Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin) said SB 231 offers tax credits to encourage more films to be made in Wisconsin. (Screenshot via WisEye)

Wisconsin Republicans advocated on Tuesday for a bill to encourage filmmaking in Wisconsin through tax credits and a state film office. Another bill would declare that “gig workers” for app-based delivery services aren’t employees of a company.

During a Tuesday Senate Utilities and Tourism committee meeting, Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin) said SB 231 offers tax credits to encourage more films to be made in Wisconsin. Bradley described  a recent movie called “Green and Gold,” about a fourth-generation dairy farmer in Wisconsin who is on the verge of losing his farm and makes a bet on the Green Bay Packers to help save it. 

Bradley said the director of the film, Anders Lindwall, chose to make it in Wisconsin, but that decision meant a financial sacrifice as the director turned down a major studio offer to purchase his film. The studio wanted him to relocate production to Alabama — a state with film tax incentives.

“He turned down the offer to keep his project authentically Wisconsin,” Bradley said. 

Wisconsin had a film incentive for a brief time in 2010 under former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, though the Republican-led Legislature discontinued that program just a few years later. Now, Wisconsin is  one of only four states in the country without a film office and one of 13 without any film tax incentives. 

The bill would create new tax credits including one for 30% of the total cost of the salaries paid to employees who reside in Wisconsin and work in Wisconsin, one for 30% of acquiring or improving property and one for 30% production costs paid by a company to produce a film, video, broadcast advertisement or television production. A person’s total credits would be capped at $1 million for a fiscal year. The bill would also create a new State Film Office housed in the Department of Tourism that would implement the tax credits.

Rep. David Armstrong (R-Rice Lake) said having the rate at 30% would put Wisconsin in the top tier of states offering film incentives.

“How many of you like me flinch when you see the Georgia peach logo in the credits after a movie or TV show?” Armstrong asked at the hearing. “Do we want Illinois or Minnesota or Georgia to poach productions that could just as easily be shot in Wisconsin?”

Bradley said the bill “aims to make Wisconsin competitive by attracting filmmakers and productions through meaningful incentives, which in turn support local businesses, job creation, and increased tourism. Simply put, it would encourage filmmakers like Mr. Lindwall to choose Wisconsin, bringing their stories and economic activity to our state.” 

The bill has broad bipartisan support with cosponsors including Sens. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee), Romaine Quinn (R-Birchwood) and Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska).

Sen. Melissa Ratcliff (D-Cottage Grove) expressed some concerns about whether the funding for the proposal would be included in the budget since it is not in the bill. Wisconsin lawmakers are in the progress of writing the next biennial budget and while Gov. Tony Evers included a similar proposal in his budget, it was pulled out along with more than 600 other items by Republican lawmakers on the committee.

“I have a motion to bring that back in,” Bradley told Ratcliff. 

“But if we pass this bill, it does not include the funding?” Ratcliff asked. 

“This bill does not have the funding. The funding would come through the budget… We’re going to fight real hard to try to get that funded,” Bradley said. 

According to fiscal estimates, the cost to state revenues would be at max $10 million. The new office would require three new positions in the tourism agency and would cost about $199,300 in 2026 and $254,000 in 2027. 

Film stakeholders testified in favor of the bill during the hearing. 

Paulina Lule, a Milwaukee native and an actress who recently starred in the MGM+ series Emperor of Ocean Park and has been in other shows including The Good Place and Scandal, told lawmakers that the bill would help people who want to showcase Wisconsin as it is in real life.

Lule said she has a film she has been working on called Sherman Park, which is about the neighborhood in Milwaukee. 

“I have had producers who have been interested in making this film as long as I make it not in Sherman [Park],” Lule said. “I don’t want to, and so this film has sat unfilmed for 10 years.” 

Lule said she recently began shooting a short film version in the Milwaukee park and was proud to be able to include a shot of the neighborhood’s name on a sign. She said that making films in Wisconsin would be a powerful way to promote the state and encourage people to visit. 

“Show off Racine. We can show off the real Green Bay, not just the Packers. There’s more to Green Bay than just the Packers as much as I love them,” Lule said. “You’re missing out on one of the broadest… ways of promoting the state is by having stories that are authentically about Wisconsin, made in Wisconsin… with actors in it that sound like they’re from Wisconsin.”

Michelle Maher, a River Falls movie theater owner, said that having movies filmed in the state would also provide an opportunity for local theaters. She noted that the movie Sinners, a vampire movie set in the Jim Crow South directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, was filmed on-site in Clarksville, Mississippi.

“It was a town similar to the size of the town that I live in, River Falls,” Maher said. “Unfortunately, that town doesn’t have the movie theater that I have in my town… [Coogler and Jordan] got together and said, we are going to make sure this movie shows in this town, so they brought in a crew to be able to show that movie locally to the town that it was filmed at. What if there was a movie filmed in River Falls? Not only would I have a huge premiere for a regional area, I would have an annual event built in that would generate huge tourism opportunities and other ways to invent and reinvent that same wheel.”

Classifying ‘gig workers’ as non-employees

Lawmakers also considered SB 256, which would declare delivery drivers for app-based companies, including Uber and Doordash, are not employees of the company for the purposes of compensation insurance, minimum wage laws and unemployment insurance. The bill would allow “portable benefits” for those workers.

Bradley, the coauthor of the proposal, said the legislation is needed so that companies can provide benefits to workers without changing their “independent contractor” status. Under this type of benefit system, accounts are linked to a worker rather than the employer, meaning the benefits follow workers to other employment opportunities, and companies and workers would both be able to contribute.

“The gig economy is here to stay, and with it, the flexibility that many workers value and desire,” Bradley said. “Unfortunately, current laws prevent drivers from accessing crucial benefits. These include health care, paid leave and retirement savings. That’s the problem SB 256 aims to address. This legislation creates portable benefit accounts funded through contributions from the platforms based on drivers’ earnings. These accounts can be used by drivers to pay for a range of expenses, including health care, retirement, or coverage of loss of wages due to illness or an accident.” 

Lawmakers have considered the proposal before, including last session. The bill passed the Senate but never came up for a vote in the Assembly. 

The bill specifies that if an app-based delivery company doesn’t prescribe dates, times of day or a minimum number of hours during which someone must work; terminate the contract of the driver for not accepting a specific request for transportation or delivery service request; allow drivers to work for other companies; or restrict the driver from working in any other lawful occupation or business, then a driver is not considered an employee or agent of the company. 

“Previous versions of this legislation have garnered bipartisan support, and that support is only growing,” Bradley said. “It’s time we modernize our policies to meet the realities faced by thousands of Wisconsin workers.”

Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick) said he found it “embarrassing, disappointing” that the committee was considering the proposal. He said there is an “independent contractor travesty in this country.” 

“As an independent contractor, these workers know what they’re signing up for,” Rep. Alex Dallman (R-Markesan) said. “They understand that they’re on an independent contractor basis. They understand that they want to remain independent contractors.” 

Katie Franger, public affairs manager for Uber, told lawmakers that flexibility is the “fundamental reason” people choose the company’s platform for work. She said that the legislation would fit with this by allowing workers to have flexibility in benefits as well.

“Portable benefits allow each individual to choose what truly matters to them, ensuring resources are directed where they’re most needed,” Franger said. 

When Smith asked about why they couldn’t provide the benefits already, Addison DiSesa, legislative policy advisor for DoorDash, said “providing the benefits proactively jeopardizes the independence of these workers” and that the bill “empowers workers to get access to the benefits that they want while protecting their independence.” 

Maliki Krieski, a Ripon mother and Doordash worker, told lawmakers that she supports the bill because she wants to keep the flexibility that is part of the work currently. She said it allows her to take care of her child, who has diabetes.

“Our state system is outdated…,” Krieski said. “The one thing that stands between us and any form of health care incentive, retirement plan… The only thing that stands between us and that is the state law.”

Stephanie Bloomingdale, president for the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, cautioned that the bill seeks to create an exemption to current law and could be harmful to workers, who depending on the situation might qualify for certain benefits. She also pointed out that it doesn’t require companies to provide access to any benefits. 

“It exempts app-based delivery drivers from settled Wisconsin law concerning our workers compensation, minimum wage and unemployment insurance laws,” Bloomingdale said. 

Bloomingdale noted that to be considered an “independent contractor,” when it comes to worker’s compensation, workers have to meet a nine-part test, otherwise a worker is automatically considered an employee. The bill would replace this with the four-part test, which she said would be quite “minimal.” She noted that depending on the situation some workers could potentially qualify for worker’s compensation. 

A legislative council representative explained that “the default is that you’re an employee, and then there’s a nine factored test and that leads to a determination that you might be an independent contractor.” The bill, he said, would implement a “route that’s more streamlined for these app-based drivers.” 

“We oppose the bill because it does not guarantee any more or less flexibility for workers. It does not guarantee good wages and it does not guarantee benefits for workers in the gig economy. It does none of these things because the bill eliminates employee status for these workers and all the rights that come with that status,” Bloomingdale said. “The bill does not guarantee or require that these tech giants provide any benefits, portable or fixed.”

Bloomingdale said the bill would instead just “create special exemption for these powerful corporations at the expense of Wisconsin’s working men and women” and called the bill a “slippery slope.” 

“If this bill passes, we will be back here as those who do the bidding on international corporations come to this legislative body to similarly carve out a certain class of workers to evade state law and reclassify each group of workers one by one,” Bloomingdale said. “If these companies succeed in passing this bill, their low-pay, no-protection business model could expand in virtually every industry.”

Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Brian Schimming called on Wisconsin Republicans to focus and move forward to elections next year, saying they "won the country last November and saved America. Next year, we can save Wisconsin." Schimming and state Treasurer John Leiber speak to reporters at the RNC in 2024. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)

Wisconsin’s Republicans urged party members to put aside their differences over the weekend, saying that unity will be necessary if they want to win the 2026 elections for governor, Congress and the state Legislature.

The state party reflected on recent elections as they met in Rothschild, Wisconsin. Many of the state’s top Republicans delivered glowing reviews of Trump’s first few months in office and celebrated Wisconsin’s role in helping reelect him. 

“We are seeing President Trump honor the promises he made,” U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said. “That was made possible because of people like you that delivered the 10 electoral votes to President Trump of Wisconsin.”

Despite Trump carrying the state in November, the state party is reeling from recent losses.

Johnson called the April Wisconsin Supreme Court election “stinging” and a “crushing defeat.” 

Republicans’ preferred candidate Brad Schimel lost his bid for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court  by nearly 10 percentage points, solidifying a liberal majority on the Court at least until 2027. It was the third Supreme Court  election in a row that conservatives lost after  Dan Kelly was defeated by double digits in both 2020 and 2023. The Republican-endorsed candidate for the spring state Superintendent race, Brittany Kinser, also lost in April. Kinser, a school choice advocate, thanked the party for its help at the convention. 

“There’s no way you can sugarcoat that,” Johnson said. 

Johnson said the results were because of “voters who came out to try and save America by electing Donald Trump” but didn’t come out to vote in April to “ensure that [Trump] would have four years where he could implement his agenda without possibly the majority shifting in the House.” He said the party needs to work to get voters out in non-presidential elections. , especially as Trump is in his second term and is barred from running again by the U.S. Constitution.

“As much as many would want Donald Trump to be on the ballot again, he won’t be. He won’t be, and we’re going to figure out how we win, but without Donald Trump on the ballot here in Wisconsin, so that’s just a hard truth,” Johnson said.

Following the April losses, Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming came under scrutiny by some party members who blamed him for the results. Some at the convention circulated a paper seeking a vote of no confidence in Schimming though the effort never came to fruition. 

Fights within county parties have also broken out since the April elections. Those divisions were on display at the convention as some from a local county party sought to keep Kelly Ruh, the party treasurer and one of the people to serve as a fake elector for Trump in 2020, from being seated as a delegate. Her supporters said it was “absurd” that members of the party would seek to block their own treasurer from voting, while others said she shouldn’t be seated because to do so would subvert the vote taken by the county party. The full convention voted to seat her anyway. 

“There’s always power struggles,” Johnson, who declined to take sides in any fights, said. “But I have to admit in the 15 years since I entered the political process, I’ve never seen as many squabbles.” 

Johnson warned that the party won’t be able to win if Republicans are  “disunified.” 

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden echoed Johnson’s calls for unity, saying that people didn’t vote because Republicans were fighting. 

“If I hear one more person, say, RINO [an acronym for Republican in Name Only], you’re gonna get the horn,” Van Orden said. “Knock it off. We are Republicans who are Americans who are patriots. We love our country. We love our families. We love our communities.” 

Wisconsin RNC Chairman Terry Dittrich said Republicans need to up their game and don’t have time to waste ahead of 2026. 

