Frank Lasee

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Frank G. Lasee
Frank Lasee
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
for Wisconsin's 2nd District
In office
1994 – Present
Preceded by Rep. Dale Bolle, (D) Whitelaw, WI
Born December 11, 1961
Oceanside, California
Political party Republican

Representative Frank Gordon Lasee is a Republican member of the Wisconsin Assembly for the state's 2nd Assembly District. Lasee has distributed an update newsletter, Lasee's Notes, via e-mail to constituents and other interested parties for nearly a decade.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Born December 11, 1961 and raised in Oceanside, California, Lasee graduated in 1986 from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a major in humanistic studies. [2][3][4] He is the father of three daughters.[5][4][6]

Prior to his election to the State Assembly in 1994, Lasee was the Ledgeview, Wisconsin Town Board Chair from 1993 to 1997,[4] and was a supervisor for an insurance company.[7]

Lasee is a member of the State Assembly who has been a dissenter on many issues, including state budgets.[8] He is called an advocate of taxpayers, limited spending and an opponent of the tax increases.[9][10] Voters have approved enough of his performance to elect him seven times.[11]

[edit] Policy proposals

A list of bills proposed by Lasee is available at the Wisconsin Legislature web site.[12] Some of his most notable proposals are as follows.

[edit] Guns in schools

Lasee achieved notoriety through his proposal to allow public school teachers to carry guns. Lasee asserts that such policies have been effective in other countries such as Israel and Thailand.[13] Lasee notes that the proposal would have to "work around a federal law that bans guns on school grounds".[14]

[edit] Law school funding

Lasee proposed to cut state funding to the University of Wisconsin Law School, claiming that lawyers are a "plague of locusts" and that we already have too many. His plan includes an initial cut of $1 million and a complete removal of funding by 2010. This would affect about 10 percent of the school's total funding. Opponents say that Wisconsin has a shortage of at least 127 state-funded assistant district attorneys.[15]

[edit] Reducing counties

Lasee feels that Wisconsin has too many counties at 72, and should consolidate the counties in rural areas. He states that this would produce a cost savings in government.[16]

[edit] Taxpayers Bill of Rights

A Taxpayers Bill of Rights, also known as TABOR, was introduced by Frank Lasee and Jeff Wood in 2004 in Wisconsin. They stated "taxpayers in this state need protection".[17][18] TABOR includes five basic provisions:[19]

  1. Limit state and school spending growth to population growth plus inflation.
  2. Limit county and municipalities the same way.
  3. Any increase in income, sales, franchise, or property tax rates, would require the approval of voters.
  4. Any proposal by the state or local governments to borrow money would require the approval of voters.
  5. Establish an emergency fund and budget stabilization fund.

[edit] Taxpayer Protection Act

A 2006 proposal was the "Taxpayer Protection Act". The TPA proposed to tie governments revenue to inflation, population, personal income growth etc.[20]

[edit] Paternity Suit

In 2005, Kari Manteufel filed a paternity suit against Lasee for a daughter born in November 2004. Lasee subsequently acknowledged he was the father of the child and agreed to pay child support, giving custody to Manteufel.[6]

[edit] Campaign reimbursements

In November 2007, Lasee was one of several state lawmakers mentioned in an article about double-dipping by taking a per-diem from the state at the same time as reimbursing themselves from their campaign accounts.[21]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Newsletter sign-up on Frank Lasee personal blog
  2. ^ "Alumni: UW-Green Bay alums doing a capitol job" in Inside, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Feature and News Magazine, November 2005
  3. ^ "Frank Lasee Biography" at Wisconsin State Legislature web site
  4. ^ a b c Lasee, Frank G 1961 at Wisconsin Historical Society
  5. ^ Members of State Legislature at Wisconsin.gov
  6. ^ a b Pall of hypocrisy hangs over Lasee by Daniel Bice, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 22, 2007
  7. ^ Assembly members, part 1 in 2003-2004 Legislative Directory at Madison.com
  8. ^ "Frank Lasee to vote not" Herald Times Reporter, October 22, 2007
  9. ^ Lasee proposes another version of TPA by Bob Hague, Wisconsin Radio Network, April 26, 2006
  10. ^ "'Hold the line' on budget, lawmakers told" Herald Times Reporter, October 18, 2007
  11. ^ Rep. Frank Lasee talks about his political choices by Warren Bluhm, Green Bay Press Gazette, October 14, 2007
  12. ^ Bills sponsored by Frank Lasee
  13. ^ Arming Teachers with Guns? by Brock Bergey, WMTV 15 News, October 4, 2006
  14. ^ Wis. Lawmaker wants teachers to carry guns Associated Press, Oct 5, 2006
  15. ^ "Too Many Lawyers? Cut Funding, Says Legislator" by Brittney Pescatore, The National Law Journal, August 7, 2007
  16. ^ Lop off a few Wisconsin counties? It’s not as far-fetched as it seems by Tom Still, Wisconsin Technology Council, August 7, 2007
  17. ^ Regents, Assembly speaker discuss implications of "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" UW #System News, March 4, 2004
  18. ^ The University of Wisconsin System Legislative Update April 23, 2004
  19. ^ Wisconsin Needs a Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights by Frank Lasee, Budget & Tax News, The Heartland Institute, February 1, 2004
  20. ^ Taxpayer Protection Act presentation, April 11, 2006 with Frank Lasee and Jim Perry
  21. ^ "Some claim per diem when campaign pays" By Stacy Forster, Steven Walters and Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Daily Telegram, November 19, 2007

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Rep. Dale Bolle, (D) Whitelaw, WI		 Wisconsin State Representative - 2nd District
1994 – Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent