On December 5, Jefferson County hosted a Legislative Breakfast at the Jefferson County Courthouse. Local, county, state, and federal elected officials joined county staff to discuss issues affecting the county and its residents.

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson and U.S. Representative Scott Fitzgerald opened the session with remarks on federal legislation and their top priorities in Washington, D.C. Sen. Johnson’s presentation centered on government spending, the national debt, and opportunities for reforming the Affordable Care Act. Congressman Fitzgerald spoke about labor and housing issues that make headlines nationally but are especially important to Jefferson County: H1-B visas, undocumented workers in the agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism sectors, and ideas for adding housing stock of the right size and cost to meet consumer demand.

Jefferson County Administrator Michael Luckey provided an overview of County accomplishments in 2025, priorities for 2026, and updates on local issues that impact residents. Key investments include a new Financial Empowerment Center available to all residents and workers, funding for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, and $1.1 million in the 2026 Jefferson County budget to support the Live Local Development Fund, a program that promotes local housing development. Luckey also voiced support for a bill to provide certainty in utility aid payments for liquefied natural gas storage, which he and other county leaders traveled to Madison to testify in favor of.

State legislators Brienne Brown (43^rd Assembly District), Cindi Duchow (97^th Assembly District), Joan Fitzgerald (46^th Assembly District), John Jagler (13^th Senate District), William Penterman (38^th Assembly District), and Melissa Ratcliff (16^th Senate District) presented updates on their work in Madison on behalf of their constituents. Rep. Brown spoke on agriculture bills and veterans’ issues. Rep. Duchow talked about school consolidation and her work on the Gail’s Law bill, which seeks to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for breast cancer screenings. Rep. Fitzgerald focused on farmland-preservation efforts and a bill to advance property tax transparency. In his remarks, Sen. Jagler discussed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reform and ideas for adding affordable housing for seniors and others who lack a variety of options. Rep. Penterman shared his work to create a per diem for homeless veterans and concerns about foreign adversaries owning local agricultural land. Sen. Ratcliff expressed her support of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and provided details on a tax incremental district (TID) bill to encourage workforce housing development.

Officials from Jefferson County’s cities, villages, and towns addressed attendees to relay updates, achievements, and issues of primary interest to their residents. The Village of Johnson Creek shared updates on housing developments and two commercial additions: the new U.S. headquarters of Abet Laminati and an orthopedic center. The City of Fort Atkinson announced the successful closure of two TIDs. Among city and village representatives, discussions centered on development and infrastructure work, industry and workforce updates including additions to the City of Jefferson’s Food and Beverage (FAB) Innovation Campus, and efforts to add diverse housing stock. Town officials shared concerns about affordability of emergency medical services and discussed solar energy development considerations in rural areas.

This was the third Legislative Breakfast hosted by Jefferson County since 2024. The next Legislative Breakfast is tentatively scheduled for December 2026 at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by Jefferson County.