Capitol Update
by Senator Howard Marklein
January 20, 2023
A Constitutional Amendment Goes to the Voters
Legislature sends bail reform question and advisory referendum to the April ballot.
On April 4, 2023, Wisconsin voters will see at least two questions on their ballots. One is a binding constitutional amendment question and the other is an advisory referendum question to ask voters for their opinion. Some local governments may add other advisory questions, but the two questions I want to discuss were passed by the legislature this week.
The constitutional amendment question asks voters whether judges should be able to consider an alleged offender’s entire conviction record when they set bail.
Current law forces judges to ignore a person’s criminal history and set bail for just the current charge. Unfortunately, the consequence of this law is that judges set extremely low bail for potentially dangerous people and several have gone on to commit terrible crimes while free on bail. The 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade massacre is a key example of this situation.
We have seen many other instances of people who are released on low, or even no bail, go on to commit additional crimes, intimidate witnesses etc. Judges tell us that this is because they cannot consider whether or not the person is a danger to the public, has a criminal history and the seriousness of a crime when cash bail is determined.
Unfortunately, if an offender has a steady job or family connections in the community, they will have low bail. This doesn’t make any sense. A violent person can have a job and a family. Neither of these things make them less likely to commit another crime.
I believe that judges need to be able to consider the totality of the circumstances when determining bail. This constitutional amendment will give all Wisconsin voters the opportunity to voice their opinion on this issue in April. Please plan to vote. Request your absentee ballot today to ensure that your vote is counted.
The other question asks voters: Shall able-bodied, childless adults be required to look for work in order to receive taxpayer-funded welfare benefits?
This question is a non-binding, advisory referendum. This means that we are asking for your opinion, but the results do not create any laws. We added this referendum question because our voters have told us that they want our government to require able-bodied, childless adults to look for work in order to receive taxpayer-funded welfare benefits.
Over the last several sessions, we have introduced legislation that would require able-bodied, childless adults to look for work in order to receive a check from government. These bills have been vetoed.
In addition, several of our state and federal welfare programs have kept people on benefits who may – or may not – need or qualify for these benefits anymore. Our benefit programs are meant to be a safety net to help people when they need support in order to get back on their feet. They are not meant to be an ongoing, indefinite paycheck so that able-bodied people can opt out of the workforce.
We have a worker shortage in Wisconsin. We need everyone who can work to seek and do a job. We should not be paying able-bodied, childless adults to sit at home. Do you agree? Please tell us on your April ballot. Again, request your absentee ballot today to ensure that your vote is counted.
As always, please do not hesitate to connect with me to provide input, ideas or to seek assistance. Send an email to sen.marklein@legis.wisconsin.gov or call 608-266-0703.
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