One Year Ago
I haven't shared this photo publicly until now. This moment, one year ago, my “private swearing in” in the State Supreme Court with Justice Dallet was a moment I will never forget (I was actually sworn in twice). In that moment the oath drove deep into my soul. And, I have tried to serve with that moment in mind. We are a diverse group of people with different opinions, ideologies, and it can get contentious at times, but the mission is to honor our oath of office and serve the people who trust us to do just that. I’ll never forget this moment Jan 7, 2019.
Tomorrow, January 11th, is Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
Work to Do
Read Governor Evers' full letter to the legislature here
Gov. Tony Evers yesterday sent a letter to Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature assigning legislative homework and asking the Legislature to pass several key pieces of legislation before adjourning this year including:
AB 411/SB 340
This legislation caps the price of insulin at $100 for a 30-day supply. Modeled on legislation recently passed in Colorado, this bill protects the tens of thousands of Wisconsinites whose lives depend on insulin from price gouging. I am a co-sponsor of this important legislation.
AB 146/SB 130
We can start lowering the property tax burden for Wisconsinites by closing the “dark store” loophole to ensure everyone pays their fair share. I support closing this tax loophole.
AB 321/SB 302
This legislation, known as the CLEAR Act, directs the Department of Natural Resources to establish and enforce standards for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are industrial chemicals commonly found in non-stick products, stains and paints, cleaning products, and firefighting foams that are estimated to be present in the blood of 98 percent of the United States population, and are being detected in our environment, including many relevant detections in Wisconsin water. I am a co-sponsor of this legislation.
AB 41 - Safe Harbor
This bipartisan bill addresses key issues relating to sex trafficking in Wisconsin. Vulnerable kids in our state can be forced into commercial sex practices and can be prosecuted for the crime of prostitution. AB 41, introduced by Reps. Billings and Steineke and Sens. Darling and Johnson, prohibits this practice if the person is under the age of 18, and should be passed as a clean bill in both houses. I am a co-sponsor of this bill.
AB 358/SB 332 and AB 214/SB 200
These bills are also bipartisan and address the tracking, processing, and storage of sexual assault kits. AB 358/SB 332, introduced by Reps. Thiesfeldt and Taylor, and Sens. Darling and Schachtner, creates the Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System allowing sexual assault survivors to check the status of their sexual assault kit. AB 214/SB 200, introduced by Reps. Steffen, Sargent, Macco, Thiesfeldt, and Taylor, and Sens. Cowles, Schachtner, and Darling, establishes a statutory procedure for collecting and processing sexual assault kits. This legislation will help prevent future sexual assault kit backlogs and ensure justice for sexual assault survivors. I am a co-sponsor of both bills.
I've worked to combat child sex trafficking in Wisconsin for about a decade. This is an important article. We have come a long way, thanks to the work of so very many people, but we also have a lot of work to do. And the legislature needs make sure we each understand the issue, and are on our toes looking for ways we can help.
We are hosting a town hall on January 30th about child sex trafficking. This is part of the education we all need.
In addition to the above legislation, Gov. Evers believes there is great opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to work across the aisle to introduce bipartisan bills on several important issues such as bills preventing surprise medical billing, bringing Wisconsin’s special election law into compliance with federal law, helping Wisconsin’s agricultural industry and our farmers, investing in clean water and water quality, and increasing funding for mental health services in our schools, among other important priorities.
Let's continue our work on these important issues.
Forward together!
This Week
Over the weekend, we were made aware of a hit-and-run situation in Wauwatosa that involved three 5th graders. The children were not severely physically injured, thankfully. This incident prompted one of their fathers to contact our office as well as local officials for something to be done to improve pedestrian safety. Within 2.5 business days, the Public Works department had installed new flashing stop signs! Additionally, a painted crosswalk would be installed this spring when the weather warm, and continued actions will be taken by the city and state to help improve safety in walking school district areas. I want to commend the local Wauwatosa officials for swift and decisive action.
Read the article about the incident here.
Monday
Remember this? When I heard this presentation from the Medical College of Wisconsin, I wondered if what I learned about trauma and the justice system is related to trauma in students as a result of school threats. So on Monday, I met with the presenter, Dr. Terri deRoon-Cassini, at MCW to discuss more on this topic. She will be presenting information at our next topical town hall (in February) that will be on the same topic- stay tuned!
Tuesday
I spent the day in Madison for an all day public hearing in the Assembly Committee on Health. We heard testimony on 7 bills, which lasted 7.5 hours (a lot of information to include in one email!). This photo was during testimony for AB 660.
Wednesday
I attended the Wauwatosa Historic Preservation committee’s consideration and vote regarding the property at 2363 N 113th street, known as the "Zeddie Hyler home". Zeddie was the first black man to build a home in Wauwatosa, a dream he fought for through terrible opposition. It was a near-full room at the committee meeting that heard the stories of “Uncle Zeddie”, his big personality, his busy community involvement, his service to this country, his love for Wauwatosa, his feeling that “there was just something about Wauwatosa” that made him want to live there. Uncle Zeddie’s niece read his 2004 obituary, his nephew who now inhabits the home, Gerald Williamson, spoke of his life with his beloved uncle, former city council President Dennis McBride and various members of the Wauwatosa community spoke in favor of making this home a historic landmark. (Nobody spoke against the proposal.)
McBride mentioned the timing—Zeddie persisted through the attacks the year Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. The mayor also attended. Speakers concluded, the committee debated, the vote was taken, and the proposal passed unanimously as cheers erupted throughout the room. Next steps will be to pass through city committee, then city council, both this January.
Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article here
Thursday
I met with a reporter from the Journal Sentinel who wrote an article about our universal changing stations bill. Read the article here.
We also found at the Sarah, the Brookfield mom who advocated for this bill, won the "2020 Wisconsin Mother of the Year" award. Congrats, Sarah! Read the article here.
Friday
Today, I have a meeting with two school board members to discuss school safety and gifted & talented education programs. I am looking forward to their insight on these topics!
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In general this week, we worked on drafting a few new bills that we will be introducing in the coming weeks, scheduling beginning of year meetings with constituents and organizations to discuss their legislative priorities, and wrote letters and emails to constituents responding to various topics and congratulating folks on achievements.
Tuesday was also one year since inauguration -- thank you for the honor and privilege of serving as your State Representative for the past year!
Next Week
Next week at the Capitol:
Health Committee Executive Session
Children & Families Executive Session
Assembly in Session
Looking Forward
Child Sex Trafficking -Topical Town Hall:
Our next topical town hall will be on human trafficking on Thursday, January 30th from 7:00-8:30PM at the Fisher Building in Wauwatosa.
Facebook event - click here
RSVP recommended to Rep.Vining@legis.wisconsin.gov
This informational town hall is offered by our office as a constituent service to provide education about different non-partisan topics that are of interest to the community.
In-District Office Hours:
We look forward to hosting more in-district office hours with constituents this year! Let us know if you have a location idea in the 14th District -- we're up for trying new things!
If you'd like to schedule a meeting during our next office hours, send us an email and we can set that up. We will likely hold our next one at the end of this month.
We received a lot of emails over the past few weeks and we are working on thoughtful responses. Thank you for your patience- it's been a busy month, but we will respond ASAP!
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