Welcome to my latest e-update. Here is a summary from the past week as your State Representative.
As always, previous updates are available on our website and social media.
Please contact my office with any questions or concerns.
Forward together,
Rep. Robyn Vining
April 15th Budget Listening Session
Exciting news! Rep. Robyn Vining and Rep. Evan Goyke will be hosting a budget presentation and listening session on Saturday, April 15th. Curious about what's in the state budget? The state budget process? How to advocate for your values? How to advocate for what you'd like to see in the state budget? Have questions about things like school funding?
This event is open to the constituents of Rep. Robyn Vining & Rep. Evan Goyke. Please be prepared to share your name and address at the registration table. If you sign up ahead of time, that will save you time on the day of the listening session. Children are welcome. We will not have childcare or programming for children, however children are welcome.
Wauwatosa Public Library
7635 W North Ave
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
Firefly Room
2-4pm
Sign up here! (You’re welcome to wait to sign up at the door, but this will save you time Saturday!) We are looking forward to seeing you on April 15th!
Rep. Robyn and Girl Scouts!
I had so much fun with Girl Scout troop 37619 in Wauwatosa. We talked about who works in “The People’s House”, that we get our jobs when the people vote for us, and we also talked about who our boss is: the people! I’ll never tire of telling children they’re my boss— and that it’s not the President, it’s the people!
I love visiting girl scouts. We keep it nonpartisan and it’s very fun. Children are the BEST!
Wauwatosa Schools Breakfast
My legislative visit withWauwatosa Schools started with state budget (school funding) talk, and ended with jumping into a rainbow parachute activity in an elementary school gym class—best end to a budget meeting ever.
My legislative colleagues Senator LaTonya Johnson, Senator Lena Taylor, and I had a wonderful morning meeting with Wauwatosa’s Chief Financial Officer, Superintendent Dr. Demond Means, Mayor McBride, and special guests: students from Wauwatosa East’s APPSE program–a team competing in the national We The People program in Washington, D.C. this April! (Wauwatosa West is also competing!) We ate breakfast with the students, discussed the school district’s needs from the state budget, toured the building and met with students in their classrooms. I learned how to water a sunflower seed, met a classroom pet gecko, heard all about a “favorite teacher”, witnessed a classroom discuss plastic bags versus paper bags and related environmental impact, saw kids playing on the new playground, talked with students learning about “advocacy”—and gave them my email address for the next time they have an opinion they want me to know about, asked two kids what they want me to know about kids and got the response, “We’re loud!’, and ended it all with a giant rainbow parachute in gym class—just like when I was a kid. This truly may have been the greatest budget meeting format of all time!
Thank you, Poll Workers!
Wisconsin had a statewide election on Tuesday, with local races also on the ballot. I want to take a moment and thank the election clerks, poll workers, and election officials–all the many people who served our community and our state. On Tuesday we saw another free and fair election, and for that we are grateful to everyone who participated in the democratic process.
Joint Finance Committee Public Hearing
The Joint Committee on Finance held one of 4 public hearings this week in Waukesha, and I was happy to attend for about 4 hours! I love this event so much, where I can hear from constituents, and voices across the state regarding our shared state budget! We heard tremendous support for the Governor’s budget proposal, which showed me that Governor Evers, elected statewide by popular vote, now for a second time, has heard the voice of the people and reflected that voice in his budget proposal! Thank you, Governor Evers! The Will of the People is the Law of the Land!
Some of the voices we heard on Wednesday:
Strong support for funding mental health initiatives.
Strong support for affordable childcare, and the Child Care Counts program. We heard how critical childcare is for moms so that women can reenter the workforce. We need affordable, high quality childcare options–this is both an economic issue, and a workforce infrastructure issue.
Pregnant mothers showed up to demand an end to shackling pregnant women during childbirth.
The Brookfield, Waukesha, Milwaukee, and Wauwatosa mayors showed up to explain how critical it is that their cities receive increases in shared revenue.
School board presidents, school board members, and Superintendents gave testimony after testimony saying things similar to: “We need increases in school funding—we need sustainable solutions now.” And we heard a lot about the need to address the mental health of kids.
Several beautiful testimonies asking for funding support for the arts, especially in the wake of the pandemic and the havoc the pandemic wreaked on the arts community
Affordable housing was a theme, as was affordable disability housing.
The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) in Wisconsin advocated for mental health, noting that people are more ready than ever to say they need help, and ask for it. My note on this is that the archaic and unhealthy stigma related to mental healthcare is rapidly disappearing, and we have a chance right now to meet this moment and eliminate that stigma once and for all. I think we really need to consider the position we are in right now, and meet this moment.
