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Official Government
Communication
Week of March 12th-18th
Dear
Friend,
There is a
lot happening at the State Capitol and it is my hope that this email will
help you stay in touch with your government. As your Senator, I truly
believe in public service. If there is anything my office can do to
assist you, please feel free to contact us.
Here to
serve,
Sen. Lena
Taylor
4th
District
Panelist
for Women Leading Wisconsin
 Tuesday morning, I had the
opportunity to participate in a panel discussion with local women in
leadership to discuss the challenges we face on the road to equity and
parity. I recalled some of my role models, women who inspired me to keep
fighting, even in the face of opposition. In politics, women such as Vel Phillips, Gwen Moore and Judy Robson were
testaments to just how much a woman could achieve, even in an arena
dominated by men. I can’t stress how important it is to have role models
and mentors, people to look towards for inspiration during the good times
and the bad. Aside from the women in politics, I had many mentors from my
home in Milwaukee. I can never forget where I came from or how hard the
leaders of my community worked to provide for all of us. How could I do
any less? After all, as one of the only African-American women in
Wisconsin’s State Senate, I represent an entire community of people whose
voices have gone unheard for far too long. As President Barack Obama once
said, “the path ahead of us isn’t a ladder, but a jungle gym. The twists
and turns, the moments where you almost fall, they will all come together
to shape who you are at the end.” I hope you all can learn from every one
of your experiences and find inspiration in the climbs of those around
you.
Pearls
for Teen Girls: 10th Annual Women Inspired to Lead
 On Thursday, I attended the 10th
Annual “Women Inspired to Lead” event hosted by one of my favorite youth
organizations, Pearls for Teen Girls. Their goal is to inspire
young women by providing them with guidance and tools for
self-development. I got to hear from many of Milwaukee’s future leaders,
the fierce and formidable young professionals who have already done so
much to inspire those around them and give back to the community. I also
met some of the young women involved with the Pearls for Teen Girls
program and was thrilled to hear about all the work they’ve done and
their goals for the future. The event’s keynote speaker was Jennifer
Buffett, Co-President of one of the most accomplished women’s advocacy
groups of our time, The NoVo Foundation.
Jennifer highlighted the untapped potential in young girls from the
United States and around the world. She reminded attendees that women’s
perseverance, in the face of, and despite, sexism, is exactly what makes
us the best catalysts for change in our society. It was inspiring to see
a program like NoVo creating opportunities for
young women to connect with professionals and providing them with the
tools to pursue education, employment and philanthropy. I’ve spent my
time as a Senator fighting, and advocating for women. We’ve made so much
progress, and the people I met at this event were a testament to that,
but there will always be more to be done. I continue to be honored to
work with and inspired by Wisconsin’s young women.
Student
17-minute Walkout
 Wednesday was an inspiring reminder
of what democracy looks like, and just how much can be accomplished by
the young people of this country. Across the nation, students walked out
to demand action after the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida. Students
stepped out of class for 17 minutes, one for each of the individuals shot
down in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day of this
year. Many of Wisconsin’s youth gathered in the State Capitol to let
legislators know that they are ready to bring the fight to the ballot box
and get rid of politicians who are bought and paid for by special
interests. Politicians cannot continue to prioritize special interests
over student safety. I was incredibly proud to see so many young people
actively engaged in the political process. We cannot allow school
shootings to become normalized, and at the end of the day thoughts and
prayers must be turned into policy and action. I believe, as I think we
all do, that school should be sanctuaries for our kids. They should be
places where they learn, grow, and make memories.
Judiciary
Executive Hearing
 Wednesday was an important day for
one of the most important issues of my legislative career: juvenile
justice reform. The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety met
to discuss a number of bills, most importantly SB 807. I co-authored the
bill in hopes of making long lasting changes to the way we handle youth corrections
in Wisconsin and the stop the pipeline to prison that’s torn apart so
many families. There is no denying the deep rooted problems in our
juvenile justice system, most notably the lack of resources and abuse of
young people at Lincoln Hills. As we were finally able to work across the
isle on real juvenile justice reform, my goal
was to produce legislation that would ensure young people leaving the
juvenile justice system aren’t leaving worse off than when they arrived.
I also co-sponsored AB 111 which was discussed at the hearing. This
important piece of legislation provides a criminal penalty to individuals
who threaten to use a firearm on school property to injure or kill a
person. In the wake of the tragic shooting in Parkland, FL, we were reminded
that we simply cannot afford to stand by as legislators or citizens. We
must protect all individuals from the physical and emotional effects of
gun violence and work to make sure that fatal shootings like Sandy Hook
and Stoneman Douglas never happen again. SB 807 and AB 111 are both steps
in the right direction to ensure that all individuals within our
community are given a safe environment to learn, and provided with the
tools to improve their circumstances and our communities as a whole.
SB
807: Bill Gutting
 In the Senate Judiciary and Public
Safety Executive Session this week, Senate Bill 807, the bipartisan
juvenile justice legislation, was voted out of committee as amended by a
substitute amendment introduced by Chairman Wanggaard.
The substitute amendment essentially gutted the meaningful changes in the
bill, leaving only the mandatory closure of Lincoln Hills. Closure of
Lincoln Hills is of course a positive step, but the bill was created to
be far more than that. The bipartisan group of legislators that came
together to make this bill happen intended for it be a transformational
change to our juvenile justice system. It was supposed to be the
meaningful action that activists and legislators like myself have been
working for for years to make happen. Moving
juvenile detention facilities to a county-based model to keep the youth
closer to home and funding evidenced-based programming to reduce
recidivism is in the best interest of the public. After the Assembly
passed their version of the bill quickly, it had to go through the
Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to make it to the Senate floor. At the
11th hour, it was gutted by a small group of Senate Republicans with a
substitute amendment. Now, the work of everyone may be used as political
bargaining chips when we meet for the final Senate floor session.
Intern
Spotlight
Each week, Isaac Alter, a communications intern in my Capitol
office, writes a short feature on a fellow intern working in the office.
Take it away Isaac!
 Navya Kataria is one of the policy interns in Senator
Taylor’s office. Navya is from Dubai, and is a
sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she is majoring in
economics and mathematics. Growing up in Dubai she went to British
international schools, which she says are more specialized in their
curricula, so for college she wanted to experience the US higher
education scene. After college Navya would like
to work on monetary policy--ideally for the International Monetary Fund. Navya decided to work in Senator Taylor’s office
because of her interest in policy, and she could not pass up the
opportunity to work in the State Capitol. So far her favorite part of
working in the office has been getting to see the Senate in session,
working on preparing topsheets for bills, and
in general, getting a firsthand look at all the work that goes into
making policy.
Community
Action Alerts
It's Still Cold!
Call The Salvation Army To Get A Free Winter Coat
MILWAUKEE COUNTY - Do you know anyone that needs a free coat this winter?
Winter coats are being distributed to residents in need at The Salvation
Army Distribution Center, 5880 North 60th St., in Milwaukee this month.
About 9,500 coats were collected, through donations, in November and
December 2017.
Coats will be distributed from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through
Friday, from now until March 31, 2018. Residents should call 414-464-2940
to make an appointment.
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