“We stop the infighting. We start working together. We welcome the youth in. We pay attention to our goal… to make sure President Trump can finish his job in four years and go on with JD Vance for another four years and another four years and another four years,” Dittrich said. “Let’s all unify.”

State Treasurer John Leiber is leading an effort to examine the recent losses — a job he was assigned by Schimming. At the convention, Leiber cautioned party members against “pointing fingers” at others. 

“That doesn’t help anyone… What I’m focused on is how we can use that experience, learn from it and figure out how to win in 2026,” Leiber said. 

Lieber said his committee is working to gather information and data to understand ways of making progress, and he asked attendees to fill out a handout to provide feedback. He noted that he is up for reelection in 2026. 

“I want to win, so I don’t have any reason to try to smooth things over or sugarcoat. If anything I want to identify what exactly we need to do, what we can do better, how we do it better, and identify the ways that we can all work together to accomplish our goal, which is of course winning,” Leiber said. 

Schimming said that the party has to be honest about the April elections and the frustration about them. But he said Republicans need to focus and move forward to win the next election. 

“Doesn’t mean we agree on everything. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t change tactics or strategies, but it means we gotta look forward… We’re gonna work together. We’re gonna listen. We’re going to lead. We’re going to lead, and we’re going to do what it takes to win. We won the country last November and saved America. Next year, we can save Wisconsin,” Schimming said. 

2026 gubernatorial, legislative and Supreme Court elections 

The calls for unity come during an off year for Wisconsin elections but also as crucial gubernatorial and state legislative races lie ahead in November 2026. A race for the state Supreme Court will also take place in April with Justice Rebecca Bradley up for reelection,  though that race, which won’t tip the ideological balance of the Court, wasn’t a  prominent focus at the convention. 

Gov. Tony Evers has yet to decide whether he will run for a third term, but Republicans are intent on putting a Republican in office, whether that means ousting Evers or defeating another Democratic candidate. So far, only one Republican, Washington Co. Executive Josh Schoemann, has launched his campaign for the office. 

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany is also considering a run for governor and spent the majority of his time on stage at the convention taking jabs at Evers.

“The question — as we have this great reset led by President Trump — is will Wisconsin be one of the winners?” Tiffany said. “Will Wisconsin be one of the winners like Texas and South Dakota, Tennessee, Florida? States like that are winning, people are moving to those states, businesses are growing, people want to be there. Are we going to be one of those states or are we going to be like the losers in Illinois and Minnesota?” 

“We all know what the problems are. The question is how are we going to fix it?” Tiffany said. “We can fix it easily by replacing Tony Evers in 2026.”

U.S. Rep. Tony Wied from Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District said Republicans  need to keep up  their momentum into the next year, and in the race for governor the “fight starts right now” and can’t wait.

“We have a governor who refuses to even say the word mother,” Wied said, referring to Evers’ proposal to update language in state laws related to infertility treatments, “who fights the Trump administration at every single turn, who would rather protect illegal aliens than hard-working Wisconsinites.  

State Rep. Mark Born (R-Spring Green) and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) were also critical of Evers during a panel discussion. Born said he introduced a “ridiculous budget again” that included “reckless spending,” and “massive policy trying to rewrite everything that’s happened in the state in the last more than a decade now.” LeMahieu said that Evers is trying to “turn us into Minnesota, turn us into Illinois — states that have out of control spending.”

“If you could think of a dumb idea for government, the governor probably had it in his budget,” Born said. 

Lawmakers said it would be essential they keep control of the Senate and Assembly to continue to stop Democrats’ agenda.

Running under new legislative maps in 2024, Republican lawmakers lost 14 state legislative seats in the last elections — leaving them with slimmer majorities in the Senate and Assembly. In 2026, Democrats are seeking to flip the Assembly, which currently has a 54-45 Republican majority, and the Senate, which currently has an 18-15 Republican majority. 

“We’re going to be up against it this next year, but we’re out there fighting, knocking on doors. We are the firewall against really horrible liberal policies coming into Wisconsin,” LeMahieu said. 

The Senate will be particularly crucial as it will be the first time the new district lines are in place for the half of the seats up for election. While addressing the convention, former Gov. Tommy Thompson said some have been telling him that they are afraid they will lose the state Senate.

“Don’t even think that way,” Thompson said. “We are winners, not losers. We’re going to campaign. We are going to unite… and we’re going to win.” 

Trump’s agenda 

Republicans were complimentary of Trump’s first few months in office, including his efforts to detain and deport noncitizens, bar transgender people from certain spaces, eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and cut investments in social programs. 

Wied said the border is “more secure than at any other point in history.” 

“Trump is doing what he said he would do. Under President Trump and Republican leadership, illegal immigrants will no longer be given a free pass in this country,” Wied said. “If you break the law, you are going to face consequences.”

“Isn’t it great that border crossings are going down and deportations are going up?” Tiffany asked. “Isn’t it great to live in America like that?

Johnson was not completely on board with everything Trump is doing, expressing concern about the cost of the so-called “big beautiful bill” Trump is working to get through Congress, which using the budget reconciliation process to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent, increase funding for immigration enforcement, expand work requirements for food assistance and cut Medicaid costs by implementing work requirements.

“The big, beautiful bill isn’t what it’s advertised to be,” Johnson said. “We’re not going to be bending the debt curve down. We would be exacerbating the problem by a total of about $4 trillion over the next 10 years.” 

Splitting from Johnson, Van Orden said that Republicans should also be united on Trump’s bill.

“We don’t need grandstanders in the Republican party — stop talking and get it done,” Van Orden said, echoing Trump.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina delivered a keynote address to the convention, praising Trump for his immigration policies and his efforts to stop transgender women from participating on women’s sports teams. Mace is known for seeking to bar transgender people from certain spaces, including bathrooms, locker rooms, and targeting her Democratic transgender colleague in the House of Representatives and other transgender individuals. 

“I like an immigration policy kind of how I like my sweet tea — with a lot of ICE,” Mace said, playing on the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“There has never been a president stronger than Donald Trump. They impeached him. They raided his home. They indicted him. They even shot him, and the man still survived. He stood tall. We prayed for him every single time, because no weapon formed against him shall ever prosper,” Mace said. “Trump is back. He’s securing the border. He’s deporting illegals. He’s protecting women’s sports, and he’s declaring there are only two genders, and DEI under Donald J Trump is DOA.” 

Mace, who noted she’s considering running for governor of South Carolina in the future, took her comments further telling convention goers that the U.S. is in a battle. 

“It’s not necessarily a battle between the parties or left and right or ideology. It is a battle between good and between evil, and we cannot allow this evil to win,” Mace said.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) said during a press conference ahead of a Senate floor session Thursday that Evers’ office has had lawmakers’ plan for a tax cut since March and that they have asked Evers for a list of specific items that he would want in the budget to agree to cutting taxes. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

State budget negotiations were top of mind for lawmakers Thursday, even as the Senate took action on a variety of bills, with Senate Republicans calling for a meeting with Gov. Tony Evers and Democrats calling on Republicans to support Evers’ budget requests. 

The Wisconsin Legislature is in the process of writing the next biennial budget, and Republicans are intent on passing a tax cut this session after failing to get Evers’ approval for a proposed cut last session.

Republican leaders have said they want an agreement on the tax cut before allocating spending to other priorities, and are waiting for Evers to schedule an in-person meeting with them to work it out.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) said during a press conference ahead of a Senate floor session Thursday that Evers’ office has had lawmakers’ plan for a tax cut since March and that they have asked Evers for a list of specific items that he would want in the budget to agree to cutting taxes. However, LeMahieu said they haven’t been given any details in the last several weeks.

“Speaker Vos and I provided the governor with a series of times [to meet] into next week as a last-ditch effort to preserve these good faith negotiations,” LeMahieu said. “I hope sincerely that he accepts… one of those dates next week. It’s imperative that we meet by the end of next week at the latest to stay on schedule to pass a budget by the end of the fiscal year. It’s as simple as that. Time’s ticking… and if we’re going to work to get a budget passed, we need to meet with the governor next week.”

LeMahieu said GOP tax goals include exempting income for retirees in Wisconsin to encourage them to stay in the state and increasing the second-tier tax bracket, similar to a bill the governor vetoed last session. LeMahieu said the new tax bracket won’t reach as high up the income ladder as the vetoed one.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said on Tuesday that work on the budget is “on pause” until legislators get an in-person meeting with Evers and that their preferred option is “to be able to get an agreed upon tax cut so that we know we have X dollars to invest in schools and health care and all the other things that are important.” 

LeMahieu said that the latest Legislative Fiscal Bureau report would also be pivotal in negotiations because it will help lawmakers understand “what kind of tax cut we can afford” and “what kind of other investments we can afford.”

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau projected in the fiscal estimate released Thursday afternoon that the state will finish the 2023-25 fiscal year, which ends June 30, with a $4.3 billion budget surplus, which is slightly higher than the estimate from January. However, the estimate also found that tax collection will likely be lower over the next two years.

“While we are not surprised by these new estimates, we remain cautious as we work to craft a budget that invests in our priorities, funds our obligations, and puts the State of Wisconsin in a strong fiscal position for the future,” Joint Finance Committee Co-chairs Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) and Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said in a statement. 

The lawmakers said that the estimates are a sign that they need to continue to approach the budget in the same way they have in the past. They also called on Evers to “take these revenue re-estimates seriously” and to “come to the table with legislative leaders and work with us to craft a reasonable budget that works for Wisconsin.” 

Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee said in a statement that the estimate is a sign of the decline the economy could face due to Trump administration tariffs. 

“Now, more than ever, Wisconsinites are struggling to put food on the table and maintain a roof over their heads. This projection shows it’s going to get even worse, especially when our communities start to feel the direct impact of the Trump regime’s trade war around the globe,” the lawmakers said. “Together, we need to ensure Wisconsinites have the resources to get through the chaos and uncertainty that lies ahead.” 

Ahead of the floor session, Democratic lawmakers called attention to Evers’ budget requests, saying that the various non-budget bills the Senate took up Thursday don’t address the issues that Wisconsinites are most concerned about. 

“It’s been 87 days since [Evers] has introduced his budget. It invests in essential priorities — K-12 funding, child care education, mental health, helping the environment and putting much needed funding in the university system. What have Republicans done in those 87 days? Well, they stripped essential items in that budget….” Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) said at a press conference. “What the Legislature should do is debate the budget.”

Wisconsin Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee cut over 600 items from Evers’ proposal last week , saying they were taking the budget “back to base.” 

Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) noted that lawmakers recently traveled across the state to hear from Wisconsinites about their priorities for the state budget and then failed to act on any of those priorities. She then listed several bills on Thursday’s calendar. 

“We’ve got a bill on changing the name on the name-change process for people convicted of violent crimes; a bill that gives big businesses their own private courts; a bill tweaking surcharges for electric vehicles,” Johnson said. “I’m not saying that these bills aren’t important to someone, but we sure didn’t hear about these issues when we traveled across the state at our listening sessions.” 

Johnson said that lawmakers need to ask if the bills “meet the moment” the state is facing. 

“Do they lower the cost for hard-working families? Do they help us hire nurses, teachers, child care providers? Do they clean our water and keep our streets safe [or remediate] lead contaminated classrooms?” Johnson asked. “If the answer is no, then why the hell are we here?” 

Democrats, including Hesselbein, have said they think Democratic votes will be necessary to pass a budget, but they don’t necessarily expect to be in the room for budget negotiations between legislative Republicans and Evers.

Asked if Democrats are requesting to participate in a sit-down between Evers and Republicans, Hesselbein said she is “in consistent contact with Gov. Evers and his administration, and those conversations have been both before and moving forward.” 

Pressed on whether she wants to be in the room when the governor and Republicans meet, Hesselbein said “I’ll be honest, sometimes it’s hard to get all of us in the same room because of timing and schedules and things like that.”

Some of the bills that the Senate took action on Thursday include: 

• SB 33, which would make it a crime to share nonconsensual “deep fake” nude images and was introduced in reaction to the growing use of artificial intelligence to make fake images. It passed unanimously. 
• SB 125, which would require the Public Service Commission to conduct a study for a place to locate a nuclear power plant. It passed with bipartisan support from 28 Senators. Four Democrats and Sen. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) voted against the bill. 
• SB 96, which would exempt electric vehicle charging stations at a person’s home from the electric vehicle charging tax. It passed unanimously. 
• SB 146, which would bar someone convicted of a violent crime including homicide, battery, kidnapping, stalking, human trafficking and sexual assault from changing their name, passed 18-15 in a party line vote.
• The Senate also passed AB 73 in an 18-15 vote. The bill would create a specialized commercial court meant to handle business cases. It comes after the state Supreme Court discontinued a pilot program last year.

