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's anything my office can do to assist you, please feel free to contact us.
In Service,
Senator Lena Taylor
Wisconsin's 4th Senate District
Madison Office: (608)-266-5810
Milwaukee Office: (414)-342-7176
Voting Rights on NPR’s Reveal News
To start off her week, Senator Taylor appeared on NPR’s radio show Reveal News with Natasha Haverty to discuss her legislation she has co-authored regarding voting rights and gerrymandering. “Unlock the Vote” as the legislation is called, seeks to eliminate disenfranchisement due to a felony conviction. 1 in every 40 adults cannot currently vote in America because of a past felony conviction. Despite the fact that they pay taxes, own homes, and are impacted by laws the same as anyone else, but they have no say in our government. Taylor also discussed prison gerrymandering, which is a practice that counts incarcerated people as residents of the prison they are housed in, as opposed to their home cities. This creates an imbalance in representation as incarcerated people cannot vote. Resources and money received based on actual residents of a city or district are based on the number of people that actually live in the area. It was a lively discussion that will hopefully spread awareness of these issues and legislation.
Town Hall on Racism
On Tuesday night, Senator Taylor participated in a town hall meeting on racism, hosted by Milwaukee County Supervisors Deanna Alexander and Felisia Martin and the Office of African American Affairs. The session provided information, discussion and engagement around issues of racial equity and what it means for Milwaukee. Highlighting the conversation was a presentation on the definition and history of racism in Milwaukee and what policies can be introduced to address systemic racism or implicit bias that exists today. For those interested in learning more, the YWCA in Milwaukee offers a class that was the basis of much of the discussion called Unlearning Racism: Tools for Action. For more information click here.
Judiciary and Public Safety Hearing
On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee held a public hearing that included two bills authored by Senator Taylor: SB 104 and SB 316. SB 104 was drafted after Senator Taylor heard about the case of Anna Chambers, a young woman from Brooklyn who in 2017 was raped by two plainclothes NYPD detectives in a police van. The detectives were accused of rape, but were then acquitted after claiming that the sex was consensual. New York law has since been revised to recognize that a person under custody cannot reasonably provide sexual consent due to the immense difference in power between themselves and law enforcement, criminalizing the actions of the implicated detectives beyond question. SB 104 aims to do the same in Wisconsin, which as of this moment has a similar loophole. Ideally, we would not need to explain to law enforcement that it is morally reprehensible to have sex with a person under custody, completely at their mercy. Unfortunately, this is no ideal world, and we need this legislation. SB 316 greatly restricts the use of shackles on incarcerated individuals who are pregnant or in labor, as well as ensuring they get proper medical treatment and care. While numerous federal agencies and 22 states have outlawed or limited the use of shackles on pregnant individuals in prison, Wisconsin still permits this medically dangerous and psychologically damaging practice. In an emotional afternoon of testimony, a Wisconsin doctor spoke of when she had to relay the news of a miscarriage to a young mother, who in her grief could not even wipe her own tears because of her shackles. In another story, hospital staff had to secure a woman onto a surgical table during an emergency C-section while still shackled to her hospital bed. Another doctor asked the committee to consider the effects of denying proper medical treatment and nutrition to the mother and fetus, on top of the psychological effects of solitary confinement still being used on pregnant mothers, and the demeaning image of waiting in a public doctor’s office while shackled and accompanied by prison guards. Senator Taylor’s bill will put an end to the cruel treatment that pregnant women receive in our prison system, providing them an equal opportunity to have a healthy and comfortable pregnancy. The birth of a child is possibly the time when a mother is most willing to undergo a positive change in lifestyle, and this bill will better set them up to do just that.
Mahone Fund - 15th Harbor Park Jazz Music Fest
The Senator this Saturday will ben Kenosha for the Harbor Park Jazz Music Festival with all proceeds benefiting the Mahone Fund, a fund to provide educational opportunities for deserving youth and support healthy lifestyles in communities of color. The event will feature food, arts and crafts, an auction, and, of course, some high quality jazz music. Click here for more information: http://harborparkjazz.mahonefund.org/
Mitchell Park Domes Investment
Investment in Milwaukee infrastructure is something Senator Taylor has continually pushed for and after a public hearing on Tuesday, the Mitchell Park Domes will receive a much needed $66 million investment. A task force created to discuss the future of the conservatory domes finally approved the investment after concrete fell from the ceiling of one of them three years ago. The investment will help create a new restaurant, wedding venue, and amphitheater, as well as other improvements to the park. An estimated 300 jobs will be created to help in the new domes’ construction. Hopefully this will bring a new sense of energy and activity to the area. News Stories
Electric Scooters Hit the Milwaukee Streets
Scooter companies Lime and Spin recently put out some of their electric scooters on the streets of Milwaukee with Bird soon to follow. The electric scooters can be rented through an app and allow an easy way to travel through the city. However, safety concerns have been raised as many riders don’t wear helmets and sometimes ride on crowded sidewalks. If you are riding one of these e-scooters please consider your own and others’ safety.
Congratulations to Miss Black USA, TeKema Balentine
Madison native, East High School alum, and current Madison College nursing student TeKema Balentine won the Miss Black USA competition this past week in Washington D.C. For almost a decade, Ms. Balentine has been working as a healthcare advocate, advising doctors on how to provide proper care to adolescents. While going to school for nursing, she has remained on the community advisory team for Dane County’s PATCH program, working to train a new generation of teen advocates. With her recent pageant victory, she will be an inspiration to young girls of color all over the state.
Community Action Alerts
Water Meter Replacement Program
The Milwaukee Water Works is replacing residential water meters in Milwaukee, Greenfield, Hales Corners, St. Francis, and West Milwaukee during the next several years
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin requires utilities to make sure meters are working properly and producing accurate readings for billing. We are currently replacing meters for residential and small business customers as their working life and battery power run out.
The replacement affects single family homes and dwellings of four and fewer units, and small businesses in Milwaukee, Greenfield, Hales Corners, St. Francis, and West Milwaukee. These communities are retail customers of the utility and for whom we provide water, system maintenance, and billing.
Scam Artists: Be Aware of Impostors Posing as Utility Employees
Per the City of Milwaukee: We frequently hear from customers who say men and women posing as water utility employees have asked to check on a water meter, have offered a rebate, or have said they need to check on something in the house. But Milwaukee Water Works service calls are arranged and scheduled in advance. There may be a cold-call without an appointment for a meter exchange, but then the utility employee would arrive in a City of Milwaukee marked vehicle and present identification before asking to enter a building or home.
Milwaukee Water Works employees always show an identification card with their photo when approaching a customer for business.
You Are Not Required to Purchase Water or Sewer Line Insurance
A company named Service Line Warranties of America (SLWA) is mailing a series of letters to property owners in our area demanding a response within 30 days as it tries to sell "water service line insurance." The City of Milwaukee does not require or endorse this type of product.
Here are the first letter and followup letter, and the brochure SLWA mailed in August 2018. SLWA mailed the second of a three-part mailing in November 2018 and plans another in February 2019 selling insurance for sewer laterals.
The water service line connects the water main in the street to your property. A sewer lateral pipe connects the large collector sewer in the street to your property. The section of the water service line and the section of the sewer lateral connected at your property belong to the property owner. Repair and maintenance of both are the responsibility of the property owner.
