This week's survey

Earlier this week, several of my Republican colleagues introduced the "Protecting Women in Sports Act." Under this bill, high schools and universities would be permitted to create three sports competition categories. Each of the biological sexes would have its own category, with a third category allowing any person to participate.

The bill's authors state that their intention is to ensure Title IX's protection of female athletes. Under Title IX, biological women are not required to compete against their male counterparts. Title IX's original goal was to ensure women had equal opportunities to compete in sporting events at a level playing field.

I would like your feedback on this proposal. It is crucial to ensure that students have access to sporting opportunities while ensuring a level playing field exists in competition. I desire to protect the rights of athletes that Title IX guarantees.

Please, take a moment to answer this week's survey question relating to participation in athletics. 

 Click here for my survey

Survey Results

Thank you to everyone who answered last week's survey question regarding the legalization of marijuana. It was a pleasure to hear from you.

A record 291 individuals responded to last week's survey question. When asked about the legalization of marijuana, the most popular answers were: Legalize for recreational and medicinal purposes (46 percent) and do not legalize marijuana for any reason (29 percent). In total, 21 percent of respondents supported legalization for medicinal purposes.

What is more, 7 percent of respondents voted "other." Responses include:

"Legalize recreational and medicinal marijuana but put the money from taxes into funding public education."

"Legalize and do not tax it. We do not need to pay more taxes."

"Medical marijuana should only be available by prescription, should never be taken by smoking or vaping, and should only be legal if the THC has been removed."

"Go ahead and legalize marijuana, as it is bound to happen anyway. Wisconsin might as well benefit from collecting taxes on it." 

Legislation

This week, I introduced two pieces of legislation and testified in favor of another, before the Senate Committee on Human Services, Children and Families. The following is a summation of these proposals:

Senate Bill 112

Testifying before the Senate Committee on Human Services, Children and Families, in favor of Senate Bill 112.

Senate Bill 112, which originated in the Legislative Council Study Committee on Child Placement and Support that I co-chaired with Senator Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), last session, specifies that if a court grants less than twenty-five percent physical placement to a parent, a finding of fact must be entered as to the reason greater placement with said parent is not in the best interest of the child.

The committee chose twenty-five percent placement for the finding of fact requirement because it is the threshold for shared placement in Wisconsin. 

Currently, parents have no understanding of why they are not awarded placement. This bill allows parents to have clear knowledge of which factors they are not meeting. Parents can then work on these issues. Given the trend in shared placement arrangements, the study committee found value in having a court explain the reasoning when physical placement with one parent is limited.

Additionally, Senate Bill 112 reorders statutory best-interest factors, but specifies that the factors are not necessarily listed in order of importance. This component originated in an informal State Bar Family Law working group that convened prior to the study committee. Some of the working group's members also served on the study committee.

Senate Bill 112 eliminates two considerations: the stability in placement and availability of child care services. The informal working group and subsequent study committee thought these considerations were already covered in other factors. 

Last session, this bill passed via voice vote in the Assembly and received unanimous support during the Senate committee process. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, it was not scheduled for a full senate vote.

LRB-0044:

This week, Senator Andre Jacque and I introduced LRB-0044 relating to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are a consistent and transparent standard framework for financial accounting that aid informed decision-making. While all fifty state governments have incorporated GAAP when preparing their annual financial reports, Wisconsin's state budget is prepared using a more narrow method known as "cash accounting," which does not factor in future spending obligations.

Since Wisconsin's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report was first published in 1990, our state has had a GAAP deficit until last year's report, which showed a $1.5 million positive general fund balance. A decade ago, Wisconsin's GAAP deficit was $3 billion, and his since shrunk precipitously through fiscally responsible budgeting. 

It is imperative, now that Wisconsin's GAAP deficit has been eradicated, for the legislation to take action on this issue. 

LRB-0044 stipulates that all executive budget bills, going forward, must be prepared using both the traditional "cash accounting" and GAAP accounting principles. Doing so will better elucidate the impact of budget decisions on Wisconsin's fiscal health.

LRB-2139

This week, Senator Duey Stroebel and I introduced LRB-2139, relating to election law enforcement. 

In February 2020, before the pandemic and presidential election, a Gallup Poll found that fifty-nine percent of Americans lacked confidence in the honesty of our elections. By the end of the year, a significant number of Americans remained skeptical about the integrity of our elections. 

Faith in elections is the foundation of our legitimacy as a government and is a prerequisite for the peaceful transfer of power. Elections should be impartially administered and when election laws are violated, offenders should be prosecuted. Unfortunately, under current law, it is extremely difficult to obtain a rapid legal decision resolving election law disputes. 

LRB-2193 would allow a district attorney in any county to prosecute election law violations that occur in a district that has all or part of the county within its borders. For example, for a state legislative district, a DA in any county that is located within the confines of that legislative district may bring an enforcement action for an election law violation, even if the violation occurred in another county. 

