Lisa Subeck

State Representative

78th Assembly District

Happy Earth Day

Earth day was founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues. Wisconsin’s own Senator Gaylord Nelson, inspired by the antiwar protests of the late 1960s, created Earth Day originally aimed at creating an environmental movement. It began as a national teach-in on the environment event held on April 22. By raising public awareness of air and water pollution, Nelson hoped to bring environmental causes into the national spotlight.

Today, people around the world celebrate this annual event by taking action to protect and preserve our vital natural resources.

Budget Update

Last week the Joint Finance Committee held two executive sessions on the budget. The first thing my democratic colleagues did was try to remove all of the non-fiscal policy items from the budget. These items should be taken up as stand-alone bills and not in the budget, as they have no financial impact. Unfortunately their efforts failed on a party-line vote.

On a positive note, our organizing efforts are helping. Democrats had a significant victory, as the committee voted to reinstate the policy-making ability of the state's Natural Resources Board. Joint Finance also rejected Governor Walker’s move to exempt research at the University of Wisconsin from the open records law. Finally, one of the other items taken up in the initial Joint Finance meetings was increasing access to broadband service. The committee approved a pool of grants totaling $1.5 million per year for the next four years, a significant increase from the $500,000 previously budgeted.

In their second meeting, Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee offered a motion to increase funding for the Wisconsin Technical College System, which failed on a party-line vote. Democrats also proposed expanding the Assistance for Needy Veterans Program to offer essential mental health, suicide prevention, alcohol and drug abuse services, and family counseling, another common-sense proposal rejected by Republicans on a party-line vote.  

You can follow the work Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee are doing by visiting and liking their Facebook page here.

Walker’s Budget is Wrong for Wisconsin

Last week, Marquette University Law School released a poll that shows Wisconsinites overwhelmingly oppose the Governor’s proposed state budget.

Specifically, 78% oppose the Governor’s proposal to cut $127 million from our neighborhood schools. 70% oppose the $300 million cut to the UW system proposed in the Governor’s budget. 60% oppose making the Governors proposed changes to the Natural Resources Board.

This mirrors exactly what my Democratic colleagues and I have been hearing from our constituents at listening sessions, and this is why we are working so hard to roll back the many damaging cuts and changes proposed in the Governor’s budget. Wisconsinites are looking for a budget that will restore economic and educational opportunity and reflects our values of protecting our environment and caring for our most vulnerable neighbors.

Click here to read the full results of the Marquette Law Poll.

Get Youth Moving

Last week, I met with members of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the American Heart Association to discuss a bill that was recently introduced called “Get Youth Moving.” I have proudly signed on as a sponsor of the bill.

One in three Wisconsin 3rd graders is overweight or obese, and increased physical education is one way to fight this trend. Currently, Wisconsin requires elementary students to have physical education three times a week, but there is no specified time requirement. Through the late 1980s, Wisconsin required daily physical education for all elementary students.

The Get Youth Moving bill would meet the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations for physical education of 30 minutes every day or 150 minutes a week. Increased physical education not only helps prevent obesity but can also improve academic performance and overall health.

Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired

On Thursday, I joined the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired for a briefing on the rules that protect users of service animals and guide dogs and other ADA guidelines. The Council also shared information on increasing job opportunities for visually impaired individuals through the existing Business Enterprise programs. Unemployment rates for blind and visually impaired citizens generally hover around 70%, so it is particularly important to expand employment opportunities however we can.

Tax Day: Call on Federal

Government to Invest Locally

April 15 marked Tax Day, and I had the honor of speaking press conference held by Citizen Action of Wisconsin to mark the occasion. Together, we called on federal leaders to stop spending massive amounts of our tax dollars on the military and instead put that to work for us in our state and local communities.

Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana

Last week, Representative Melissa Sargent introduced a bill which would legalize marijuana for recreational and medicinal purposes in our state. I have decided to sign on as a co-sponsor because, like Representative Sargent, I believe the most dangerous thing about marijuana is that it remains illegal. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have already passed laws that have legalized marijuana in some form.

Instead of criminalizing and demonizing the use of marijuana, we should look at how we can keep our communities safer by regulating its use and taxing its sale. Wisconsin currently spends millions of taxpayer dollars arresting and incarcerating individuals, leaving us with some of the worst racial disparities in the nation. African-Americans are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than Caucasians despite nearly identical usage rates. In Madison, the ratio is a staggering twelve to one.

I believe that legalizing marijuana is in Wisconsin’s best interest in terms of safety and equity. I hope that we can continue the nationwide momentum and become the 24^th State to legalize marijuana. 

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