Read more about this bill package in the Wisconsin State Journal HERE.

These three important bills each follow the same framework: Reform-Report-Reinvest. This package of legislation includes statutory reforms to safely reduce the prison population, increase reporting and data collection, and reinvest savings into evidence-based recidivism reducing programming.

AB 83O- Vocational Earned Release, uses existing eligibility procedures but expands programs beyond AODA (alcohol and other drug abuse) to include vocational, educational, and recidivism reduction programs. This bill would limit the use of Crimeless Revocations and allow for non-violent individuals to earn early release if the judge finds them eligible. Click on the video below for my testimony on AB 830 in the Committee on Corrections. 

AB 831- Short Term Sanction Reform, targets revocations that are based on non-criminal violations of supervision. AB 831 places a maximum of 30 days of incarceration for non-criminal violations. Below is my testimony on AB 831 in the Committee on Corrections:

AB 832- Success on Supervision, creates a compliance credit for individuals that succeed on supervision, caps the amount of Extended Supervision on certain crimes, and allows individuals to be discharged early if they complete all requirements. 

Additional Steps to Reform Wisconsin's Criminal Justice System and Make Smart Investments 

Criminal Justice Reform includes much more than just the three bi-partisan policies outlined above. I introduced the following bills to modernize several important areas of criminal law, including:

• Expand Treatment, Alternatives, and Diversions. AB 1006 would expand capacity in existing, successful programs, and allow programs to specifically address mental health in a treatment alternative to incarceration

• Modernizing Police Data. AB 1009 would require all Wisconsin police jurisdictions to report on crime statistics in a uniform, expanded manner, that would allow better data collection and analysis across the state

• Comprehensive Juvenile Justice Reform. AB 1036 makes a large number of changes that would substantially reform the juvenile justice system.  Most importantly, the bill would return 17-year-olds to the juvenile system (Wisconsin is now one of only 3 states in America where all 17-year-olds are all automatically in the adult criminal justice system)

Milwaukee County Sales Tax

AB 521- Additional local sales and use tax for Milwaukee County: Calls for a referendum to determine if Milwaukee County should collect additional local sales and use tax. As Wisconsin’s largest city, Milwaukee attracts millions of visitors from around the globe who take advantage of local attractions like the Fiserv Forum, Summerfest, Milwaukee Art Museum, and the County Zoo.

Just two years ago, tourism generated $2.1 billion of direct visitor spending in Milwaukee County. But because Milwaukee relies so heavily on property taxes to fund these public services, the visitors were able to avoid paying their fair share of local taxes. The bill would help ensure that the tax burden is shared among local residents and visitors who enjoy what Metropolitan Milwaukee has to offer. Click the video below to watch my testimony for AB 521 in the Committee on Ways and Means.

Growing public safety and pension costs are putting unsustainable pressure on local budgets while deferred capital maintenance jeopardizes the future of public assets like parks and museums. AB 521 requires that 25 percent of the revenue from the additional tax be used to provide residential property tax relief, divided evenly between county and municipal property tax relief and that 7 percent of the revenue be used for public health infrastructure projects, like enhancing public safety, reducing infant mortality, or lead lateral removal. For the remaining 68 percent of tax revenue, the bill requires that the county use half for its operational and capital expenses and distribute the other half to the cities, villages, and towns in the county for their operational and capital expenses. Distributions of revenue to the cities, villages, and towns are based on their population. 

Budget Debates on the Joint Finance Committee

The state budget was debated over a number of months. Some of the hearings and debates went late into the night. We heard from thousands of residents in the process and it was the most exciting and meaningful debate of the session. Below are two clips of the debate.

1. Rep. Goyke speaking on Medicaid Expansion: 

2. Rep. Goyke speaking on investments in young people to help break the cycle of poverty:

Assembly Floor Sessions

When a bill reaches the Assembly Floor, all 99 members are present and must vote on the legislation. The debate can sometimes get intense…like in the clip below where I speak against mass incarceration and several pieces of legislation that would have only furthered the problem. These bills were passed but vetoed by Governor Evers.

And ... sometimes the debate can be a little lighthearted ...

In the closing days of the session, we launched our new effort, called "Nerd Power", to provide more policy background and explanation about what is happening in the Legislature. It often feels like we’re not able to learn the whole story about what’s happening. I hope you’ll follow us as we provide all the policy and political background you’ll ever need. 

Click below to check out my Youtube Channel and Subscribe for more #NerdPower.