Rep. Shankland: Eight years, 180 times – Republicans continue attacks on local control

 Contact: Rep. Katrina Shankland

Office: (608) 267-9649

 

MADISON – Today Rep. Katrina Shankland (D-Stevens Point) released a memo from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, which reveals that Governor Walker and Republican lawmakers have enacted 180 measures since 2011 that represent either an unfunded mandate on local governments or a preemptive restriction on local control.

In response, Rep. Shankland released the following statement:

“Since Governor Walker and Republican lawmakers took total control of state government, they have continued a consistent pattern of undermining local officials and forcing costly mandates onto local governments. A new memo from the legislature’s nonpartisan budget office shows that this list has grown to a staggering total of 180 measures over eight years – limiting local oversight over our environment, employment protections, local development, and more.

“Local officials are elected by their neighbors to make decisions that are best for their individual communities. While statewide standards make sense in certain circumstances, passing 180 laws to limit local control is a brazen power grab. Republican lawmakers and Governor Walker have worked to consolidate their power on the state level over the past eight years to a deeply troubling extent. State lawmakers should be working with local officials to support policies that benefit our communities, not call the shots from Madison.”