At the Wednesday press conference, organized by the Asian Legislative Caucus, Yang highlighted the work of several Hmong Dane County community members. (Photo courtesy of Rep. Francesca Hong)

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the resettlement of Hmong refugees in Wisconsin. During a press conference Wednesday morning, Brenda Yang, the first Hmong person to serve on the Dane County Board of Supervisors, reflected on a complicated question: What does it mean to be Hmong?

“Is it one’s genetics? Is it being born into a Hmong family? Is it about the values of the community and prioritizing collective needs over individual needs or is it about knowing how to speak the Hmong language?” Yang mused.

“As I reflect on the many ways that I am Hmong, I realize that every new generation among us has had to wrestle with what it means to be Hmong, and despite the challenges of extinction, we have endured and overcome them through reimagining and redefining what it means to be Hmong, wherever we reside.”

In 1975, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Hmong families began resettling in the U.S., including in Wisconsin, aided by church organizations. According to the Hmong American Center, the U.S. government enlisted Hmong allies to assist with its “secret war” — the covert military operations carried out in Laos during the Vietnam War against the North Vietnamese and the Pathet Lao. Hmong were persecuted by the Lao and Vietnamese governments as a result, forcing them to flee. The last group of Hmong refugee families came to the U.S. between June 2004 and May 2006.

At the Wednesday press conference, organized by the Legislative Asian Caucus, Yang highlighted the work of several Hmong Dane County community members including Manila Kue, who is the founder and CEO of Grand Journey, an organization that provides support services for Hmong and Southeast Asian elders, and Nkauj Nou Vang-Vue, who is the the first school principal of Hmong descent in the Madison Metropolitan School District and also leads the only Hmong-English Language Immersion Program in Wisconsin. She said the leaders are prime examples of people working to embrace their cultural identity as a way to heal and reconcile with the past traumas endured by Hmong and Southeast Asian communities.

“I am reminded that to be Hmong is to be free. I come from a long line of deep history, rich culture and immense resilience,” Yang said. “To be Hmong is to be free and to be free means to not only liberate ourselves but also to liberate others.”

Tammie Xiong, the executive director of the Hmong American Women’s Association, was born in the U.S. to Hmong refugees and she said she has “made it my duty to never forget what happened and why.” Families including hers, she said, “came as Hmong and Southeast Asian refugees uprooted from our homelands, resettled in a country whose language we did not speak, into a new context we would have to learn to live and build community in.”

The state Assembly approved two resolutions this week, including one to celebrate 50 years of strength and resilience of the Hmong, Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese people and another to commemorate Hmong-Lao Veterans Day and honor the Hmong-Lao veterans who served with U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War. Xiong said those resolutions are an important step in remembering history.

“The 50th year allows us to look back on where we have been, what we have been able to build here in the U.S.,” Xiong said. “We have gone to school. Some of us have become entrepreneurs, adding to the U.S. economy. Many of us are teachers, mental health practitioners, carpenters, artists, community organizers, researchers, healers, scientists, caretakers. The list goes on and on and these are also positions that continue to nourish and support the community.”

“We must never forget and we will never forget,” Xiong said.

Wisconsin is now the state with the third largest Hmong population in the U.S. with over 55,000 people. Xiong noted that they are “a young community, where the median age is 26 years old, and many of us here in Wisconsin still live at or below the poverty level.”

“Our communities did not come here by choice,” Zon Moua, director of organizing for Dane County-based nonprofit Freedom Inc, said. “We came here because of war, because of displacement, and because of U.S. foreign policy and when we arrived, we were given very little to rebuild our lives, and for five decades, southeast Asian people have worked tirelessly to survive, to heal and to build futures for ourselves and our families.

Moua said the anniversary commemoration is also about looking forward and working to improve the lives of Hmong people in Wisconsin.

“What we need is our elected leaders to choose not only to stand with us today, but to act with us tomorrow,” Moua said. She called for fully funding culturally specific victim services, investing in housing and supporting leadership pathways for Southeast Asian youth, “especially those who are trans and queer.”

“It means teaching our history in schools and making sure our communities are no longer an afterthought,” she said. “We are here to build and we invite you to build with us.”

Pheng Thao, who is the co-executive director of Southeast Asian Action and Southeast Asian Freedom Network, called attention to the challenges that some Hmong and Asian Americans are now facing from the Trump administration.

A Hmong woman who was born in Thailand and has lived in the Milwaukee-area since she was eight months old, was recently swept up in the Trump administration’s deportation efforts and sent to Laos — a country she had never been to and where she doesn’t speak the language.

“Those who came here as refugees, my generation, are being detained and deported back to Laos, a country that they do not know or to Cambodia, a country that they’ve never seen or to Vietnam to a place that they do not know the language…,” Thao said. “This is double punishment, and this is something that our families are forced to reconcile with again, and our community is forced to reconcile with forced family separation again.”

The bill passed 87-10 with only Republican lawmakers voting against. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

The Wisconsin State Assembly, in a departure from prior floor debates this session, passed several widely bipartisan bills related to health care, including one to exempt direct primary care services from insurance laws and another to allow pharmacist to prescribe birth control.

AB 43 would allow pharmacists to prescribe certain birth control, including the pill and contraceptive patches, to patients 18 and older as a way of making it easier to access. Currently, Wisconsin patients have to make an appointment with a doctor or advanced practice nurse and answer a mandatory list of questions regarding their health before a doctor could prescribe birth control. Once a physician determines it safe, patients can take a prescription to a pharmacy to be filled. 

Under the bill, pharmacists would have to give patients a self-assessment questionnaire and do blood pressure screening. If there are any “red flags,” then a pharmacist would need to refer  patients to see a physician.

Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) said during a press conference ahead of the session that the process included in the bill is “much more rigorous” than when women get birth control online. He said it would also help women with family planning, noting that about half of pregnancies in Wisconsin are unplanned each year.

“These women are unlikely to finish school, and it will severely affect their potential earnings throughout their lives…” Kitchens said. “Birth control is 99.9% effective when it’s used according to directions and regularly. The lack of access is the biggest reason that it sometimes fails. Women will leave home for a couple of days and forget about it, or they can’t make an appointment with their doctor, and this bill is going to help with all of that.” 

This is the fourth time the Assembly has passed a similar bill. Last session, it passed a Senate committee but it never came for a floor vote. 

Kitchens said he thinks there is a “good chance the Senate will pass it this time.” 

Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) said in a statement that the policy “will increase access to contraceptives, particularly for women who live in rural areas, where many Wisconsinites live closer to their pharmacy than they do to their doctor’s office,” and urged her Senate colleagues to take up the bill. 

“This is a good bill that will make for greater access to contraception. I have voted for this proposal four sessions in a row. I urge the Senate to follow our lead,” Rodriguez said. 

The bill passed 87-10 with only Republican lawmakers voting against. 

Primary care insurance exemption

SB 4 would exempt direct primary care, which is a health care model where patients pay a monthly or annual fee to a physician or practice for access to primary care services, from insurance laws. Advocates have said that clarifying that insurance law doesn’t apply to direct primary care doctors would encourage more providers to opt in to this model.

Bill author Rep. Cindi Duchow (R-Town of Delafield) said at a press conference that direct primary care “is not insurance.” 

“It’s a private contract you have with the doctor, then you have insurance for something catastrophic — if you need to have surgery or you have a heart attack, you have insurance to cover that — but this is just for your everyday needs, and it’s more one-on-one, and you have more personal experiences with the doctors,” Duchow said. 

Rep. Robyn Vining  (D-Wauwatosa) expressed concerns about the bill, noting that it is missing nondiscrimination language and that she would be voting against it.

“[This] is getting us nowhere helpful,” Vining said. 

The nondiscrimination language, Vining referenced, was in relation to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of “gender identity.” Conservative organizations had lobbied against the bill last session due to the inclusion of that language and it never received a vote in the Senate.

Vining expressed concerns that Evers might veto the bill without the nondiscrimination language. 

Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) said she had similar concerns but would be voting for it. 

“I think it is a good bill, and it does something that is important, but I do it knowing that I wish the bill could be stronger,” Subeck said. 

The Assembly concurred in SB 4 in a voice vote. The Senate passed the bill in March, and it will now head to Evers’ desk.

Lawmakers also concurred in SB 14, a bill to require written informed consent from a patient when a hospital performs a pelvic examination for educational purposes on a patient while the patient is under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious. The bill was advocated for by Sarah Wright, a teacher who was subjected to a nonconsensual pelvic exam while she was undergoing abdominal surgery in Madison in 2009. 

Subeck said it is a “horrifying” story that Wright has shared every legislative session. 

“[Wright] was unconscious. There was no medical need for a pelvic exam and medical students were brought in to do public exams in order to learn the procedure because it’s easy as to learn on an unconscious individual,” Subeck said. “This is tantamount to sexual assault. This is not giving consent. This is assuming consent from somebody who is unconscious.” 

Subeck noted in a statement that lawmakers have been working on the legislation for over a decade. 

“It has taken far too long, but we are finally honoring her bravery by putting an end to this disturbing and unethical practice,” Subeck said in a statement. “Patients entrust medical professionals with their care at their most vulnerable moments. That trust must never be violated. Performing a medically unnecessary and invasive exam without consent is not only a breach of ethics — it is a violation that can feel indistinguishable from sexual assault.”

Rep. Joy Goeben (R-Hobart) noted that one study found that over 80% of medical students at major training hospitals reported performing pelvic exams on anaesthetized patients, but only 17% said that the patients were informed, while nearly half reported that the patients were rarely or never explicitly told so. 

“I am really thankful for the bipartisan support,” Goeben said. 

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said in a statement ahead of the session that the bills were a sign that lawmakers could work across partisan lines, but said they could do more. 

“It is possible to come together to pass good, bipartisan bills that will move our state forward — but we know that there is so much work left to be done,” Neubauer said. “Just last week, Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee cut proposals by [Evers] that would have lowered costs for working families and cut taxes for the majority of Wisconsinites. Removing these critical proposals from consideration and preventing future discussion is ridiculous, and on top of this, the GOP has refused to have public hearings, let alone votes, on popular and bipartisan legislation that would move our state forward.”

Ahead of the floor session, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) told reporters that work on the budget is on hold until legislative leaders meet in person with Evers. Republican lawmakers are seeking a tax cut in the budget. 

“Our preferred option [is] to be able to get an agreed upon tax cut so that we know we have X dollars to invest in schools and health care and all the other things that are important,” Vos said. “It’s pretty hard for us to move forward… I think we’re kind of on pause until we hear back from Gov. Evers.”

Wisconsin Republicans want to require cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Photo via ICE)

Wisconsin Republicans continued their push Tuesday for a bill that would require local law enforcement to report people charged with a felony to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if they cannot verify their immigration status. Legislative leaders are also demanding that state government officials cooperate with and support President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda.

State legislatures across the country have taken action to either require or prohibit local law enforcement cooperation. According to a Stateline report, experts have said jails are the easiest place to pick up people for deportation and when local law enforcement cooperates there are more arrests. Noncooperation in states, including California, is leading to a decreased number of arrests and deportations.

Amanda Merkwae, advocacy director for the ACLU of Wisconsin,  testified against the legislation before the Senate Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs Committee Tuesday. Merkwae detailed extensive actions the Trump administration has taken to target immigrants since the bill was first introduced by lawmakers and cautioned against having local law enforcement play a larger role in those efforts.

Merkwae quoted a former North Carolina sheriff who said at a 2008 conference about the role of local police in immigration enforcement, “if you don’t have enough evidence to charge someone criminally, but you think he’s illegal, we can make him disappear.”

“A lot has happened even since the Assembly public hearing on this bill back in February,” Merkwae said, reeling off a list including “the disappearing of legal residents to gulags without due process,” “inappropriately invoking the Alien Enemies Act to remove people,” to “escalating violent arrests” by masked Department of Homeland Security agents, detaining students and activists for exercising their First Amendment rights in ICE facilities, arbitrarily canceling student visas, “threatening to disappear U.S. citizens to El Salvador,” “and just this week — and it’s only Tuesday — eliminating temporary protective status of thousands of immigrants despite a court order, blocking the entry of refugees who spent years getting approved through a lengthy process while living in refugee camps and third countries and the administration openly exploring the suspension of habeas corpus.”

“When the federal government is violating the Constitution, we must resist pressures to integrate local governance into its abuses,” she said. 

The Assembly passed the bill in March along party lines, and Gov. Tony Evers has vowed to veto it. Lawmakers introduced the bill just three weeks into Trump’s new term.

Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin) and Rep. Jim Piwowarczyk (R-Hubertus) said the bill is narrow and seeks to help ensure that Wisconsin is safe.

“This proposal will make it easier to remove dangerous criminals from our communities. It’s shocking to think that a handful in law enforcement and our government would rather protect felons than work with our federal partners to stop the flow of crime and drugs into our neighborhoods,” Bradley said. 

