Wisconsin lawmaker almost gets railroad gate through budget

MADISON, Wis. — A novice Wisconsin legislator almost got one of his first provisions signed into law this week, which would’ve installed a railroad crossing on a road near his home.

Republican Rep. Ron Tusler proposed adding in a railroad gate crossing on a road in Winnebago County after hearing safety concerns from his neighbors.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the Legislature’s budget committee added in the earmark for the railroad to the state budget. But the Assembly Republicans removed the provision from the budget in a floor amendment Wednesday after questions about the railroad crossing arose.

Tusler says he’s unsure how the provision was included in the budget and that he’d thought it had been dead for months.

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