Forward Fridays: April 16th, 2021

Welcome to my latest e-update. Here is a summary from the past week as your State Representative.

This Week

I want to start off this update by acknowledging what a painful week it has been across the country. The tragic loss of lives of a young Black man, Daunte Wright, in Brooklyn Center and Adam Toledo, a 13 year old boy and a seventh grader in Chicago. The loss of 8 lives, and injury of others, due to gun violence at a FedEx facility last night in Indianapolis. The video released this week of the U.S. Army Lieutenant who was violently stopped in his car by police in Virginia. My thoughts are with their families and loved ones, and our community as we grapple with how to move forward with effective change.

Assembly Task Force on Racial Disparities Update

The Assembly Task Force on Racial Disparities has been meeting for the past several months to discuss and make recommendations on issues related to racial disparities in Wisconsin. The Task Force has two subcommittees: Subcommittee on Law Enforcement Policies & Standards and the Subcommittee on Education and Economic Development.

The Subcommittee on Law Enforcement Policies & Standards is rounding out their recommendations based on their meetings, and is working to create and publish a report that will be published in the next couple weeks. Following this report, the Task Force will work to develop legislation as well.

The next meeting of the Subcommittee on Law Enforcement Policies & Standards is Tuesday, April 20th at 10am. The topic of discussion is the definition of use of force.

The next meeting of the Subcommittee on Education and Economic Development is on Tuesday, April 20th at 2pm. The committee will be speaking with Tondra Davis, the Director of Supplier Diversity Program at the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

Both can be viewed on WisconsinEye HERE at the listed time & day.

Gun Violence Prevention

I was honored to meet with the hard working moms and grandmoms yesterday virtually visiting the Capitol with Moms Demand Action— the group is supporting the universal background check legislation that’s included in the state budget, legislation I co-sponsored last session.

Also included in the Governor’s proposed budget are extreme risk protection orders (ERPO) and funding for community-based violence intervention and prevention programs (VIPP).

The Wisconsin Coalition for Gun Safety met today for a virtual meeting to discuss and set legislative priorities for the session, to talk about the provisions in the governor’s budget regarding gun safety, and discuss ways the Coalition can work together to pass common sense gun safety reform in Wisconsin.

We must act now to make our state safer for all, with common sense gun violence prevention laws, strong due process protections, and community-based violence intervention and prevention programs.

COVID-19 Vaccine Update

This week, following CDC guidance, Wisconsin put all Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration on pause. The CDC discovered 6 instances of blood clotting among women under the age of 48 who have received the J&J vaccine in the U.S., out of more than 6.8 million doses administered. This pause is out of an abundance of caution, as the vast majority of individuals who have received this vaccine are healthy.

All Wisconsinites ages 16+ are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. If you would like to get vaccinated but have had trouble finding an open appointment, I encourage you to head over to the Wisconsin Center, as they have enough vaccines to allow walk-ins.

As of April 15th, 3,693,199 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Wisconsin and 38.5% of Wisconsin residents have received at least one dose, with 25.8% fully vaccinated.

For more information about what groups are eligible, visit the DHS website HERE.

En español, AQUI. ¿Tiene preguntas sobre la vacuna contra el COVID-19? Llame al 844-684-1064 (llamada gratuita)

For more information about where you can get a vaccine, visit the DHS website HERE.

For more information about where to get vaccinated in Waukesha County, visit their website HERE.

For more information about where to get vaccinated in the city of Wauwatosa, visit their website HERE.

For more information about where to get vaccinated in the city of Milwaukee, visit their website HERE. En español AQUI.

Preservation of Federal Food Assistance for
Wisconsin Families

On March 31st, 2021 the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision blocked Governor Evers from issuing multiple emergency orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic and rendered the statewide mask mandate invalid. This decision would have ended about $69 million per month in federal food benefits for Wisconsin families in the midst of a public health and economic crisis, because these benefits require states to have a COVID-19 public health emergency order in place.

On Tuesday, it was reported that Governor Evers and the United States Department of Agriculture came to an agreement to preserve the federal food benefits.

Read my full statement on this great news HERE.

Assembly in Session

On Tuesday, the State Assembly passed the following bills & resolutions that I co-sponsored!

Senate Bill 11 - makes changes to worker’s compensation law, including related to public safety officers (firefighters, police) diagnosed with PTSD.
Senate Bill 69 - incorporates the Holocaust and other genocides into the state model social studies standards and requiring instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides.
Assembly Joint Resolution 31 - remembers the millions of victims of the Holocaust; honors the survivors, liberators, and resistors; and committs to educating future generations.
Assembly Joint Resolution 33 - proclaims May 2021 as Jewish Heritage Month.
Assembly Joint Resolution 26 - honors April 22, 2021 as the 51st Anniversary of Earth Day.

State Budget Updates

Governor's Budget Listening Sessions

Thank you to everyone who has tuned in to Governor Evers’ virtual Badger Bounceback live sessions thus far. Next week there will be one final live session. Join Governor Evers next Wednesday, April 21st at 6 p.m. to discuss climate change and environmental provisions in the budget.

If you would like to attend, register HERE.

Joint Committee on Finance Public Hearings

The Joint Committee on Finance will be holding 3 additional public hearings, which you may attend or view at wiseye.org:

Wednesday, April 21st, 10am-5pm - The Hodag Dome, 665 Coolidge Avenue, Rhinelander, WI
Thursday, April 22nd, 10am-5pm - UW-Stout, 302 10th Avenue East, Menomonie, WI
Wednesday, April 28th, 10am-5pm - Virtual

Registration for the virtual public hearing will open this coming Monday and will likely fill up quickly as the hearing is limited to 200 people due to time constraints. Check JFC’s website on Monday to sign up HERE.

You can also submit a public comment on the budget to JFC HERE.

DNR Spring Update on State Parks and Natural Areas

With the weather getting nicer and the flowers popping up, many people are heading to Wisconsin’s state parks and natural areas. The Department of Natural Resources recently announced changes to state park system operations starting April 30th. These changes include the opening of playgrounds and observation towers, increasing volunteer groups up to 50 people, increasing capacity for outdoor spaces to 100 people, opening concession facilities and more.

Read the DNR’s full announcement HERE.

Ramadan Kareem

Ramadan Kareem to our friends and neighbors who are observing this month!

Black Maternal Health Week

Black Maternal Health Week is this week, from April 11th to April 17th. Thank you to my colleague Wisconsin State Representative Shelia Stubbs for your leadership in introducing a resolution recognizing Black Maternal Health Week and to Governor Evers for proclaiming this week in Wisconsin as Black Maternal Health Week. As a state, we must work to improve the health outcomes for Black women and babies.

Other Constituent & Advocacy Meetings This Week

On Wednesday, our office met virtually with constituents from the Wisconsin Start-up Coalition, constituents and social work students from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), constituents (UW alumni & current students) for UW-Madison Day, and healthcare professionals and leaders from the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

On Thursday, we met virtually with members of SOPHIA of Waukesha and also a social work student constituent.

We have been meeting with folks in virtual spaces in various ways until our much-loved and missed in-person office hours return once it is safe. In the meantime, constituents can request a virtual meeting if they need one by emailing us at Rep.Vining@legis.wisconsin.gov.

414 Day - Milwaukee

Every April 14th, we celebrate the great city of Milwaukee! Introducing Coco to the wonders of Milwaukee, and Milwaukee day cookies!

Drug Takeback Day

Drug Takeback Day is Saturday April 24th! This is a great opportunity to clean out your cabinets and dispose of any unused or unwanted prescription painkillers or medications.

Find a drug disposal location near you HERE.