Since March, the number of Wisconsin counties with official agreements to cooperate with ICE has grown to 12, including Washington, Waupaca, Winnebago and Wood. Two counties — Dane and Milwaukee — have previously been identified by ICE as noncooperative. 

Milwaukee County has become a focal point of controversy over ICE cooperation. Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested and indicted on charges of obstructing federal agents and concealing a person to prevent an arrest. ICE has arrested at least four people since March at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Republicans have also accused Evers of being noncooperative after he told state employees to contact a lawyer before handing over information if ICE showed up at their office buildings.

“I am deeply concerned that some local jurisdictions, including Dane County and Milwaukee County, have severely limited their cooperation with ICE. Many, if not most, Wisconsin sheriffs are already doing everything they can to identify the legal immigrants in their jails and cooperate with ICE holds,” Piwowarczyk said. “This bill won’t affect them. It will affect those who refuse, imperiling the safety of all Wisconsin citizens.”

The bill — AB 24 — would require local law enforcement to check the citizenship status of people in custody for  felony offenses and notify ICE if their citizenship can’t be verified. It also requires sheriffs to comply with detainers and administrative warrants received from the Department of Homeland Security regarding people held in the county jail for a criminal offense. If a sheriff refuses to comply with the law, the county would face a 15% deduction in its state aid payment the following year.

Merkwae said that the bill authors were taking a narrow reading of the bill, but “with 15% of an entire county’s share revenues on the line,” this will lead to sheriffs erring on the “side of overreporting.”

Democrats on the committee had an array of concerns about the bills, especially given the actions that the Trump administration has taken since the start of his term. 

Larson asked lawmakers whether they trusted ICE. 

“You’re throwing your trust in ICE — that 10 out of 10 [times] ICE is doing the right thing, 10 out of 10 times ICE is only taking people who have committed felonies and following the guidance of the president,” Larson said. “I don’t trust this federal government because [President Trump] came out on the record and said, ‘I don’t know if people deserve due process, I don’t know if I’m supposed to uphold the Constitution.’ Those are the words of the person who’s in charge of the administration.” 

Bradley said he rejected the premise of Larson’s question. 

“We aren’t empowering ICE,” Bradley said. “We don’t have the power to empower ICE. That’s not what we’re doing. We’re telling the sheriffs to cooperate with the federal government as they’re required to because we have instances where people have publicly come out and said, we will not cooperate… In this bill, [people] have also committed and are being charged with a felony. That’s what this bill is about.”

Larson corrected lawmakers several times when they said the only people covered in the bill had committed a crime: “75 of the people shipped overseas to El Salvador prison have no criminal history, and so this seems like an effort to jump on that bandwagon.” 

“Accused,” Larson said at one point. “Accused. You keep forgetting that part — alleged.” 

Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) said he also doesn’t trust the current system, especially as ICE isn’t being transparent about its work. 

“It seems like it’s more of a campaign pitch to grab as many people as you can, but there are people that are innocent,” Carpenter said, adding that he fears that the bill if passed is “legitimizing a system that is not doing what we wanted it to do.”

Carpenter noted he has the largest Latino population among Wisconsin Senate districts. From events hosted in the district and conversations with constituents, he said, it’s “very noticeable that people are scared, and they don’t want to have someone — they’re innocent and get caught up in the system and end up in El Salvador.” 

Carpenter told the bill authors to try to convince him that the bill won’t further affect those communities.

“How do we deal with that impact on a sizable community — many of whom have done nothing wrong?” Carpenter asked. 

“I think the best thing that could happen is if people were honest about what this bill does, because by not being honest or conflating issues, what we’re doing is we’re spreading that fear,” Bradley said. “So, if you are here illegally and you are being charged with a felony, this bill, this applies to you, and you should be concerned. If not, you shouldn’t be concerned.”

Larson asked why there is a financial penalty in the bill, saying the premise of the bill appears to  be that law enforcement must cooperate “or we’re cutting your damn funding.” 

“If they’re not cooperating with ICE and are not doing what they’re supposed to do to keep their community safe, there should be a penalty and the penalty should be felt,” Bradley said. 

“Do you think the sheriff’s department will be able to keep communities safe by cutting them?” Larson asked. 

“If they follow the guidance in the bill, they won’t have to worry about that,” Bradley said.

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer is joining the DLCC board. Neubauer takes questions from reporters alongside Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein in Jan. 2025. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Wisconsin Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer is joining the Board of Directors for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) — the national organization dedicated to electing Democrats to state legislatures.

The Racine Democrat, who has been in the Legislature since 2018 and has led Assembly Democrats since 2021, joins the board as Wisconsin Democrats seek majorities in both chambers for the first time in many years in 2026.

Neubauer said DLCC President Heather Williams asked her to join the board and it’s a sign of the organization’s “deep commitment” to Wisconsin and understanding that a trifecta could be possible in 2026. 

“They want to be a part of helping us flip this state blue,” Neubauer said. “DLCC of course is focused on the national strategy of supporting democratic legislatures to win majorities in legislative chambers. They have had great success in the last few years… so I’m excited to be part of that national strategy work.” 

Williams said in a statement that “all eyes should be on the states in 2025” and Neubauer is a leader to watch. 

“As state Democrats continue to overperform in special elections and counter the chaos in Washington, we are laying the foundation for Democratic success up and down the ticket,” Williams said. “Our board members represent some of the sharpest minds in politics, and I’m excited to partner with them to build our plan for victory for cycles to come.” 

In the past, the DLCC has invested in helping Wisconsin Democrats win and outlined strategies for winning targeted seats.

Neubauer said it has been helpful getting to know leaders in other states where Democrats have successfully flipped control of their legislative chambers including Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania. She said she has learned a lot from those leaders and is trying to bring those lessons back to Democrats in Wisconsin, especially when it comes to preparing to be in the majority. 

“When we do win, we want to take advantage of the opportunity and pass policy that is going to materially improve people’s lives very quickly, so that’s been really helpful to me to speak with them about how they prepared to govern, how they worked with their caucuses,” Neubauer said, adding that Democrats have 10 new Assembly members this year and hope to grow that number now that the Legislature has passed new maps that no longer overwhelmingly favor Republicans. “The level of program that we run during the campaign cycle, the amount of money we need to raise and candidates we’re supporting has grown significantly since we got the fair maps. I’m getting all sorts of advice from those leaders both about governing and about effectively campaigning, winning majorities.” 

When it comes to its targets for 2025-26, Wisconsin is one of five of the DLCC’s “battleground” states where legislative majorities are determined by the slimmest of margins. 

New legislative maps were put in place last year by the state Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled the old maps were an unconstitutional gerrymander. Democrats in Wisconsin haven’t held a legislative majority in the Senate or Assembly since 2010, and under the old maps, Senate Republicans were able to win two-thirds of the seats, while Republicans held a 64-35 majority.

Under the new maps, Democrats in 2024 were able to pick up 10 Assembly seats and now hold 45 of 99 seats. They also added four Senate seats and now hold 15 seats out of 33 in that chamber.

Wisconsin’s 2026 elections will be the first time that control of the Senate will be in play as only half of the body was up in the last election and Assembly Democrats will again be working to try to win a majority.

“It is absolutely doable, but it is going to take quite a bit of work,” Neubauer said. 

Democratic lawmakers, she said, are taking a few approaches to getting things done for voters ahead of the next elections. This includes working across the aisle in the budget process to get investment into programs that Wisconsinites rely on, including child care and public schools and ensuring “Republican attacks on our rights and freedoms are not successful” by upholding the governor’s veto. 

Neubauer said her party is also “focused on that long-term vision and communicating what we will do when we have a Democratic trifecta — how we will change the state, how we will make Wisconsin a place where everyone has the ability to thrive, wants to live, raise a family, retire.” She noted that Democrats introduced a package of bills in January to address prescription drug access, ensure students have access to food in school and help improve housing, but Republicans haven’t shown interest in them. 

“We have a big and deep policy agenda that we’ve been working on for over a decade that we are ready to implement, and so we just have to get out and communicate about it,” Neubauer said. “And that of course looks like fanning out across the state, both in districts we represent and other communities, and talking about the work that we need to get done.” 

Neubauer said they are going to continue to work to lower costs, especially as “Trump engages in reckless, irresponsible trade wars and weakens the economy for no good reason.” She said state legislatures are essential in pushing back on his agenda.

The first part of Trump’s term in office could have an effect on Wisconsin Democrats’ chances as well, Neubauer said. 

“We have a number of Republican legislators who have really tried to position themselves as being moderate. They go home to their districts and they emphasize the bipartisan proposals that they’ve signed on to or tried to get passed, but what they don’t talk about is their voting record being in line with Republican leadership almost 100% of the time,” Neubauer said. 

Neubauer said that Wisconsin Republicans haven’t distanced themselves from Trump’s  agenda. 

“The first several months of the legislative session here in Wisconsin, we saw Republicans focused on culture wars rather than lowering costs for working families, making their lives easier, investing in our schools — the things that we all hear about when we run into our constituents at the grocery store,” Neubauer said. “Republicans are going to have to answer for Donald Trump and his attacks on Wisconsin families next year, and that is going to be difficult for them to do in extremely purple districts.”

Wisconsin’s gubernatorial election is also coming up in November 2026. Evers hasn’t said whether he’ll run for a third term, saying he’ll likely decide after the next budget is done. Republican Josh Schoemann, who serves as the county executive of Washington, is the first candidate to announce his campaign.

“We’re all eagerly awaiting that decision,” Neubauer said of Evers’ choice whether to make a re-election bid. “[I] always look forward to working with the governor.”

Neubauer is one of seven legislative leaders joining the DLCC board alongside California Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas, Colorado Senate President James Coleman, Illinois Speaker Pro Tempore Kam Buckner, Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, Oregon Speaker of the House Julie Fahey and Virginia Speaker of the House Don Scott. 

New York Senate President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who also serves as the DLCC chair, said in a statement that she is thrilled Neubauer is joining. 

“There has never been a more important time to ensure we have battle-tested, experienced leaders at the helm of Democratic strategy in the states as Donald Trump upends Washington and our economy,” Stewart-Cousins said, adding that Neubauer “embodies the diverse expertise needed to drive and elevate our strategy to build durable state power through the end of the decade.”

Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) told reporters that they would be starting from “base” with the budget. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

The Joint Finance Committee kicked off its work on the next Wisconsin State Budget Thursday by eliminating over 600 items from Gov. Tony Evers’ sweeping budget proposal, saying they would start from “base” and his budget had too much “irresponsible” spending. Democrats criticized Republicans for blocking all of Evers’ proposals without presenting a plan of their own to address the concerns of everyday Wisconsinites.

The committee spent last month hearing from members of the public, many of whom called for investments in public education and health care, and from some agency heads, who have defended Gov. Tony Evers’ budget requests. The state has a $4 billion budget surplus it’s considering, and Evers proposed the state tap those funds and raise income taxes on the wealthiest Wisconsinites to fund his proposals. 

The list that lawmakers eliminated from the budget bill spanned about 20 pages and includes a new 9.8% income tax bracket for high-income earners, Medicaid expansion, nearly $500 million for the Child Care Counts program, marijuana legalization and taxation, $125 million to create a grant program to address PFAS, $200 million to address the replacement of lead pipes and other provisions to help address lead poisoning and many provisions related to public schools including free school meals, a “grow your own” teaching program and ensuring access to menstrual supplies in schools, funding for the Office of School Safety and a provision to cap participation in the state’s voucher programs.

Ahead of the budget meeting, committee co-chairs Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) told reporters that they would be starting from “base” with the budget, meaning removing all of the items and taking the budget back to the one in place for 2023-2025. 

Born said legislators are accustomed to “the way we have to manage the governor’s executive budgets.” Since Evers took office in 2019, Republicans have kicked off every  budget cycle by removing all of his proposals.

“Unfortunately, [Evers] sends us an executive budget that’s just piles full of stuff that doesn’t make sense and spends recklessly and raises taxes and has way too much policy,” Born said. “So, we’ll work from base and the first step of that today is to remove all that policy… and then begin the work of rebuilding the budget.”

Responding to Democrats’ criticism  that Republicans are removing items that are popular with the public, Marklein said they should draft separate bills and use the regular legislative process to advance those ideas. 

“I can point to things in the budget bill that we’re going to pull up that I like… and we’re pulling that out as well. It’s a policy,” Marklein said. “It’s got nothing to do with the budget.” 

Born noted that there are also other ways that lawmakers could address issues of concern apart from Evers’ suggestions, saying the removal of items “doesn’t mean that when we build this budget over the next couple of months, we won’t impact those areas in positive and significant ways.”

“The governor has one idea on how to fund child care or one idea on how to impact mental health,” Born said. “There are other ways that we can do that in current law and current budget operations by inserting more money in things that I can most likely see us do.”

