minimizes borrowing. In fact, this budget includes the lowest amount of new bonding for transportation in over two decades -$300 million less in new bonding than the governor's proposal. This responsible method of paying for these projects will decrease the overall interest the state pays for roads, which can be reinvested later. As your State Representative, I will continue to advocate for the issues and concerns that are most important to you and ensure that you have a say in how your tax dollars are spent. I am pleased with the budget-writing committee and the legislative members that voted in support of this budget as this budget listened to and prioritized the needs of the good people of Wisconsin.