Rep. Joel Kitchens wants to hear your thoughts on the upcoming state budget and other issues in the district when he hosts four listening sessions on May 30th. The four sessions will occur throughout the district, beginning at 10 a.m. in Egg Harbor. They will take place every other hour after that in Sturgeon Bay (noon), Algoma (2 p.m.), and New Franken (4 p.m.). "Every budget cycle, I try to hear from constituents about the issues that concern them. My goal is to hear from as many people as possible about how we can improve upon the governor's budget recommendations and continue to prioritize what's important to Wisconsin residents," said Kitchens in his release. Earlier this month, Kitchens told the Door County Daily News some of the issues he heard from constituents as his colleagues around the state, including State Senator André Jacque, hosted their listening sessions.

You can find the full schedule of Kitchens’ listening sessions below. On May 8th, the Joint Finance Committee voted 10-3 to remove more than 600 items from the previous version presented by Governor Tony Evers earlier this year. The 21-page list included renewed bids to expand Medicaid, legalize marijuana, introduce paid family leave, and increase child care subsidies. When it occurred, Kitchens pointed out that they always strip non-budgetary measures out of the budget and that increasing the overall spending and the state workforce were non-starters. He also reminded voters that just because items were taken out does not mean that it cannot be reworked and put back in.