Marklein also noted that there could be some changes to how they go about drafting the budget this year following the state Supreme Court upholding Evers’ partial veto in the last budget.

“I anticipate that you’re not going to see too many references to digits, years anymore,” Marklein said. “My guess is that our drafting attorneys are going to recommend that you spell out those years, and those dates in the budget.” Born said the decision could also affect the education budget because there are increases already “baked into the cake.” 

Evers slammed Republicans for gutting his proposal, saying that they are refusing to help Wisconsinites.

“The most frustrating part for me as governor is that Republicans consistently reject basic, commonsense proposals that can help kids, families, farmers, seniors and Wisconsinites across our state, all while Republicans offer no real or meaningful alternative of their own,” Evers said. “Republicans talk a lot about what they’re against, but not what they’re for.”

During the meeting, Democrats proposed keeping 19 items in the budget across a handful of motions that touched on certain issue areas, saying they hoped they could carve out some spots for agreement. 

One would have placed $420 million back in the budget to fund the Child Care Counts program, as well as several other child care related measures. 

Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) said Republicans are “willing to pull out really, really important items” and said the child care proposals are essential, warning that money for the Child Care Counts program is expected to expire in June. 

“We are at risk of losing 87,000 [child care] slots… The fact that these things are being pulled out of the budget today and as of today, there is no mention or discussion of a replacement plan for something as important as this,” she said, is creating uncertainty among Wisconsinites and exacerbating a crisis. 

“Our children deserve quality services. Our families deserve affordable rates,” Johnson said. 

Another motion would have placed Medicaid expansion back in the budget. Wisconsin is one of only 10 states that haven’t accepted the federal expansion, which would allow coverage for those up to 138% of the federal poverty line. 

“Families are struggling to afford the care they need, and we have an opportunity — and I would argue an obligation — to do something,” Andraca said.

Andraca noted that Congressional Republicans, including Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, are considering cuts to the Medicaid program as they aim to extend the 2017 tax cuts from President Donald Trump’s first term.

“We heard how people are fearful of cuts to the programs that they rely on, and they are forced to make increasingly hard choices between groceries and prescriptions,” Andraca said. “Are you still willing to turn your backs on the people who entrusted us to vote for their best interests? Honestly, our constituents deserve better than this.”

The final proposal from Democrats would have kept items in the budget related to veterans including tax credits for veterans, funding for a veterans’ mental health program and for the Wisconsin Veterans Museum as well as an item to designate Juneteenth and Veterans Day as holidays. 

Rep. Tip McGuire (D-Kenosha) said he hoped they could agree on not making veterans’ lives harder.

“I recognize that it’s sort of the whole brand of the Republican party right now is to make everyone’s life a little bit more difficult,” McGuire said. “Certainly, it’s harder to travel in this country, It’s harder for people to access health insurance, it’s harder for people to afford college or go to college or manage their student loans. It’s harder for people to afford groceries and there may even be a question of what you can have full shelves soon… I know it’s your whole brand to make people’s lives harder, but I think we can all agree… [veterans] should still deserve some support.” 

Republicans rejected each motion.

McGuire doubled down on his point, saying that Republicans’ opposition to supporting even smaller parts of Evers’ proposal is a sign that they don’t want to help the average person.

“People are struggling and it is a challenging world and the one thing we should not be doing the one thing that nobody votes for their legislator to do is to make their life harder,” McGuire said. “Yet, that is all we are seeing out of the Republican party right now. That’s all we see out of the federal Republican party and frankly the Republican party here,” McGuire said, noting that Republican lawmakers recently passed legislation that would place additional restrictions on unemployment benefits.

“You’re making things less affordable and more difficult for regular [people] and that’s bad and we shouldn’t do it,” McGuire said.

Marklein said he was “glad we’re going back to base” because Evers’ budget proposal included a 20% increase in spending, an additional 1,300 positions funded by general purpose revenue and an increase in taxes. 

“When I talk to my constituents about the process, they are truly supportive of us not starting from this inflated budget that [Evers] put before us,” Marklein said, noting that Evers signed the last budget after they went through a similar process. “The idea that the door is closed on all these things is pretty ridiculous.” 

McGuire pushed back on Marklein’s comments, saying that lawmakers are pretending it is a “nice and friendly” process. 

“Part of the process that occurs here today is that not only do you remove the governor’s budget items, which make life easier for Wisconsinites, but then, you also prohibit anyone from ever discussing them ever again,” McGuire said. “And that’s really bizarre… This is a top-down totalitarian committee where we’re not permitted to discuss things past a certain point.”

Parents with the "Learn in My Shoes" campaign including Amanda Sherman and Melanie Grosse stand before the Joint Finance Committee at a public hearing in West Allis. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Wisconsin’s special education reimbursement rate has been a concern for public school advocates for many years, but with districts’ reliance on school referendum requests increasing and federal support in doubt, the state’s reimbursement rate is quickly becoming one of the top issues this budget cycle.

Public school districts currently get about 30% of their special education costs reimbursed by the state. Advocates have called to increase that to at least 60% and as much as 90%, which is the amount that private and charter schools participating in the state’s voucher programs already get.

Tiffany Schanno, a Sheboygan parent, and Melissa Custer, a Grafton parent, have been showing up at state budget hearings and meeting in the Capitol to bring awareness to the experience of families seeking special education services in schools.

“We both have kids with disabilities who are trying to access special education, and we both experienced a lot of obstacles just trying to get our children accessible education, and the thing that we discovered is that it all comes down to funding,” Schanno said in an interview with the Examiner. “There’s only so much as far as resources to go around, so a lot of times families are competing against each other for services.” 

The pair put together a display — titled “Learn in My Shoes” — that included letters from families about their children’s experience receiving services and financial strains on schools. They placed the letters in a pair of children’s shoes. Custer said they thought having a visual representation and sharing stories would give lawmakers a “small taste” of the reality.

One letter described how educators and paraprofessionals have helped 12-year-old James “communicate with peers, become more confident and able to share more of who he is in meaningful ways.” James received important supports thanks to a “persistent” parent who said not all parents understand the process or know how to advocate for what their children need.  

“Because public school budgets are stretched to the point of hundreds of referendums over the past few years, families don’t ask for what they need because they don’t want to be thought of as burdensome,” the parent wrote. “Our family can find workarounds to an extent, but many others cannot. All children deserve an equal opportunity to a sound public education, and funding that keeps up with cost increases.”

Another parent said her son, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome, requires specialized support to navigate school safely and help with emotional regulation, transitions and physical safety. 

“Due to funding shortages, services are stretched thin… ” the parent wrote. “My children — and thousands of others across Wisconsin — deserve a chance to succeed, to feel safe, and to receive the support they need to reach their potential. Please make this a priority.” 

Schanno and Custer delivered the shoes and letters to lawmakers.

Schanno said some lawmakers expressed skepticism that additional state money would actually be used for special education. She said that isn’t a “valid argument” since federally mandated special education costs are carefully tracked.

“It’s not like you’re just giving a district a whole bunch of money and trusting them to use it for the right thing,” she said.

“Ultimately, what I took away from our visits… is that we have a long way to go with people understanding more about disability in general … and about the value in educating people who are different than they are,” Schanno said.

Proposals in discussion

Gov. Tony Evers proposed in his state budget that the reimbursement rate be raised to 60%. Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), have acknowledged education funding as a top concern for  the public, and some, including Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Weston), have said they want to put more money into  special education, but it is unclear what Republican lawmakers will support. 

As Republican lawmakers seek a deal on tax cuts, WisPolitics reports that spokesperson Britt Cudaback said Evers “expects Republicans to come to the table on investing in education at every level, among other critical priorities, in order to move forward.”

During the last budget cycle, lawmakers increased the special ed reimbursement rate, though Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) notes it was a sum-certain rate, meaning there is a finite amount of money available, so the rate of reimbursement is not guaranteed as funds run low. The current reimbursement rate is hovering around 30%.

“School funding is complex” and special education funding is the “baseline that we absolutely should be doing,” Larson said. Special education funding in Wisconsin peaked at 70% in 1973 and at one point was as low as about 24.5% in 2018-19.

Larson supports increasing the rate to 90%. He said he thinks Evers’ 60% proposal is looking at it “from a political standpoint of what he perceives as what he wants to start the negotiations at in the budget with Republicans instead of what’s needed” and also taking into consideration other budget priorities. 

“That’s helpful and that would be significant and still double the percentage of what schools are currently getting, and I appreciate that…” Larson said. “I would hope that the governor would say 60% or veto.”

Larson also noted Evers’ budget would change special education reimbursement from sum certain to sum sufficient — so reimbursements at the set rate would be guaranteed.

Larson said he hopes his Republican colleagues support boosting the rate. 

“It still baffles me that some people think this is a partisan thing. Schools all over the state need help. The districts that are going to referendum are rural, they’re urban and they’re suburban. There’s nobody who’s special who is dodging this. Everybody is getting screwed over by the state,” Larson said. “I hope that the folks, the Republicans, who hold the narrow majority in the Assembly and in the Senate, would listen to their constituents who are saying, ‘Stop throwing this on us to cover your gap.’”

Special ed reimbursement could relieve referendum pressure

The discussion about school funding, especially for special education, comes as school districts have increasingly come to rely on referendum requests. Public school leaders, advocates and Democratic lawmakers have said increasing the special education reimbursement to at least 60% could help relieve some of that pressure.

Anne Chapman, research director for the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials Association, said that increasing special education funding by a significant amount would allow school districts to not have to pull as much money from their general funds for the mandated services.

“You would see way fewer referendums, and you would see kids surge with better programs,” Chapman said. 

According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, just this year there were 94 referendum requests across February and April elections with about a third of those representing “retry” efforts. As schools continue to rely on referendum requests to meet costs, Republican and Democratic lawmakers are seeking ways to change the dynamic, though the latter are focused on providing additional state funding, while the former are focused on implementing new restrictions. 

Rep. Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) said a memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau that compares recent referendum requests to the amount of unreimbursed special education costs illustrates the correlation. He said he asked for the memo after noticing a detail about the finances of the Eau Claire School District. 

“Eau Claire’s unreimbursed special education dollar amount was equivalent to the amount of money that they were asking for in their referendum just to not go too far into the red in their budget,” Phelps said, adding that he wondered “how widespread is this pattern?”

The 128 school districts that sought operating referendums in 2024, a record-breaking year, had over $488 million in unreimbursed special education costs for the 2022-23 school year, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. The bureau’s memo also found that about one-fifth of the referendum requests in 2024 were equal to or exceeded special education costs that were unreimbursed by the state in 2022-23.

Some examples include: 

• Bangor School District had a recurring referendum request for $900,000 that failed in 2024. Its unreimbursed special education costs were $973,299 in 2022-23. 
• Edgerton School District had a $3,500,000 recurring request that passed. Its unreimbursed special education costs were $3,520,303. 
• Eau Claire School District had a successful $18,000,000 request. Its unreimbursed special education costs were $17,933,991. 

In some cases, a referendum request was for more than the unreimbursed costs, but even those were still close. Hamilton School District passed a $7,600,000 recurring referendum in 2024. The total of its unreimbursed special education costs was $6,128,870. 

“Funding special ed fully lifts all boats,” Phelps said. “When we have an underfunded special ed system, we are creating discrimination and disparity against students with disabilities. The services are mandated, so we’re paying for them one way or the other.” He added that right now, property taxpayers are making up for the state’s low reimbursement rate, and school districts are depleting their general funds. 

“Who loses when we’re stretching funds like that? Literally, every kid,” Phelps said, adding that funding special education through referendum isn’t effective because it’s also unpredictable. 

“When referendums happen, they either pass or fail, so now this district is better off than that district for no reason other than the fact that they both had to ask their voters for a referendum, and so we have disparities… when there is literally a pile of billions of dollars sitting around,” Phelps said, referencing the state’s $4 billion budget surplus. 

“It’s a gold mine in state budgeting to find something that you could do that just so clearly lifts all boats,” Phelps added. 

While Phelps said 60% is a compromise, he said the request from Evers is significant.

“It was not that long ago, public ed advocates were literally getting laughed out of rooms when they would ask for 60%,” Phelps said. “Now, the pressure is just too big, and you’re not getting laughed at for asking for 60[%] anymore.”

Derek Gottlieb, an associate professor at the University of Northern Colorado and senior research director for School Perceptions, an education research firm, also said the state could pick up more of the cost of special ed than Evers’ proposed 60%. 

“Even if the state didn’t touch revenue limits, even if the state continued to fail to raise just revenue limits upward to keep pace with inflation, we would see many, many, many fewer operating referendums if the state just paid 100% of special education expenditures…” Gottlieb said. “It is shameful, frankly, that the state has done less.”

