Madison, Wis. – Earlier today, Republican Leadership in the State Assembly passed Assembly Bill 245 (AB245) seeking to distribute state shared revenue to counties and municipalities. The bill passed despite bipartisan opposition. The total amount of revenue passed in the bill is a significant decrease from the proposed amount by Governor Evers. In addition to the reduction, the bill contained dozens of local control restrictions targeting the County and City of Milwaukee. In response, Representative Kalan Haywood (D-Milwaukee), the Assistant Democratic Leader issued the following statement:
“It is disappointing that GOP leadership did not come to negotiate this bill in good faith. The process from start to finish was rushed and misleading. Rather than finding common ground to do what was right for local communities across the state they chose to hold the County and City of Milwaukee hostage, robbing them of local control and autonomy. It is clear the GOP sees Milwaukee as an entity to generate revenue and fails to see, or chooses not to see the people who drive it. This bill is loaded with provisions that are patronizing, paternalistic and dehumanizing toward our people. By leaving these policies in this bill, the majority party discarded an opportunity to do something meaningful, in a true bipartisan fashion.”
One of the policies of AB245 prohibits the City of Milwaukee from funding positions to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
“Milwaukee is a diverse city with a storied history with people from all races, ethnicities, gender, and orientations contributing to its development, culture and successes. Unfortunately, Milwaukee also has a dark past of segregation and discrimination that still reverberates today.
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts exist to equalize and remedy that past as we move into the future. Minority communities, and especially the Black community have faced centuries of oppression and we have seen our rights, and ability to prosper, stunted by systemic racist policies.
“There is strength in diversity and we must invest in and foster that strength. DEI efforts are seeds that must be planted to see our minority communities break through systemic barriers and flourish with the same equal opportunities that are guaranteed by our Constitution.”