This recognizes that some counties may have other pressing enforcement issues that are occupying the time and resources of the district attorney's office in which the alleged violation occurred. Additionally, under the bill, local elections that take place strictly within the bounds of a single county remain the sole responsibility of that DA to pursue or not pursue. 

LRB-2139 also authorizes any individual to bring a claim for enforcement of election law directly in circuit court without having to first file a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Currently, a person who is not a DA or the Attorney General, must file election-related complaints with the Wisconsin Elections Commission and wait for their disposition of the matter before filing a case in circuit court. 

This bill keeps the WEC process in place for those who wish to use it, but also allows a party to file their claim in circuit court, regardless of whether or not they have filed a complaint with WEC. 

Election reform legislation

This week, Senators Duey Stroebel and Alberta Darling released an election-reform package. The following is a brief synopsis of these proposals:

LRB-1588:

The 2020 election raised innumerable concerns among voters. Chief among those concerns was the treatment of and access allowed to election observers. 

This bill requires the municipal clerk, chief election inspector and board of canvassers to provide election observers uniform and nondiscriminatory access to all stages of the election process, including recounts. 

Under the bill, an election observer must wear a badge with the name of the observer and organization, if any, the observer is representing. The observer may not wear any campaign material advocating for or against a candidate or for or against any position on a ballot question. In addition, an election observer may not interfere with a voter nor hinder an election official in the performance of his or her duties. An observer who violates this prohibition is subject to forfeiture not to exceed $500. 

Finally, the bill expands the observation area required under current law so it is not less than three feet from the table where voters announce their name and address and not less than three feet from the table where individuals are registered to vote.

LRB-1585

Currently, Wisconsin has no law allowing for the use of drop boxes to collect ballots. Despite that, some counties allowed drop boxes at grocery stores and in city parks without much, if any, security.

LRB-1585 allows communities to designate one secure drop by at the location where the municipal clerk's office is permanently located. 

Under the bill, if the municipal clerk authorizes the use of a drop box, the drop box must be tamper-resistant and moisture-resistant, include a slot that is only large enough to allow for the insertion of an absentee ballot, satisfy the accessibility requirements under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, and be emptied once each day at 9:00 a.m., by the clerk or deputy clerk in public view. Finally, the clerk must publish notice of the location of the drop box and the days on which it is available for receiving absentee ballots.

LRB-1612

While a form is required to request an absentee ballot, according to a WEC spokesperson, "There are no requirements in state law on the nature of absentee ballot applications, leaving that detail to the commission to decide. And the commission has required an application for every ballot."

LRB-1612 requires the Wisconsin Elections Commission to prescribe the form and instructions of the absentee ballot. The bill requires the absentee ballot application to be separate and distinct from the certificate envelope in which voters are required to seal and submit absentee ballots, the outer portion of which includes certification of both the voter and a witness. Additionally, the bill requires that the voter certify that he or she is eligible to vote in an election. 

LRB-2033

One of the concerns raised during the 2020 election involved clerks curing ballots based on guidance rather than state law. LRB-2033 stipulates that voters, not clerks should fix any errors on a ballot. What is more, this bill establishes standards for election officials and observers and provides penalties for violations.

Under this bill, if a municipal clerk receives an absentee ballot with an improperly completed certificate or with no certificate, the clerk is required to return the ballot to the voter and post a notification of the defect on the voter's information page on MyVoteWI. The bill also prohibits the municipal clerk from correcting a defect in the certificate. 

LRB-1264

This bill, which I cosponsored, prohibits local clerks and election boards from applying for or receiving private funds for the purpose of administering Wisconsin elections. What is more, the bill requires ballot tabulators to take an oath of office like every other election official and prohibits employees of political campaigns from serving as poll workers.

LRB-0428

LRB-0428, which I also cosponsored, strengthens Wisconsin's indefinitely confined law by requiring statements of indefinite confinement be made under oath with a medical professional verifying the statement; stipulates that a pandemic or communicable disease is not grounds for an individual to claim this status; requires voters to renew their presence on the list every two years; directs municipal clerks to remove an individual from the list once they receive reliable information that the individual is no longer indefinitely confined; and directs the Wisconsin Elections Commission to remove from the list any voter who joined between March 12, 2020 and November 3, 2020. 

LRB-1537

Current law is silent with respect to who may return a completed absentee ballot to the municipal clerk or polling place beside the voter. LRB-1537 says that an immediate family member of the voter may return a completed absentee ballot, or if a voter has no immediate family member in the state, a voter may designate in writing, another voter who may return their ballot for them. A voter designated to return a non-family member's ballot may only return one such ballot per election cycle and may not receive compensation for the cation. 

This bill also states that any event hosted by a municipal clerk at which absentee ballots are returned to a clerk or a clerk's staff may be held only during the period of in-person absentee voting. Such events must allow poll observers. 