Federal upheaval shadows special ed funding debate 

During a virtual public forum in April, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction leaders said the discussion about federal and state special education funding are connected.

State Superintendent Jill Underly said as reimbursement rates remain low, local communities will continue to take on the cost of the federal- and state-mandated services. 

The special education reimbursement rate “is rather low — it’s 29% now, based on last year’s numbers — but the federal government also has a reimbursement rate, and it’s even lower,” Underly said during the session. “What this would indicate is that our schools are still going to provide the services, because that’s what our schools do. It’s just that they’re not going to be reimbursed fully for them, so the burden is going to shift more to the local school districts to compensate the costs.”

The comments come as the future of the federal government’s role in special education is in flux. The Trump administration has pushed to close the U.S. Department of Education, slashing its workforce and seeking to move “special needs” programs to the Department of Health and Human Services. 

During the forum, Deputy State Superintendent Thomas McCarthy noted that when it comes to federal funding “special education is one of the things that, by and large, everyone has said, we’re not going to reduce the states now.” 

“That is what I know today, ask me next week, it could be on the chopping block,” McCarthy said. Trump’s recent “skinny budget” proposal seeks to cut 15% from the education budget, but says it isn’t cutting funding for special education, though it does propose consolidating several Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grant programs into one. 

As the upheaval creates uncertainty, DPI leaders encouraged Wisconsinites to take the  opportunity to advocate for more funding. 

When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act became law in 1975, the federal government said it would fund 40% of special education costs, Underly noted. The federal contribution now hovers around 10%.

“When they are arguing that they’re going to make things more efficient at the U.S. Department of Ed or in the federal government… What are they going to do with those savings? This would be a great example. Well, let’s authorize Congress to reimburse up to 40% of special education costs,” Underly said.

“Not only do we need the current level of funding, we need more funding… so be having that conversation with your federal elected officials [and] also be having it with your state elected officials,” Assistant Deputy State Superintendent Sara Knueve said. “We’re in the heat of that conversation about what’s the state’s reimbursement rate and they’re connected.”

A yard sign urging voters to vote 'Yes' on a referendum request for Madison School District in 2024 when a record number of schools went to referendum. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Republican lawmakers are seeking to give military recruiters and youth organizations a boost from the state when it comes to reaching students in public schools, saying that some school districts aren’t giving the organizations equal access. Lawmakers on the Senate Education Committee considered those along with bills that would add further requirements to school referendum requests. 

“I think we have a theme here when it comes to anything that seems patriotic in a way, we’re having a little bit of struggles getting into particular schools,” Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) said during a Tuesday Senate Education Committee meeting. She said during the hearing that she feels “discouraged” about the way military recruiters and scouts are viewed by “certain” communities in Wisconsin. 

One bill — SB 10 — would specifically require schools to allow military recruiters access to common areas in high schools and to allow access during the school day and during school-sanctioned events. It wouldn’t require districts to give recruiters access to classrooms during instructional time.

Federal law has mandated since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act during the Bush administration that public schools give military access to students at school and to students’ contact information. Families can opt their children out of the release of information. However, Cabral-Guevara said she has heard complaints that recruiters have had difficulty. 

Cabral-Guevara said she has heard of recruiters being placed in rooms separate from employment recruiters and has also heard of a limit being placed on the number of times a recruiter can visit a school as well as visits to drop off documents being counted as a recruiting visit. She said recruiters said they have the most difficulty with access to Madison and Milwaukee schools.

“There should be no reason why a military recruiter should have restricted access or be placed at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to speaking with students,” Cabral-Guevara said. 

The bill comes as the U.S. military, including the Wisconsin Army National Guard, in recent years has struggled to reach recruitment goals.

“They have not said they have been denied access to enter the building, what they have been saying is that… they have been prohibited from doing meaningful recruitment,” Cabral-Guevara said. 

Bill co-author Rep. William Penterman (R-Hustisford) compared military recruiters to students trying to sell chocolate bars to their peers.

“After school and during lunch, they have a table in the commons where they sell those candy bars. It’s in a public space, it’s in a common area. Now, I can only imagine if they were restricted to, perhaps inside the counselor’s office, or in a back room somewhere, how that would negatively impact their sales of chocolate bars,” Penterman said.

Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) said that school officials in his district had some concerns about whether the bill would lead to excessive access to schools, especially as they already provide access. He said the bill “seems like it’s opening it up to infinite” access. He noted that there are a lot of different groups that seek access to schools. 

“They try and button it and say, OK, we have career fairs and they have to make that balance to try and figure that out,” Larson said. “I think [limitations] would have to be written in, and not just assumed, because if there’s a military recruiter who’s just like, OK every Tuesday, we’re gonna pop in and we’re just going to run the rotation.’ There’s nothing that would stop them if this legislation were passed.”

Sen. Sarah Keyeski (D-Lodi) said the bill seems “problematic” because of a lack of boundaries.

“It says, ‘during school sanctioned events’ — that could be a ball game, that could be during mock trial, that could be during prom… there’s just no boundaries around it with this bill,” Keyeski said. 

Cabral-Guevara said that she is not seeking “to change federal code on how many times they can access a building” or give military recruiters more access than others. Rather, she said she wants to ensure that when recruiters are in a school building for what is counted as a recruiting visit, it is a meaningful interaction.

“That’s not what it says in the bill though,” Keyeski responded. 

The committee also considered SB 11 that would similarly require that if a “federally chartered youth” organization — particularly the Girl Scouts or Eagle Scouts — requests access to a public school that a principal allow them to provide oral or written information to students to help encourage participation in the organizations. The bill is co-authored by Cabral-Guevara and Rep. Barbara Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc). 

“In essence, what we’re finding is that there again are certain groups that when they look for access for recruitment purposes, they are maybe put in a different room. They are not allowed the same access that other organizations get,” Cabral-Guevara said. “As a mother of four children who all worked at scout camps, as somebody that’s active amongst the world of scouting, it is amazing what these organizations help produce in these children. You’re looking at amazing leadership skills. You’re looking at outstanding community volunteers.” 

A similar bill passed the Legislature last session, but was vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers. He wrote in his veto message that he objects to “undermining local decision-making regarding whether organizations may visit school buildings to recruit students for memberships” and said the bill might conflict with federal law.

Keyeski said she heard from a local school leader that the bill appears focused on the wrong priorities. 

“One of the superintendents in my district said the bill does not address any of the things I’m worried about, and then he said that about every single one of these bills,” Keyeski said, adding that she asked what he meant. “He said, ‘We need funding, we need better school opportunities for technological advances.’ This was just not a concern.”

Proposed referendum requirements

Lawmakers on the committee also considered two bills that would impose new restrictions on school referendum requests, which districts have increasingly relied on to help meet costs. 

One bill — SB 58 — would require ballots to include a “good faith estimate” of the property tax impact for a referendum. Ballot questions are currently required to include the dollar amount of the increase in the levy limit.

“It is not the intent of this bill to sway people one way or another on any particular referendum. The point is simply to ensure that voters are given the information that they need so that their decision is informed,” bill coauthor Rep. Scott Allen (R-Waukesha) said. 

The other bill — SB 81 — would eliminate referendum questions that allow recurring — or permanent — operational funding increases and would limit “nonrecurring” referendum requests to cover no more than a four-year period.

“There’s really no mechanism to say we need to make sure that whoever, sometime down the road, is actually having to pay the bill and also who’s responsible for spending the money — if they’re completely different people, there should be a mechanism where both sides have to come back to the table and say, “Let’s relook at everything,” Sen. Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield) said.

Keyeski said that she thought the mechanism for ensuring that referendum requests are considered responsibly is the elected officials and voters who decide whether to approve them. 

“It’s just taking away local control and it’s taking away democracy in action,” Keyeski said. 

School district leaders and representatives of school associations expressed an array of concerns about the bills, saying the ballot requirements could create confusion for voters and that further restrictions on referendum requests could increase the financial challenges school districts face.

Dee Pattack, executive director of the Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance, told lawmakers that school districts do not want to go to referendum and said that some of the requirements in the  bill would be difficult to meet.

The “good faith estimate piece, that would be really challenging,” Pattack said, noting that there is market volatility that could affect total debt referenda costs. She also said that trying to include all of that information on a ballot could be confusing. 

School districts seeking a referendum will often have a webpage dedicated to information about the request, will host meetings with local residents and stakeholders, speak with news outlets to spread the word and take other actions to ensure the public knows the purpose of a referendum and the costs. 

“It’s a long process, and we just think that, you know, we try to be as transparent as possible right now and trying to condense that into a small area on a ballot might not really be the best way to enhance that transparency,” Pattack said.

Cathy Olig, executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance, told lawmakers that school staff and local taxpayers are suffering from referendum fatigue. There were 94 referendum requests during February and April 2025, with about a third of those representing “retry” efforts, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum. Voters approved 53 of those for a passage rate of 56.4%, making 2025 one of the lowest referendum passage rates in a non-presidential or midterm election year since 2011. 

“We’re concerned [SB 81] will create a constant cycle of referenda for school districts. We would welcome alternatives to referenda, which could be addressed through the budget, but to add further requirements and costs takes the focus away from finding solutions to the larger problems plaguing the school finance formula,” Olig said.

Kenosha Unified School District Superintendent Jeffrey Weiss told lawmakers that his district has  closed several schools in recent years, including five elementary schools and a middle school. He said the change involved a lot of redistricting of students. He said the district has also cut 200 positions and more than $1 million of staff out of the district office.

“We are very responsible stewards of public funds… We wanted to do all we could to avoid having to go for an operational referendum,” Weiss said, adding that superintendents don’t want to go to referendum. The district’s $115 million request failed in February.

Weiss said he thought transparency was already part of the referendum process because the community holds school districts accountable.

“I think these bills around referendum questions are really treating a symptom,” Weiss said, noting that a Blue Ribbon Commission proposed actions in 2019 that could address the problems with the state’s school funding system. “That is the cure and the conversations that we’re having right now, we’re talking about the symptoms. I don’t want to lose my ability to go to the community. This really is our only lever. There are not another seven schools in the city of Kenosha that I can close.”

Jay O. Rothman, president of the University of Wisconsin System, speaks during the UW Board of Regents meeting hosted at Union South at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on Feb. 9, 2023. (Photo by Althea Dotzour / UW–Madison)

As Congress is considering remaking the federal financial aid program, Wisconsin higher education leaders are warning that changes could significantly affect access to its campuses. 

Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman wrote in a series of posts on social media last week that he is “very disappointed” by the potential cuts that could be made to student aid. 

Congressional Republicans recently introduced a 103-page proposal that would overhaul the federal financial aid system with cuts meant to help support the extension of tax cuts. Changes would include reducing eligibility for Pell Grants by requiring students take more credit hours to qualify, capping the total amount of student loans one can take out annually and ending certain student loan programs. 

The proposed changes come alongside the Trump administration’s work to remake the system by moving the student loan portfolio from the Department of Education to Small Business Administration, even as both agencies have had significant layoffs, and seeking to eliminate loan relief for people working to support immigrants and trans kids. 

Rothman said nearly half of the 164,400 students across University of Wisconsin campuses rely on federal aid to access the schools and noted that many of the students receiving the help are first-generation college students and low- to middle-income. He said federal financial aid has helped better the U.S. economy and allowed millions of people to improve their own lives. 

“It makes no sense for the US to narrow opportunities if our country wants to win the global War for Talent. I’m dumbfounded that cutting educational opportunities would even be considered when our economic vibrancy is at stake,” Rothman wrote. “While the UWs are among the most affordable in the nation, many lower- and middle-class families rely upon federal financial aid to make these life-changing educational opportunities real.”

Rothman urged Congress to reevaluate the potential cuts in the federal budget, continuing his advocacy for keeping the UW accessible for current and future students. 

In a letter to the Wisconsin Congressional delegation last month, Rothman noted that in the 2023-24 school year, 91,000 UW undergraduate students — or 59% — received some form of financial aid. The federal government distributed $130 million in Pell grants to about 23.4%, or 26,060 undergraduate students that year, delivering an average award of $5,000. 

During that year, undergraduate and graduate students across the system received nearly $1.5 billion in financial aid, including $634 million in grants, $666 million in loans and $13 million in work-study funding.

“Programs like the Pell Grant and other federal financial aid are critical to ensuring continued access and success for students who choose to pursue higher education,” Rothman wrote to lawmakers. “Indiscriminate cuts whether to research, financial aid or programs that provide student support are ultimately shortsighted and will negatively impact the next generation of Wisconsin’s workforce.” 

Rothman is not the only leader who has expressed concerns about cuts to programs. During a hearing last month, Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities President Eric Fulcomer told state lawmakers that “cutting the Pell Grant or eliminating the Pell Grant would be devastating for our sector.” He said private colleges could be looking at a 27% cut to enrollment.

