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Official Government
Communication
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
Bills,
Bills, Bills
This
Thursday two of my bills were heard by the Assembly. The first bill will
amend an issue that has arisen around high school summer classes
qualifying for state aid. Currently, only classes that directly fulfill
high school graduation requirements may be reimbursed by the state. I’m
aiming to change this to include health education, vocational education,
language, and fine arts courses to qualify for state aid. A well-rounded
education is one of the most valued aspects of our society, so we should
not deny that simply by when someone takes a course. Thousands of
students are not able to take the classes they desire, so this initiative
will be a great way to kindle the minds of young people during summer,
because allowing state aid for these classes will allow schools to be
able to afford teaching supplementary courses year round.
The second bill will require the state superintendent to create an
elective course for high schoolers that will educate them about the
responsible use of firearms. I believe that this legislation will create
a safer Wisconsin because it is naive to think that young people will
never encounter guns, therefore we should make sure that everyone knows
how to safely wield a weapon and understand that guns are not toys. Gun
safety is extremely important in Wisconsin, both in and out of the big
cities, where guns are held for very different reasons. By teaching children
the level of responsibility that comes with holding a gun, we can reduce
the amount of unneeded violence and deaths in Milwaukee that are caused
by the misuse of firearms. Let’s keep our children and our families safe
by making our last resort for gun ownership to be one of responsibility
and vigilance around firearms.
Shackling
This
week I introduced my anti-shackling bill, which is a part of my work to
ensure the humane treatment of those that are incarcerated and under the
state’s care. Currently, there are no statutory guidelines on how to
restrain pregnant and postpartum women. While our Department of
Corrections does not shackle pregnant women, county and city governments
do. Since 2011, at least 40 women have been shackled while giving birth
in Milwaukee County. Shackling includes the use of a belly chain, which
wraps around the mother’s stomach and connects to iron chains around the
mother’s legs. This is even done at the objection of medical staff. This
practice is simply barbaric. Shackling during birth can result in serious
complications and puts both the safety of mother and child at risk. In
addition to restricting this practice, my bill would also provide
maternal health services to incarcerated pregnant women. These services,
provided through a doula, can help save taxpayer money by reducing the
need for costly medical interventions such as c-sections. It is time
Wisconsin join the many states around the country that have outlawed this
unsafe and dehumanizing practice.
Foxconn
This
massive deal made between President Trump, Governor Walker, and Foxconn
is something we need to approach with caution, so I am making sure that
those in charge are not rushing through to close a deal that could
potentially hurt thousands of Wisconsin residents. Creating jobs is
important, but before we move forward, we must make sure that the jobs
Foxconn promised are present and that they will be fair and accessible to
all sorts of people. These next few weeks I will be looking carefully through
the deal’s specifics to guarantee that no individual will be subject to
unfair hiring practices and that jobs open to people without college
educations are also open to people with criminal backgrounds. I will not
let Walker’s war on poor people invade on people’s right to work. This is
supposed to be a deal that helps the entire state, so we will go through
every inch of this deal to make sure — and fight if we must — to make
sure this is a safe, beneficial deal for EVERYONE.
Urban Ag
This
week, I attended the first Urban Agriculture Summit Planning Meeting,
where we have started to lay out a plan to get youth more involved in
Urban Ag and Forestry within Milwaukee. Our goal is to bring Urban Ag
into public schools, offering kids an alternative to get involved in
their community in a physical and beneficial way. We have found that
gardening and Urban Ag has been an incredibly successful tool to keep
kids in school and get involved in their community, which we can thank
Will Allen from “Growing Power” and Andre Lee Ellis from “We Got This”
for all their incredible work getting kids involved in growing fruit
trees in Milwaukee. By bringing in educational materials on Urban Ag, we
can open up a way for students to expand their horizons and broaden their
opportunities after school to generate forestry and Urban Ag jobs.
Practice
Just Got Better With New Bucks Facility
This
Thursday I took a tour of the brand new Milwaukee Bucks arena, and wow
does it look great! I’m so excited for the grand opening of the new
arena, and as a Milwaukee native and long-time Bucks fan, I think this
arena is going to be a wonderful asset and attraction to our city. The
arena will be a great tool for bringing Milwaukee together, including
people from all walks of life who support a great franchise that
represents our city. Keeping Milwaukee fun is always a top priority, and
I think this will be a great way to engage our city and have a good time.
Go Bucks!
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