Current law only allows a voter who is not returning their ballot in-person to use the United States Postal Service to return a completed ballot to the office of a municipal clerk. LRB-1537 expands this to include other parcel delivery services such as UPS, FedEx, or DHL. I am a cosponsor of this legislation. 

LRB-1935

LRB-1935 protects nursing home and long-term care facility voters' freedom of choice by specifically prohibiting an employee of a long-term care facility from influencing a voters' decision to cast or not cast a ballot, or influencing a voter to cast a ballot for or against a particular candidate.

Additionally, the bill directs the administrator of a long-term care facility or retirement home to notify the next-of-kin of each resident of the time and place at which Special Voting Deputies, if they are allowed, will be conducting in-person absentee voting at the facility. I am a cosponsor of this legislation. 

LRB-1841

Transparency is the key to building trust in our elections, and LRB-1841 increases transparency at the Wisconsin Elections Commission by requiring the publication of all meeting minutes.

Currently, the Wisconsin Elections Commission does not, and is not required to publish meeting minutes from any meeting of the commissioners. These are meetings at which decisions are made about the conduct of elections in Wisconsin. LRB-1841 requires the Elections Commission to publish meeting minutes on their website. Like several of the other bills in this package, I am a cosponsor of LRB-1841.

LRB-2032

Even though in-person voters are required to show a voter ID every time they vote, not all absentee voters are required to show a voter ID before they vote. Some absentee voters get ballots automatically mailed to their home, while others do not. LRB-2032 ends these contradictory practices while protecting the right of seniors and those confined to long-term care facilities and their homes to cast a ballot while verifying their identity through the existing affidavit process. 

This bill does the following:

• Requires WEC to prescribe a uniform absentee ballot form that is the only absentee ballot request form used in Wisconsin. It requires the form to be completed by a voter prior to their receipt of an absentee ballot.
• Ends the automatic mailing of absentee ballots and instead, allows for indefinitely confined voters to be automatically mailed an application for an absentee ballot.
• Requires all voters to enclose a copy of their photo identification when they apply for an absentee ballot. (Note: there is no change to current statutes related to military overseas voters and victims of domestic abuse). 
• Except for indefinitely confined voters, LRB-2032 prohibits clerks and election officials from automatically mailing absentee ballots or ballot applications. 
• Increases transparency in the counting of absentee ballots by requiring municipalities to publicly post the total number of absentee ballots sent out, the number of absentee ballots returned, the number of absentee ballots counted, and the number of absentee ballots remaining to be counted. 
• Requires any online voter registration system used in Wisconsin to generate a populated copy of a voter registration form for use by municipal clerks, and requires all electronically completed voter registration forms to include an electronic signature of the voter.
• Prohibits the pre-printing of a municipal clerk's initials on any certificate or ballot used in absentee voting.

If you have additional ideas for election reform legislation, please do not hesitate to contact my office. The bills listed above still need to go through the public hearing and amendment processes. I look forward to working with my colleagues on amendments to strengthen these proposals and further protect the integrity of our elections. 

What is wrong with government?

This week, we are inaugurating a new feature entitled, "What is wrong with the government?" In this section, we review nonsensical laws, legislation, and/or administrative rules promulgated by state agencies. 

Did you know, that Wisconsin requires individuals who want to braid hair for a living to take courses and obtain a license from the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services? In fact, one cannot braid hair in Wisconsin unless he or she possesses a cosmetology or barbering license. 

Barriers to hair braiding create an undue burden on people who could be practicing and profiting from their skill. African-style hair braiding is a natural and ancient craft that provides many talented practitioners pathways to self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship. Many states, however, needlessly require braiders to take classes and obtain government licenses to legally provide services. The licensing requirements and processes are long and expensive, which has prevented many braiders from sharing the craft in their communities.

Research from the Institute of Justice stated that these strict licensing laws do not have anything to do with public health and safety, but rather, avert braiders from practicing professionally. Braiding is safe and does not pose any real threat to public health. Natural hair braiding does not have the same risks as other forms of hairstyling because it does not require the use of heat or harsh chemicals. 

Furthermore, hair braiding is extremely rare for braiders to have a complaint filed against them. It is even more unlikely to get complaints from someone who has received services; for example, only .035 out of 1,000 braiders have received complaints from a consumer. 

Since 2012, twelve states have eliminated licensing laws for braiders. As of 2018, braiders may work without a license in twenty-eight states. It is time for Wisconsin to eliminate these ridiculous, unnecessary and burdensome regulations.

Representative Sheila Stubbs (D-Madison) introduced legislation to eliminate these unnecessary and burdensome government regulations. While I did not cosponsor Assembly Bill 121, I intend to support final passage if it comes before the Assembly for a vote. 

This common-sense piece of legislation reins in unelected bureaucrats and their out-of-control and the tyrannical, job-killing rules they promulgate. I hope all of my colleagues support Assembly Bill 121 if it comes to the floor for a vote. 

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