Bascom Hall, University of Wisconsin-Madison. (Ron Cogswell | used by permission of the photographer)

Madison attorney Shabnam Lotfi says her client, Krish Lal Isserdasani, was exceptionally responsible in the way he handled the news that the Trump administration had suddenly taken away his student visa.

Isserdasani, a 21-year-old computer engineering senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from India, was about a month out from his graduation on May 10 when he became one of thousands of students across the U.S. that had their Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records cancelled by the Trump administration. According to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, SEVIS is a “web-based system for maintaining information on nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors” in the U.S. Once SEVIS records were canceled, students faced the termination of their student visas and their ability to remain in the U.S.

UW-Madison notified students of the changes to their SEVIS status, warning them that status termination generally means an affected person should depart the United States immediately.

“I admire him for acting quickly,” Lotfi told the Wisconsin Examiner. “He saw that his SEVIS record was terminated, immediately contacted the university to see what it means, did not attend classes for a week to figure out what’s going on, [and] hired a lawyer immediately.” 

In April, U.S. District Judge William Conley issued a temporary restraining order blocking the government from terminating Isserdasani’s SEVIS and from taking any further related actions. That order noted Isserdasani and his family had spent about $240,000 on his education, stood to lose $17,500 on the current semester’s tuition and would be responsible for four months of rent on an apartment he would vacate if he was forced to leave the country. 

With the temporary restraining order in place and providing some protection, Lotfi said he was able to resume attending classes. 

“That doesn’t necessarily mean he feels entirely welcome and free and comfortable,” Lotfi said, “but he’s doing the best he can with the cards he has in the situation.” 

At the end of April, the Trump administration started reversing the cancellations. Administration attorneys said in court that they were working on developing a policy that would provide a framework for SEVIS record terminations. Lotfi said she is “aware of what they’re thinking about” and that if they’re trying to find a way to make the terminations lawful, that “will likely be challenged again.”

Lotfi said the Trump administration’s step back from the cancellations is a win. This is not the first time she has fought a Trump order involving immigrants, having brought a challenge in 2018 to the Muslim travel ban during Trump’s first term.

“It was a coalition of attorneys nationwide bringing so many [temporary restraining orders], so many lawsuits on behalf of so many students all at the same time — and the government not having any defense to any of it — that caused them to have to reevaluate,” Lotfi said.

As of April 28, the 27 cancellations for UW-Madison students and alumni were reversed as were the 13 for UW-Milwaukee. However, the reversals are not the end of Isserdasani’s case.

When it comes to his case, Lotfi said it appeared during a hearing last week that the government attorneys were not changing their plan to eject Isserdasani based on the administration’s perceived change in stance on international students’ visas. She said the government’s attorney indicated her client’s SEVIS record was only active because of the temporary restraining order and that “it was not related to any change in a government policy.”

“The government attorneys also indicated that they maintain their right to terminate his SEVIS record again in the future should that be necessary,” Lotfi said. “It certainly surprised me, and I think it surprised the court that they were taking that position.” 

Lotfi noted that the government attorneys in Isserdasani’s case have been arguing, based on a declaration by Andre Watson, a Trump Department of Homeland Security official, that the SEVIS record and a student’s visa status are not the same. She said no one is buying the argument. 

“The vast majority of judges nationwide are asking, then, why do you terminate the SEVIS record? What was the point of doing this? If you guys say that SEVIS and student status are not the same, does that mean that Mr. Isserdasani is in a lawful student status right now?” Lotfi said. “They won’t say that. They’ll just say that the two are not the same, but they will not confirm that he is in a lawful student status with the SEVIS terminated.”

The case challenges the cancellation of the record in several ways, including arguing that the government cannot just take away his status without due process — the ability for him to know why his SEVIS is being terminated and to challenge the termination — and arguing the cancellation was arbitrary and capricious.

“It’s not that Isserdasani failed to go to class. It’s not that he had a criminal activity [or] he was convicted of criminal activity. It’s just because his name [was] in a database,” Lotfi said. In determining cancellations, the Trump administration had run international students’ names through an FBI database called the National Crime Information Center. It appeared that an arrest for disorderly conduct in November 2024 was the reason for Isserdasani’s SEVIS cancellation, but charges were never pursued and he never had to appear in court.

Lotfi said she and her client are waiting for the court’s written decision on whether the temporary restraining order will be converted to a preliminary injunction, which would prevent actions by the government through the course of litigation. Then, she said, litigation will continue, which can take time.

“It is in the interest of justice, and in the interest of the American people, that a final decision on the merits of the case is issued,” Lotfi said.

Lotfi said people shouldn’t accept the Trump administration’s accusations against foreign students as true.

“These students are in a foreign country. Many have learned a second language… They are young and alone without family. They are following this country’s rules and regulations, and they didn’t do anything wrong,” Lotfi said. “They don’t deserve this.”

“If it’s a U.S. citizen, we say innocent until proven guilty… Why do we not have that same mindset when it comes to foreign nationals?” she added. “It just seems like any arrest for anything then that’s guilt, and that’s not the case. We would never allow that for any of our neighbors, so we should not accept the administration’s description of international students having violated their status when they didn’t.”

Rep. Nate Gustafson said his bill would implement a “net zero” rule process. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Wisconsin Republican lawmakers are introducing bills to review every statewide administrative rule and impose new limits on the rulemaking process, saying there are too many regulations currently and they put operational obstacles and financial burdens on businesses.

GOP Lawmakers have raised objections to agencies’ administrative rulemaking process — and the power of the executive branch — for many years and have taken action to exert more control over the process and to limit the authority of state agencies and the governor. The REINS Act, signed into law by former Gov. Scott Walker in 2017, for example, required lawmakers’ approval for regulations that might cost more than $10 million over a two-year period.

“A lot of what’s been done in the past has looked at when you’re implementing new rules — what is the process? Who is writing the rules?” Rep. Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee), who introduced the bill that became 2017 Wisconsin Act 57, said at a press conference last week.

“What [the] REINS Act is not able to do is go back and reset it all,” Neylon added. “We’re looking at the stack of rules that have accumulated over the years that are piling up… We need a reset.”

One of four GOP bills would require agencies to make cuts to offset the cost associated with new regulations. 

Under the bill, coauthored by Rep. Nate Gustafson (R-Fox Crossing) and Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin), agencies with a new rule proposal would have to stop work on the process until they’ve figured out how to eliminate the cost of a new regulation, or, alternatively, until a different rule reduces the costs to businesses, local governmental units and individuals over any two-year period.

Gustafson calls it a “net zero” rule process. “So if there’s an existing regulation or rule output that is of equal cost or greater, you’re going to have to cut that rule if you want to implement a new one.”

Another of the four bills — coauthored by Neylon and Sen. Steve Nass — would put an expiration date on every administrative rule seven years after implementation. Currently, administrative rules are in effect indefinitely unless repealed, amended by the agency or suspended by the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR).

JCRAR is a 10-member committee responsible for reviewing proposed administrative rules to ensure they align with state law. Lawmakers on the committee have the ability to approve, suspend, or request modifications to proposed rules.

Under the new measure, the year before a rule expires an agency would need to send notice to JCRAR about its intention to readopt the rule. If there is no objection by a lawmaker on the committee, then the rule would be considered readopted, but if there is an objection, then the rule would expire unless the agency goes through the rulemaking process again.

Neylon said the point is to create a more modern process and do away with “outdated or duplicative rules, creating unnecessary burdens on businesses.” 

Another bill — coauthored by Sen. Rob Hutton and Reps. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown) and Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) — would limit scope statements, the first step in the rulemaking process, so they could only be used for one proposed rule and would set a six month expiration date when a scope statement can be used for an emergency rule.

Currently, people can challenge the validity of an administrative rule in court. The final bill — coauthored by Rep. Ron Tusler (R-Harrison) and Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto) — would award people who challenge a rule attorney fees and costs if a court declares a rule invalid. 

The bill package is based on a report from the right-wing Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), which also launched a webpage about the effort to cut “red tape” on Wednesday.

WILL states in the report that Wisconsin is the 13th most regulated state in the country and lays out proposals similar to the new GOP bills. WILL said the actions would build off steps taken in other states, including Idaho, Ohio, Nebraska and Oklahoma, to reduce regulations.

Neylon said WILL provided research and worked with lawmakers’ offices on the legislation. But, he added, “these are issues that we’ve all worked on for a lot of years, issues that we care deeply about. This is our initiative… and nobody else’s.”

Economist on the potential flaws 

Economist Michael Rosen told the Examiner that the bills come out of Republicans’ “national playbook,” and that the research from WILL is based on the idea that “any regulation impedes economic growth.”

“It has been a cornerstone of Republican policy since the election of Ronald Reagan to deregulate, get rid of regulation, and [to insist] that getting rid of regulation promotes economic growth,” Rosen said. He calls that theory “nonsense.” 

Rosen points out that some of the most heavily regulated states — including California and New York — are also the most prosperous. He noted that the majority of the states cited in WILL’ s research are those with Republican-dominated government.

“All regulations really are the rules under which the market operates,” Rosen said, adding, “there have to be rules that govern the behavior of the buyers and sellers. That’s what regulation is. It’s very simple, and what they’re arguing is to get rid of them.”

Rosen challenges broad assertions in WILL’s research, including WILL’s finding that a 36% cut to regulations across the board in Wisconsin could grow the economy by 1 percentage point annually.

That analysis fails to take into account “negative externalities,” Rosen says — actions by companies that impose a cost on people who are not directly involved. He pointed to environmental regulations as an example of how these costs are paid by the public. 

“In economic terms, companies that pollute… part of the cost of production should be disposing of the waste that a company produces…. If there aren’t any rules, the cheapest way to dispose of your waste is to release it into the atmosphere or release it into the rivers and streams,” Rosen said. “That’s what we had in this country at the beginning of the 20th century, when we didn’t have any environmental regulations, and rivers, like the Milwaukee River, and streams and lakes were polluted by manufacturers because that was the cheapest way for them to dispose of their waste.”

Rosen said that some might argue that rules meant to protect the environment impede growth because they impose an additional cost on a company, however, he said that rules can ensure they aren’t passing on that cost to the public. 

Since passage in 2017, the REINS Act has posed an obstacle to proposed environmental protection rules in Wisconsin.

Without the regulations, Rosen said, people would have “no assurance” about the products they buy — “whether it’s a can of tuna fish, whether it’s an automobile, whether it’s a ride on an airplane.” 

“Is it impeding economic growth that we have regulations on air travel? No, because if we didn’t have the regulation of the airline industry, we would have far more accidents and many fewer people would want to travel on airplanes,” Rosen said. “These are all regulations that we take for granted,” but assure people they can trust the products and services they purchase, “and we won’t crash and die.” 

A better way to address onerous or outdated rules, Rosen said, is to take them up one at a time, rather than through the sweeping anti-regulatory bill package Wisconsin Republicans are proposing. 

“Are there some regulations that maybe are antiquated? I’m not going to sit here and tell you there might not be,” Rosen said. “But rather than pass sweeping legislation, which is ideologically driven and could have catastrophic consequences, people should raise the particular regulation.”

What’s next for the bills

Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) said that she is excited for the bills to go through the Assembly Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency (GOAT) committee, which she chairs. The committee was created this session, inspired by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency project, which has sought to remake the federal government by unilaterally firing employees and making deep cuts to federal agencies. 

“Excessive regulations have serious economic consequences. They slow economic growth. They increase costs for businesses and consumers and they stifle innovation, all while the compliance costs put the greatest burden on our small businesses and working families,” Nedweski said. 

Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) said the bills are another action from the “tired Republican playbook” and compared them to the actions being taken by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. 

“These bills are an attempt at a power grab, akin to what we are seeing from the Trump-Musk administration,” Hesselbein said. “The bills would, among other things, undermine the fundamental democratic principle of separation of powers. They are unnecessary, anti-democratic, and wholly wrong for Wisconsin.”

Republicans in the Senate and Assembly, who hold majorities, could pass the bills without support from Democratic lawmakers, however, they would need Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ sign-off to become law. Neylon conceded that it’s unlikely Evers will support them. 

“Unfortunately Gov. Evers makes a lot of mistakes,” Neylon said. “He’s showing to be a failure as a governor, and I’m not optimistic he’ll make the right decision here, but I think that we’re doing the best we can to try to reform the regulatory process, and we think that it’s time for a reset.” 

Evers’ office hasn’t responded to a request for comment.

Gov. Tony Evers had already said he wasn’t directing state employees to break the law should immigration officials enter state buildings. Evers answers reporters questions in March. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Gov. Tony Evers issued a three-minute video Friday in which he addressed Wisconsinites, describing a statement  from the White House border czar Tom Homan that has been interpreted by some as a threat to arrest Evers as “chilling.” 

