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.
I typically hold office hours on the second Friday of every month and would be happy to meet with you! You can sign up for our office hours here.
Please contact my office with any questions or concerns.
Forward together,
Rep. Robyn Vining
Welcoming Sophia
The Roosevelt Elementary 4th graders visited the Capitol and I was happy to greet them. Close at hand was the Capitol’s newest Fellow Sophia Heffner, who also went to Roosevelt, and now studying politics and Spanish is working at the Capitol in the Democratic Leader’s office. Having known Sophia for many years, I’m so, so, so very excited to get to share an orbit with her this summer. Welcome back to the Capitol, Sophia! 4th grade field trip, 2019 Inauguration, and now—you work here!!! Welcome aboard!
Roosevelt Elementary Visits the Capitol!
Roosevelt Elementary 4th graders came to visit the Capitol and we had so much fun! I wanted to meet them in the Assembly because a fun little fact is if you tour the Wisconsin State Assembly, you can look but you can’t sit in the big fancy legislator chairs. However, if your legislator shows up, she can let you sit in the chairs! And so—I let them sit in the chairs. The kids and parents filled almost all 100 chairs, and I was eager to answer any question they asked—I was so impressed with their curiosity and not only questions about the buttons on our desks, but follow up questions about the buttons, and clarifying questions about the buttons. Those questions showed me these kids are growing up in curious learning environments where questions are welcomed and so kids are confident to keep asking them. Thank you, teachers! Great job, families! In my opinion, curiosity is key to learning, and I loved to see it!!!
I look forward to seeing some of these kids one day back on that Assembly floor and pushing those buttons for themselves.
Tour Guide Appreciation!
Huge thank you to Jim and all the other Capitol tour guides who make the Capitol building come alive when my constituents come to Madison! Students from Roosevelt Elementary loved the tour and got to learn about the history of the Capitol building and The People’s House. Here is Jim explaining the significance and symbolism of the massive mural behind us in the Assembly, including a hidden civil war soldier that the students had fun trying to spot. I have to admit–I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve looked at that mural and never knew the background!!
The Capitol is full of hidden treasures and the wonderful tour guides know all the fun secrets. Take a tour the next time you’re in Madison. And, if your 4th grade class missed its trip to Madison during the pandemic and you’d like to come and visit, let me know—I’ve been thinking lately how I’d love to host students who missed tours those years. Come visit the Capitol!
Committee on Jobs, Economy, and Small Business Development Public Hearing
The Committee on Jobs, Economy, and Small Business Development met to discuss an administrative rule and a new bill.
Rule. Wisconsin’s plumbing regulations have not been updated since 2018, so this administrative rule provides new updates to ensure Wisconsin’s buildings are safe and sanitary by aligning Wisconsin's' rules with national standards and best practices for safe plumbing systems.
Assembly Bill 172 creates a nonrefundable tax credit for any person who owns a sole proprietorship, a single-member LLC, or a single-owner corporation in Wisconsin and hires their first full-time new employee, worth up to 100 percent of the wages paid to the employee in that year or $10,000 (whichever is less). In the hearing we discussed the requirements for a full-time employee: should an employee have to work a full 2,080 hours in a year to be eligible? And what happens in the event of an emergency that prohibits the employee from working full-time, for example an unexpected loss of childcare or family illness? Should this be assigned to DOR or WEDC? These are some of the questions we asked. The author was amenable to changes, so we will be thinking about if this bill should move forward, and if so, how it should change to be the best bill it can be.
Tosa West American Public Policy Night
Capitol by day, district by night— we had so much fun at Tosa West tonight for the American Public Policy night with students! I enjoyed “judging” (AKA enjoying) 9 10-minute student presentations on topics related to racial discrimination, trans youth healthcare, protecting fish and the effects of climate change, accidental drug overdoses of over the counter drugs, right to bodily autonomy, ex-felon reintegration, raising the minimum wage, sports gambling, and dignity in dying. I’m so proud of these students—they did a great job with their research, they have strong presentation skills, they managed nerves (which are normal!), and they navigated a busy room with hundreds of people talking at once—in a time crunch! If you presented tonight—be proud, I am proud of you!
Policy change is part of how we make the world more like we think it should be, and learning how to propose your own policies when in high school is a great exercise!
The students spoke with great passion and I could tell their topics mattered to them. Strong research is important—so is being passionate about what you’re presenting. What a great night at Tosa West!
Important Hearing Next Week!!
I am relieved and hopeful to let you know that a bill I have worked on since before I was elected is going to have a public hearing next Thursday, June 1st! The Safe Harbor Bill (Assembly Bill 48) is important legislation that helps protect trafficked youth. Victims of sex trafficking, particularly children, should never be penalized or charged as criminals–or as I often explain it–children who are victims of sex trafficking should not be charged with the crimes of their abusers.
I would encourage you to come to testify, or if you are unable to make it to Madison and would like to submit written testimony, you can send your testimony to Rep. Spiros, the Chair of the committee (please cc me if you do). When you do so, be sure to ask that it be distributed to the committee members and entered into the committee record. You can also reach out to my office if you have any questions about testifying at a public hearing. We are happy to help!
