Potluck Protection Act of 2006 (By RYAN J. FOLEY, AP Writer)

I read this article in the Kenosha News written by the AP, and I was not sure if I should laugh or cry. Then, I got angry....

Is this really why we send our elected officials to Madison?

From the article-

Saying residents don't need the government intruding on their spaghetti dinners, Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill into law Tuesday exempting potluck meals from state public health regulations.
Rep. Barbara Gronemus, D-Whitehall, served up the bill last spring after she heard anecdotal reports of overzealous health inspectors threatening to shut down the community meals at schools, churches and union halls. Lawmakers of both parties lined up to get a piece of credit for protecting what they described as an American tradition.

The worst thing about this, is that no one can figure out why our legislators wasted their time-

The bill had confused health inspectors who said they already did not regulate potlucks and could provide no examples of meals ruined by regulation.

Jim Clark, past-president of the Wisconsin Environmental Health Association, said the new law would have no practical effect. Potlucks already are not regulated, he said, and health officials can still stop people from serving unsafe food to the public.
"If there was confusion, it does provide that much clarification," he said of the bill. "But I know a lot of people around the state in public health and none of them had any confusion on this issue."

Check it out, there was even opposition to the bill-

His group and others representing public health officials dropped their opposition to the bill after lawmakers removed an exemption for potlucks held at taverns. Meals at taverns should be inspected, Clark said.



Really, do we need our legislators and our Governor wasting valuable taxpayer's dollars by spending their time working on protecting our potluck dinners?

Don't get me wrong, I like a potluck as well as the next person. But was it necessary for our legislators and our Governor to protect our right to potluck????

Good grief! Perhaps now, our Governor and our legislators should get back to worrying about the TPA, and protecting the Wisconsin taxpayer.