MADISON, Wis. — Today, the Wisconsin Assembly met to consider several bills including legislation aimed at supporting mental health needs in Wisconsin. Rep. DeSanto spoke in favor of amending Assembly Bill 113 to only go into effect with funding.
Representative DeSanto (D- 40) released the following statement:
“Today I voted against mental health legislation that previously had bipartisan support because Legislative Republicans want to play games instead of fund these bills. Wisconsin is currently experiencing a mental health crisis that requires urgent and sound solutions like we heard today, such as the creation of a statewide portal to share minor safety plans. However, great ideas with no funding are neither serious or feasible.
Without funding, these good bills are not solutions or tools, they are empty promises to hopeful parents and advocates who actually want to help our kids. It is reckless legislation which forces the Department of Health Services to take dollars from other essential programs, hurting the Wisconsinites who rely on those services.
It is also disrespectful to the critical bipartisan work from the Legislative Council Study Committee on Emergency Detention and Civil Commitment of Minors when the recommended proposals are not funded. If Legislative Republicans are as serious about helping our kids and fiscal responsibility as they say, they would have treated proposals to support children’s mental health with the gravity it deserves and funded the bills.”
