Senator Carpenter Introduces Bill to Stop State Legislature from Taking Local Control Away from Communities

Madison – Today State Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) announced that he has re-introduced his bill to require a supermajority two-thirds vote of the legislature to pass bills overturning local government policies, ordinances, and regulations (SB 245).

“I believe that government functions best at a local level with more public input by those who are directly affected by laws or ordinances. However, these past few years have seen extraordinary actions on the part of the state legislature to wrest governance from local units of government, and violate the generally acknowledged conservative principle of local control,” said Carpenter.

“By the end of last session, over 128 bills had been passed by Republican legislators since 2011 that violated local control of land use, water use, local government ID cards, and how local elected school districts may raise money by referendum,” said Carpenter.

On February 8, 2011, the legislature passed 2011 AB 5, which required a supermajority vote of the legislature to pass tax increases. “The usurpation of the voter’s right to govern their own local affairs is important enough that such bills should also require a two-thirds vote to enact,” said Carpenter.