April 15, 2010

 

Taylor Praises Senate for Initiating Change on Key Issues

State Senate Passes Bills on referendum reporting limit, Children Service Programs and Use of County Jail Funds

(MADISON) Senator Lena C. Taylor (D-Milwaukee) today applauded the State Senate for the passage of three bills. The pieces of legislation passed today focused on providing funding for service programs for disabled children, educational services and medical services for incarcerated individuals and increasing the referendum threshold reporting limit.

Senator Lena C. Taylor one of the primary supporters of these proposals, co-authored Senate Bill 633 and her committee, the Committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing introduced Senate Bill 417.

“It is important that all members of our society have access to programs and services that foster personal development,” commented Taylor. “The educational and health aspects of these two pieces of legislation will not only benefit those who are direct recipients, but will benefit society as a whole. “

AB 296 Children’s Integrated and Coordinated Service Programs , authored by the Joint legislative council, provides a $70,000 appropriation for the 2010‐ 2011 fiscal year to assist counties and tribes in operating either an integrated service program for children with severe disabilities or a coordinated services team initiatives.

SB 633 Use of County Jail Funds , authored by Representative Fred Clark and co‐sponsored by Senator Taylor, allows counties to use jail surcharges, collected from ordinance violations, to make payments for cost related to providing educational and medical services for inmates.

Also voted on today, was Senate Bill 417, which amends the Wisconsin referendum reporting limits statute. The current Wisconsin statute was ruled unconstitutional and as a result the state was ordered to pay millions of dollars in attorney fees to various plaintiffs.

“This piece of legislation creates a balance between our freedom of speech rights and the state’s responsibility to ensure that voters are kept well informed when they make important decisions,” commented Taylor.

SB 417 Referendum Threshold Reporting , introduced by Committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing, increases the threshold reporting requirements to $750 dollars per calendar year. Once a person reaches or exceeds this amount the person must register with the appropriate agency and make regular financial reports.