Gov. Tony Evers has signed an executive order creating a new Office of Violence Prevention, which will send $10 million to such efforts statewide after a deadly school shooting in Madison last month.
Evers on Tuesday announced he will be directing $10 million in federal funding to the new Office of Violence Prevention, so the office can begin its work and support grants to reduce crime, prevent gun violence and increase community safety. Evers also plans to include more funding for gun violence prevention in his biennial budget proposal.
“I said from the beginning that I would never accept gun violence as a foregone reality and… stop working to change it, and that’s why we’re here today,” Evers said at a press conference. “These last six years, my administration, together with dedicated advocates and organizations across the state, like those with us today, have been hard at work to address the root causes of violence.”
The purposes of the office include connecting local and state agencies for a joint approach to gun violence, providing assistance to local violence prevention efforts, developing public education campaigns and finding ways to improve statewide violence prevention regulations. The governor added that the office would work in schools to provide mentoring programs and suicide prevention.
The governor said that he had a few people in mind to lead the office, but that he would not share details at this time.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, criticized the proposal at a press conference this afternoon.
“It takes a bureaucrat to think another government agency is actually going to be effective,” Vos said. “So I think what we need to do is to increase funding for our police and public safety and services, not create a whole bunch of touchy-feely bureaucrats that are going to go around wasting time, wasting money and certainly not putting the effort where it’s deserved.”
Vos added that the Assembly would not approve state funding for the office.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, was noncommittal about Evers’ proposal, saying the Joint Finance Committee will consider all of the guv’s budget recommendations after he releases them next month.
LeMahieu last month indicated he supported making funding permanent for the Office of School Safety under the Department of Justice. It’s currently fully staffed through October 2025. The budget also included $30 million for school-based mental health and new regional mental health crisis centers.
“After legislative Republicans and Governor Walker created the Office of School Safety, Senate Republicans have continued to invest heavily in mental health resources and school safety initiatives to keep our communities safe,” LeMahieu said in a statement.
Evers pointed to the deadly school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison last month, saying it “cemented” his decision to take executive action on violence prevention, though he had known this was an important effort.
Evers cited data from EveryTown for Gun Safety, which says that gun violence went up 54% in Wisconsin from 2014 to 2023. And data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that guns have been the leading cause of death for children since 2020.
Evers said that Republicans have opposed many of his efforts to encourage gun violence prevention in the past. This time, Evers said that the support of Wisconsin people should convince Republicans to get behind this funding.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Evers was joined by Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes and members of the gun violence prevention advocacy group MOMS Demand Action.
Rhodes-Conway expressed the importance of gun violence prevention and efforts at the state and local level, and said she was looking forward to working with the new office to strengthen local efforts.
“I’m actually feeling quite emotional to be in the presence of a leader who has the bravery to take on this issue and to propose the things that are right and needed in our state and for our communities, and to make the investments that are needed to tackle the very real issue of gun violence in our communities,” she said.