Forward Fridays: July 30th, 2021

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

Special Session on Education

Governor Evers issued an executive order calling the legislature into a special session on Tuesday, July 27th, related to education funding. The special session would be on two bills that would allocate $550 million to K-12 education and higher education in Wisconsin. Republicans in the Assembly gaveled in and out of the special session without taking action on Governor Evers’ proposals.

Read my full statement on the special session HERE.

Extraordinary Session

Women make up 28 of the 99 members of the Wisconsin State Assembly. 21 of the 28 are Democrats. And for the first time in state history, women makeup the majority of a caucus— our Democratic caucus. And, we 7 just so happened to be the first people to the floor Tuesday morning ahead of session and were chatting when one of the Capitol photographers walked by and took this photo. Happy Friday! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Important stuff happens on the floor of the Wisconsin State Assembly before sessions starts, like early Tuesday morning when Rep. Goyke was showing us his new baby, Miguel

On Tuesday, the Assembly met for an extraordinary session to take up Assembly Bill 336 that would end federal unemployment benefits and was vetoed by Governor Evers. The attempt to override Governor Evers’ vote failed in a 59-37 vote. To overturn the veto, a ⅔ vote of present members is required. Federal unemployment benefits will expire on September 6th as planned.

CDC Mask Guidance for Vaccinated Individuals

Earlier this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidance on masks due to a large increase in COVID-19 cases across the nation due to the Delta variant. The Delta variant is 2 times more contagious than the original virus. The CDC now recommends that vaccinated individuals wear masks inside public places, if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission. There is currently substantial COVID-19 spread in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.

Read the full CDC mask guidance for vaccinated individuals HERE.

Assembly Committee on Health

A long hearing at the Capitol on Thursday in the committee on Health. We heard 11 bills (listed below), and it was very clear over the course of the 7.5 hours how very much Wisconsinites are in need of access to affordable, quality, healthcare and prescription medications. We have excellent medical care in Wisconsin, but not everyone has access to it.

And, as we think about things like how a public hearing works for a bill, it’s worth noting that the people who can testify on an 8-hour hearing day are people who both have reliable, affordable transportation to Madison, and people who have the flexibility to sit through many hours of testimony until it’s their turn. No times for testimony are predetermined— it’s a waiting game. And I think that’s worth thinking about.

Here are the 11 bills we heard:

Assembly Bill 86 - providing complementary and alternative health care practitioners with exemptions from practice protection laws, requirements and prohibitions for individuals who provide complementary and alternative health care services.
Assembly Bill 128 - requiring informed consent before performing a pelvic exam on a patient who is under general anesthesia or unconscious.
Assembly Bill 181 - newborn screening for Krabbe disease and requiring evaluation of additional lysosomal storage disorders for mandatory screening.
Assembly Bill 281 - registration of pharmacy technicians, extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures.
Assembly Bill 290 - reimbursement of pharmacist services under the Medical Assistance Program.
Assembly Bill 292 - composition of local boards of health
Assembly Bill 295 - licensing and regulation of pharmacies and remote dispensing sites under the pharmacy practice law, the practice of pharmacy, extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures, providing an exemption from rule-making procedures.
Assembly Bill 296 - funding for free and charitable clinics and defining telehealth.
Assembly Bill 337 - use of epinephrine prefilled syringes and standing orders for epinephrine.
Assembly Bill 358 - regulating the sale of items that are qualified medical expenses below cost.
Assembly Bill 396 - under the board of nursing the bill creates a new category and additional requirements for advanced practice registered nurses (APRN).

Eviction Moratorium

The federal eviction moratorium ends tomorrow July 31st. Governor Evers and his administration are working with communities across Wisconsin to make sure Wisconsinites can get the help they need. The Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance (WERA) program uses federal funding to provide eligible households up to 15 months of assistance with existing or overdue rent and utility bills.

Find more information about WERA HERE.

If you are a resident of Milwaukee or Waukesha County, reach out to Community Advocates at (414) 270-4646 or click HERE.

Support for Foster Youth

In December Congress passed the Supporting Foster Youth and Families Through the Pandemic Act. Foster youth in Wisconsin who have aged out of care can get direct financial assistance if they aged out of care between January 27th, 2020 and September 30, 2021 and are a Wisconsin resident. Other assistance is available for eligible independent living youth up to age 23. Financial support can be used on rent, utility bills, transportation, groceries, or other basic needs.