If you want to attend or testify at a future listening session, you should arrive at the public hearing early–testimony is taken on a first-come, first-serve basis–and register to speak near the entrance. Staff members with registration slips will help you out if you want to testify!
Check out this graphic for more information on the 2023 budget process and how to testify at a public hearing!
In addition to our Wauwatosa Listening Session April 15th, you have 3 more chances to testify at a state budget hearing. The dates are below. I highly recommend you arrive at 8am, as anyone who arrives later than 8:30 am may not be able to speak before 5pm. Testimony is taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to my office.
The Committee on Joint Finance also provides a link for online submissions of testimony if you cannot travel–click the link here to submit your comments.
Maternal Health Hearing Recap
The Senate Committee on Insurance and Small Business held a hearing this week on Senate Bill 110, a bill to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for postpartum women from 60 days to 1 year. This is a bill I have co-sponsored many times, and am grateful to see Governor Evers has also included in his budget. Right now this bill is both in the Governor’s budget proposal, and being heard as a standalone bill.
During this three hour hearing, over 25 legislators, healthcare professionals, mothers, advocacy groups, and anti-abortion activists spoke and submitted testimony in favor of passing this bill. Over 40 groups have registered in favor of this bill, and not one has registered in opposition. This type of unanimous, bipartisan support does occur in the legislature, and when it does, we should jump at the opportunity to act on behalf of the Wisconsin people. This is our moment to help postpartum moms and parents! Let’s pass this bill!
Supporting Wisconsin families during the postpartum period is a priority for me–we are working to save the lives of mothers. Two-thirds of maternal deaths occur 12 months after the baby is born, and the United States is the only developed country where the maternal mortality rate has increased, doubling over the past two decades, and increasing 40% in 2021. Postpartum women deserve access to healthcare.
The Assembly version of this bill is in the Assembly Committee on Health, Aging, and Long-Term Care. I serve on this committee and we are working now to receive a public hearing for this bill as soon as possible. This is a critical, urgent issue–we are in the minority of states that have not passed a similar bill–and we do not have time to wait. Women’s lives are important, and we need to pass this bill.
Ability Center Public Meeting
A note from our office: We have been asked to share the below information as it is a project in our district:
The Ability Center’s Universal Park project will become America’s first universally inclusive park where everyBODY will be empowered to play throughout the entirety of its 18 acres. This project will provide opportunities where all abilities feel welcomed, wanted, and comfortable to play together.
If you are interested in learning more about this project, you are encouraged to attend either of the following public meetings:
Wednesday, April 12th from 6:00 - 7:00 pm
This is a virtual meeting–you can find more information here!
Monday, April 17th from 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Wauwatosa West High School, Learning Center
11400 W Center Street, Milwaukee
For questions about accessibility or to request accommodations, please contact Christina DeCheck at christina@tacwi.org or 262-210-0363.
Co-Sponsored Bills
Eliminating certain abortion prohibitions, LRB-0692
I joined Governor Evers and my Democratic colleagues at a press conference to introduce the Restore Roe Act to repeal Wisconsin’s archaic 1849 criminal abortion ban. This abortion ban is not the will of the people, and it should not be the law of the land. It is time to honor Wisconsin voices and pass the Restore Roe Act to repeal the 1849 abortion ban. We must live and legislate with empathy and compassion. Abortion is a decision to be made by a patient and their doctor, a decision that should not be made by the government.
Congratulating the University of Wisconsin-Madison women's hockey team on winning the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Hockey National Championship, LRB-2514
Lucky number 7!! I am proud to honor the University of Wisconsin Badgers Women's Hockey team for bringing home the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Hockey National Championship! This is the team’s record-breaking seventh title win!
Directing school boards to provide instruction on Hmong Americans and Asian Americans, LRB-2676
Wisconsin is home to the third largest population of Hmong Americans of any state in the nation, and the Asian American population in our state has risen 82% since the 2000 Census. This legislation will ensure that the unique history and experiences of Hmong Americans and all Asian Americans are included in the instruction given in our schools.
Proclaiming June 2, 2023 as Gun Violence Awareness Day in Wisconsin, LRB-2071
Gun violence is a public health crisis. We need to work towards data-driven, evidence-based solutions. The research has been done, we have the data–now we need to act. I am proud to support this Joint Resolution proclaiming June 2nd as Gun Violence Awareness Day in Wisconsin.