Weekly State Budget Update
The Joint Finance Committee (the legislature’s budget writing committee) met on Tuesday and Thursday this week to continue crafting the state budget. Below are some of the important takeaways:
Republicans are silencing Democrats in the state budget process. Rep. Evan Goyke was silenced this week when he spoke on family leave. It’s extremely unusual to cut the microphone of a member of Joint Finance, nevermind the most senior member from our caucus. See the details below.
Workforce Development:Governor Evers included $243M in his budget to establish a 12 week paid family leave program, but that was removed by Republicans. Democrats introduced a motion to study the economic benefits of paid family leave, and that was not only voted down by Republicans, but the co-chair of the committee muted the mic of Rep. Goyke as he argued for paid family leave. Watch Rep. Goyke respond to having his mic silenced here.
Veterans Affairs: Republicans also rejected a motion to increase funding for the Veterans Outreach and Recovery Program (VORP), which connects veterans to community services for mental health and substance abuse treatment.
I authored the VORP bill last session as part of my “Mental Healthcare is Healthcare'' package. When Republicans didn’t pass the VORP bill, Gov. Evers funded the mission with ARPA dollars. 2023 is The Year of Mental Health, and we should be doing more to get mental healthcare access to those who need it, including our veterans.
Water Quality: While Democrats and Republicans agreed on spending $125M to address water contamination, Republicans approved a motion along party lines to establish a trust fund, but left out the specifics of how to administer these funds to future legislation. This motion did not include water testing or quality standards, and will prolong the process to address water contamination.
Child Care Counts Funding Update
We know that during the pandemic, disproportionately women left the workforce due to lack of childcare. We know that women face the hurdle of affordable childcare, and we know we could remove that hurdle– as a legislature we could support access to affordable childcare and expand the workforce. One way we can do that is by funding Child Care Counts.
In this, the month of Maternal Health, and the month of Mental Health awareness, it’s important we talk about how the childcare crisis affects the mental health of mothers. We know that the mental health of mothers is affected by the stress of childcare cost, quality, and availability, and I believe that is part of why it is our responsibility as a legislature to address affordable, quality childcare access.
Republicans are still considering Child Care Counts funding, and we are working hard with the hope that this program will be funded. We need to fund Child Care Counts in the state budget!
Weekly Shared Revenue Update
Pictured above: the state senate committee hearing the shared revenue bill. The committee consists of zero women, zero people of color, and zero members who represent Milwaukee or Milwaukee County.
The Shared Revenue bill is now in the Senate, and it is now up to the senate to act. The Senate Majority Leader has made it clear that they will not be taking up the version passed by the Assembly, so they are starting with the original (unamended) bill, and creating a third version. The Senate has also been clear they are not interested in the sales tax referenda in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County.
On Tuesday, the Senate held a public hearing on Senate Bill 301, the shared revenue bill. Local elected officials from across Wisconsin spent hours offering testimony, including Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride, West Allis Mayor Dan Devine, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, and Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson.
What we heard from our local elected officials is a dire need to fund local governments after decades of state inaction on shared revenue, where local governments have been forced to cut costs and consolidate services. We heard opposition to the provisions in the bill restricting the use of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), which is crucial for our local governments to provide an equitable footing for everybody.
Senate Bill 301 is not currently scheduled for an executive session, but it is expected to be voted on in the senate committee in the coming weeks, possibly with amendments before it makes its way to the Senate floor. I will keep you updated as this bill makes its way through the Senate.
“15% [shared revenue increase] will definitely help, it will help us tread water more confidently but, in all honesty, we want to swim.” -West Allis Mayor Dan Devine
We have compiled the full testimony of our local elected officials below. My gratitude to my staff for this–I appreciate Bryce in my office for making this easily available to all of you!
Wauwatosa City Council Visit: While I was watching the Senate shared revenue hearing, Alderpersons James Moldenhauer, Joe Phillips, and Margaret Arney stopped by my office to talk to my staff about shared revenue, reckless driving, and racial covenants in property deeds.
Budget Committee Democrats Urge Investments in Paid Family Leave
Paid Family Leave is among the hundreds of items that Republicans stripped from the Governor’s budget and prohibited from further discussion in the Joint Finance Committee. It is one of the critical investments that working families need in order to thrive in Wisconsin–we need Paid Leave now. You can read the JFC Democrats’ press release on paid family leave here.
News from the District!
This is a new section in the Forward Fridays–I want to celebrate exciting happenings in the district! Please reach out anytime with suggested features. We do our best to follow the news, but you may know something we don’t! News in the District
West Allis Youth Commission’s Work for Mental Health Awareness Month. The West Allis Youth Com mission distributed over 100 books about mindfulness for teens to Little Free Libraries throughout the city for Mental Health Awareness Month. You can watch the story from CBS 58 here.
Wauwatosa East Student Wins at the Milwaukee Public Library Poetry Contest! Congratulations to Malik Boyd on winning the Teen Advisory Board Choice Award at the Milwaukee Public Library poetry contest! Check out the winning poem here.
Success at Destination Imagination Globals! Congratulations to the three Wauwatosa School District Destination Imagination teams that competed at the Global Final Competition. The “Busy Bees” representing Washington Elementary earned an 11th place award in the Improv Challenge, “What’s Our Team Name Again?” representing Roosevelt Elementary earned a 19th place award in the Improv Challenge, and “Missing Pieces” from Lincoln Elementary earned 20th place in the Technical Challenge!
