Please provide a brief description of your professional background and your legislative district.
I represent the 46th Assembly District which includes the cities of Stoughton and Sun Prairie, the village of Cottage Grove, towns of Dunkirk, Pleasant Springs and Rutland as well as three wards in the village of Oregon, and two wards in the town of Dunn. My district is in Dane County, to the east and south of Madison. I’ve lived in the 46th my whole life and I can’t think of a better place to live, work, and raise a family. I grew up here and I raised a family of my own here too.
The law firm I own with my brother Tom, Hebl, Hebl and Ripp LLP, is in Sun Prairie and I love being part of the thriving business community both as a small business owner and through my involvement with the Sun Prairie Chamber of Commerce. I have been a private practice attorney for over 30 years and am the owner and secretary of Hexagon Title Insurance Company. I am also a licensed real estate broker and a licensed title insurance examiner. Real estate is such an exciting field and I really enjoy using my professional skills to help people accomplish their dreams of home ownership.
How has your legal career/legal studies shaped your experience in the state legislature?
Being an attorney has given me many unique insights into the real life implications of legislative proposals. This session, I was able to use my experience in real estate law to advocate for the Homebuyers’ Protection Act. This is a bill I authored which restores the right to bring a tort action in cases where a home seller intentionally misrepresents the condition of a home.
My legal experience has also given me the opportunity to serve in the leadership role of Chair of the Assembly Judiciary and Ethics Committee. This committee is on the forefront of changes to judicial procedure, civil court actions and the ethical administration of government in Wisconsin. Most of my committee members also have a legal background, so our debates are both very lively and well informed.
As chair of the Judiciary and Ethics Committee, I have the honor of being the Assembly’s appointee to the Wisconsin Judicial Council. This statutory advisory committee studies the operation of courts and the judicial system in general in Wisconsin and advises all three branches of government on ways to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and fairness in our courts. The council’s recommendations can take the form of rule petitions to the Supreme Court or bills to the legislature. This legislative session, I was pleased to introduce three bills on behalf of the Judicial Council which went on to pass the Assembly and Senate unanimously and were signed into law by Gov. Jim Doyle on June 19.
What current pieces of legislation are you working on that might be of interest to the State Bar of Wisconsin?
I have been working in conjunction with the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Creditors’ Rights (BICR) Section on a bill that would raise the amount of the homestead exemption allowed from execution, from a lien of a judgment, and from liability for debts. This bill has been approved out of committee and is now awaiting action on the floor of the Assembly. I am also working with the State Bar on a follow-up bill that would modernize the exemption amounts for personal and business property.
What would you identify as the major issues/challenges facing the justice system?
Providing adequate funding for our district attorneys, public defenders, and judges, as well as for court administration in general, is one of the most pressing challenges facing the justice system. In this time of budget shortfalls and deep cuts to government spending, this challenge is particularly pressing.
I would also identify judicial elections as a major issue. Some questions within this area are: Should judges be elected or appointed? Should there be mandatory public financing of judicial campaigns? And short of that, how should we limit the influence of special interests in the election of the judiciary?
I am also concerned about the growing prison population here in Wisconsin and the associated fiscal drain this growing population is having on our state resources. There’s real public policy questions at stake in this one, and I expect our current budget crisis will force us to reevaluate where in our list of priorities incarceration should lie.
OWI is another challenge which I hope can be addressed in the near future. I have been impressed with many of the legislative proposals I have seen so far as well as the use of OWI and drug courts here in Wisconsin and in other states in addressing the addiction issues that often underlie the crime.
Rotunda Report is a new newsletter, issued once every two weeks, from the State Bar of Wisconsin that highlights legislative, judicial and administrative developments that impact the legal profession and the justice system. It is produced by the Bar’s Government Relations Team and is distributed free to attorneys, public officials and others who help shape public policy in Wisconsin. We invite your suggestions to make the Rotunda Report more informative and useful and we encourage you to visit our website for the most current information about justice-related issues.
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