Senate passes several bills without funding attached, while Dems object to ‘unfunded mandates’ 

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said early in today’s Senate floor debate Republicans were not attaching funding to various bills on the agenda because the caucus has “no trust” in Gov. Tony Evers’ office. 

“Quite frankly there’s a trust issue between our caucus and the East Wing,” the Oostburg Republican said, accusing the governor of “arbitrarily” changing the intention of Republican legislation with his veto pen. 

LeMahieu said Republicans plan to fund these bills through the budget process once they become law. 

Dems had introduced a series of amendments to bills on the Senate calendar today, all attaching funding to legislation written without money within the bill. 

One of these bills was SB 41, which passed 18-14 along party lines. The bill would require the Department of Justice to create a program for grants to improve the safety of school buildings and provide security training for school staff. The bill had set aside $30 million to the grant program and dictates the maximum grant a school can receive is $20,000. 

LeMahieu said in his remarks that bill authors wanted to wait and see if legislation worked to attach funding. The original bill had allotted funding, but the Senate passed a Republican amendment cutting the funding appropriation from the bill. 

Senate Minority Leader Diane Hesselbein said keeping schools safe should be a priority, and there’s already proof these grants work, so she “does not understand” why Republicans won’t attach funding. 

“We know these programs work and we know they are important to the state of Wisconsin,” Hesselbein said. 

The Dem amendment, which would have added funding to the bill, failed 18-15 along party lines. So did a second amendment would have canceled the legislation if sufficient funding was not attached to the bill. 

Sen. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, insisted Democrats could not trust the GOP-run Joint Finance Committee. 

“So how in the world do you think we can vote on these bills today,” Spreitzer said, adding Republicans have not involved Democrats in any discussions about the budget. 

Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said Republicans are “on record” as supporting funding for the bill and there’s no reason Democrats shouldn’t vote for a good policy. 

Dems introduced a similar amendment to SB 106, which passed 18-14. The bill would direct the Department of Health Services to create a certification process for and certify psychiatric residential treatment facilities to provide inpatient psychiatric services for patients under 21. 

Assistant Minority Leader Jeff Smith, D-Brunswick, said he supports the policy because of how it supports minors, but objects to the lack of funding. 

“Here we are once again, having to plead for funding,” Smith said, adding it’s all because Republicans “can’t trust” the governor. 

Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, said if authors appropriate funding to the bill, that gives the governor undue power to veto the legislation. 

“He can line-item veto the whole bill and just take the money,” Wimberger said. 

And Dems made similar objections to SB 111, which passed 18-14 along party lines. This bill would require counties that approve minors for emergency detention to be responsible for transportation of the minor to the emergency detention center. 

Hesselbein said this bill is “so needed” in local communities, but the governor won’t support the bill without funding even if it’s a sound policy. 

“We are trying to get things done to support the people of Wisconsin in the only way we know how, by offering amendments to provide funding for these bills,” Hesselbein said. 

The Senate also approved two bills that were also passed in the Assembly. The bills now head to the governor’s desk. 

• Voted 17-15, with Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, as the only Republican dissenter, on SB 256 which would create portable benefit accounts for contract employees of companies such as DoorDash and Uber. The bill aims to give gig industry workers, including delivery and personal transportation drivers, access to benefits including health insurance, retirement savings, dental and vision insurance, replacement of lost income, and occupational accident insurance.
• Passed by voice vote SB 258 which would require APRNs, with the exception of certified nurse-midwives, to work in collaboration with a physician or dentist. The requirement would be waived for those who have completed 3,840 hours of professional nursing in a clinical setting and 3,840 clinical hours of APRN practice in their recognized role while working with a physician or dentist. The bill also allows APRNs to issue prescriptions.