Homan made the vague threat after a reporter for the far-right website Gateway Pundit asked him “why not just arrest” leaders interfering with deportation efforts. The reporter then specifically asked him about Evers’ directive to state agencies instructing them to consult an attorney if federal immigration agents enter state buildings demanding files or computer system access.

“Wait to see what’s coming,” Homan said. “You can not support what we’re doing and you can support sanctuary cities if that’s what you want to do, but if you cross that line of impediment or knowingly harboring or concealing an illegal alien, that is a felony and we’ll treat it as such.” 

Before the comment, Evers had already said he wasn’t directing state employees to break the law should immigration officials enter state buildings.

“A Trump Administration official, in not so many words, apparently threatened to arrest me… The goal of this guidance was simple — to provide clear, consistent instructions to state employees and ensure they have a lawyer to help them comply with all federal and state laws. Nothing more, nothing less,” Evers said in the video. “But Republicans and their right-wing allies, including Elon Musk, lied about this guidance, spread misinformation, accused me of doing things I didn’t do or say, and fueled a fake controversy of their own creation.”

The guidance sent by the Department of Administration to state employees told them to stay calm if an ICE agent entered their offices. It told them to ask agents for their names and badges to verify their identity, to ask why they were there, ask for documentation like a valid warrant then tell the agent to have a seat. It said state employees should call the Office of Legal Council to consult an attorney.

It also told employees not to answer questions from an agent, give them access to paper files and computer systems without speaking to an attorney and not to give consent for an agent to enter a “nonpublic” area, noting that they need a judicial warrant to enter such an area. 

“Remember that every state employee has a duty to protect confidential data and information collected or maintained by the State of Wisconsin in state offices and electronic filing systems,” the guidance stated. 

“I haven’t broken the law. I haven’t committed a crime, and I’ve never encouraged or directed anyone to break any laws or commit any crimes,” Evers said in the video. “When President Trump’s hand-picked appointee, Tom Homan, was asked about me and this guidance after he apparently threatened to arrest elected officials across the country, he said, ‘Wait ’til you see what’s coming.’ Overnight, Republican lawmakers piled on, encouraging the Trump Administration to arrest me.” 

Evers’ directive had received backlash from Wisconsin Republicans who called on Evers to rescind the guidance and support Trump’s deportation agenda. 

One Republican state lawmaker Rep. Calvin Callahan (R-Tomahawk) suggested in multiple social media posts Thursday that Evers should be arrested — sharing an AI-generated photo of Evers in handcuffs and writing in another post that “this is what Tony Evers sent out; stick him in the same cell as the Milwaukee judge!” Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested last week under accusations that she impeded the arrest of a man that ICE followed to her courtroom. 

Evers said the threats should concern everyone.

“In this country, the federal government doesn’t get to abuse its power to threaten everyday Americans. In this country, the federal government doesn’t get to arrest American citizens who have not committed a crime. In this country, we don’t threaten to persecute people just because they belong to a different political party,” Evers said. 

“These threats represent a concerning trajectory in this country. We now have a federal government that will threaten or arrest an elected official — or even everyday American citizens — who have broken no laws, committed no crimes, and done nothing wrong,” Evers said. “As disgusted as I am about the continued actions of the Trump Administration, I am not afraid. I have never once been discouraged from doing the right thing, and I will not start today.”

Lawmakers listen to testimony at the West Allis public hearing in early April. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Education priorities, including funding for K-12 public schools, higher education and early childhood education and child care, proved to be the issues that arose most often in public hearings held by the Wisconsin Legislature’s powerful budget committee in April. 

Wisconsin lawmakers wrapped up their public hearings this week with a hearing Monday in Hayward and one Tuesday in Wausau. Two hearings were held in early April in West Allis and Kaukauna.

With the hearings complete, the Joint Finance Committee will turn its attention to the work of writing the budget with the goal of completing it by the June 30 deadline. If lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers don’t complete the budget by that deadline, Wisconsin continues to operate under the current budget into the next fiscal year. 

Tessa Maglio, digital and communications organizer for the Wisconsin Public Education Network, a nonprofit advocacy organization for public schools, worked with legislative policy Lead Bryn Horton and organizing and engagement coordinator Camden Hargrove to track testimony at each of the public hearings.

“Tracking the testimony is really important because we have seen in budget cycle after budget cycle people ask for the resources Wisconsin kids in their public schools need and then have watched the subsequent budget not meet the requests,” Maglio said. “We wanted to keep it in the forefront of the advocates’ minds as well as the governor’s mind and legislators’ minds.” 

According to the WPEN tracker, more than 900 people spoke across the four hearings, which lasted about 29 total hours. WPEN reported that more than 170 people discussed funding for K-12 schools, more than 50 people spoke about higher education and more than  50  spoke about child care. Maglio said education across the spectrum made up at least a third of the total testimony.

“It is really powerful to hear you know people share their stories and experiences and priorities and so even though some of the topics might not have tallied very high on our tracker, they’re nonetheless still very important,” Maglio said.

On the issue of  K-12 public education, Maglio said, public testimony included calls to raise the special education reimbursement to at least 60%, provide districts with more spendable aid, fix the revenue limit structure, which restricts how much school districts can raise without permission from lawmakers or the public, and help school districts keep their schools operating and serve their students.

There were “many different stories and many different perspectives and people brought their own experiences whether they were coming from large urban districts or small rural districts,” Maglio said. School districts in Wisconsin have not had predictable increases in funding through state aid or property taxes in over 15 years, and an increasing number of school districts have had to rely on getting permission from voters in referendums to meet costs.

Maglio highlighted testimony by Laura McCoy, president of the Green Bay Area Public School District Board of Education, at the Kaukauna hearing. 

McCoy told lawmakers that her community supports their local schools.

“We know this because we just passed yet another referendum: the third referendum in eight years. We’re going to have to pass another one next year,” McCoy said. “Honestly, funding public education by referendum is no way to educate our future generations. Districts around this state are begging for change. Please listen to them.” 

“We are doing our job in Green Bay. We are holding up our piece of the sky. We are preparing our students for the future and we are hitting it out of the ballpark with workforce development,” McCoy added. “But it gets harder every year and we need to feel like the state Legislature is our partner, and not our adversary.” 

JFC Democrats call for education funding

Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee also called on Republican members to fund education in the upcoming state budget during a Wednesday press conference.

“From West Allis to Wausau, the message was consistent and it was clear,” said Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee).  “Wisconsinites want a budget that invests in public education, affordable health care options, workforce development and child care.” 

“It is our job as state legislators,” Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) said, “and it is time for my Republican colleagues to join Democrats in actually providing the resources that our kids deserve.” 

Republican leaders have said that the state Supreme Court decision on Evers’ partial veto, which extends the annual $325 revenue limit increase for school districts for 400 years, would affect the state budget. In April, the Court upheld the veto, saying it was within the governor’s  power and suggesting that lawmakers could take different routes, including writing the budget differently or passing a constitutional amendment, if they want to prevent such vetoes in the future. 

Roys said it would be “an excuse” and “pathetic” if Republicans decide not to increase education funding due to the decision. 

“If they want to try to pass a constitutional amendment, we’ve seen them do it again and again. They can certainly give that a try, but I don’t think that’s an acceptable excuse to fail to pass a budget on time, fail to pass a budget that makes the investments that our kids and our constituents — all of our constituents — need and and deserve,” Roys said. 

Johnson added that the state could also cover the cost of the $325 revenue increase Evers’ veto allowed school districts to raise from local taxpayers. 

“I’m hoping that they do the right thing,” Johnson said of her colleagues in the Legislature. “We heard a consensus across the board of taxpayers coming in and testifying, saying that the referendums are not sustainable. It’s not the way for them to fund public education, and let’s be real, it’s not fair, either.” 

Health care concerns

According to the WPEN’s tracking, health care was the second most discussed issue at the hearings. 

“Coming in just behind the focus on public education was Medicaid expansion, Medicaid funding, health care,” said Maglio. “Many, many, many people came out to testify in favor of those things and shared really powerful and sometimes heart-breaking personal stories about the impact that Medicaid funding has on their lives or the lives of their loved ones and what that would mean if that funding were not to be supported in the budget.” 

Evers, as he has done in each of his budget proposals, asked  that Wisconsin take the federal Medicaid expansion that would allow almost all adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level to qualify. Wisconsin is one of only 10 states that has not done so.

This session, though, the request comes at a moment when the Medicaid program is facing the threat of deep cuts from  the Trump administration and Republican members of Congress. Concerns about proposed federal cuts came up at the state budget hearings. 

“Also with farming and food access and previously supported funding for Wisconsin farmers to provide food to schools and to food pantries… Across the board there was kind of an undercurrent [of] people focusing on the needs of Wisconsinites, but urging their lawmakers to think about the budget within the context of decisions being made at the federal level,” Maglio said.

In addition to broader Medicaid expansion, a postpartum Medicaid expansion, which would extend health care coverage for mothers who recently gave birth from 60 days to a year, has been a major point of bipartisan agreement this session. A bill that would make Wisconsin the 49th state to take the extension recently passed the Senate but it faces challenges in the Assembly, where the top Republican has opposed the measure deeming it an expansion of “welfare.” 

Roys called on her Republican colleagues to get it done by placing it in the budget. She noted that the four Democrats and the six Senate Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee, who voted in favor of the bill, could place the proposal in the budget without Assembly Republicans on the committee having to vote in favor. 

“I understand that there are some problems over in the Assembly, and we’ve heard that Vos  is to blame year after year, session after session when this doesn’t get done — despite having overwhelming support for members of his caucus, and, of course, every single Democrat in the Legislature,” Roys said. “The good news is that if Republicans in the Assembly are afraid of political retribution from Speaker Vos or they don’t want to cross him, we can still put postpartum Medicaid expansion in the budget right now.” 

Another major issue that lawmakers will debate this budget is tax cuts, though Roys noted that cuts for “millionaires and billionaires” were not popular topics at the public hearings. 

“That’s one thing that nobody asked for, [but] seems to be the focus of my Republican colleagues,” Roys said. “In fact, they are focused on trying to shove through an irresponsible tax cut before we even engage in meeting the needs of Wisconsinites.”

Republican lawmakers have said they want to pass a tax cut bill prior to the budget. 

“The goal, again, is to try to find something that can actually get across the finish line,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said in April. During the last legislative session, Evers vetoed several Republican  tax cut proposals, including proposed reductions for the top income tax brackets in the last budget. “I think the governor realizes that we’re not going to spend any more money unless we have the ability to reduce taxes and help folks get by with inflation.”

Evers, meanwhile, has said that he won’t support tax cuts done outside of the budget.

“It has to be part of the budget. We just can’t do things one way, and then, you know, just do taxes and then do spending,” Evers said. “We have to look at it together.”

So far lawmakers have declined to discuss specifics. Committee Co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said at a press conference ahead of the Wausau hearing that details haven’t been negotiated and they aren’t going to “negotiate anything in the media.” 

Democratic legislative leaders have said they haven’t been part of those discussions. 

Roys said that if Democrats were going to support a tax cut, it needs to be part of the budget process and it needs to be “responsible and not create a massive structural deficit that then Republicans will use it as an excuse to undermine the services that we rely on in our public schools.” Any cut, she added, needs to be targeted towards “everyday Wisconsinites.” 

Johnson said that investing in other priorities could also present a better opportunity for savings for taxpayers. 

“Everybody could use a couple of extra dollars in their pocket. Let’s be real, I could use a couple of extra dollars a month, but if those same communities are going to have to go to referendum to support their schools, it’s not a tax break for them,” Johnson said.

Reps. Angelito Tenorio, Francesca Hong and Renuka Mayadev in the Wisconsin State Assembly chambers. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

After two sessions as the only Asian American lawmaker in the Wisconsin Legislature, Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), who was first elected in 2020, stood alongside freshmen Reps. Angelito Tenorio (D-West Allis) and Renuka Mayadev (D-Madison) Thursday to announce the formation of the state’s first Legislative Asian Caucus.

The lawmakers announced the creation of the caucus on the first day of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, saying that they have a responsibility to represent Asian American Wisconsinites, who make up 6% of the state, and to work to advance their rights, visibility and improve their daily lives.

“I’m deeply grateful, and I couldn’t think of a better team to be in the Asian caucus with… We have the distinct opportunity to make all of our communities stronger,” said Hong, who is the daughter of Korean immigrants, said. At one point during the press conference, Hong said she felt like she was going to cry.

Tenorio is the first Filipino American to be elected to the state Legislature, and said during the press conference that his parents immigrated to the U.S. “in hopes of finding a better life.” He said that growing up he didn’t see people that looked like him in leadership positions, including in government. 

“That lack of representation stuck with me, and I knew I wanted to change that,” Tenorio said, adding that he was an activist in college, served in the Wisconsin Army National Guard and has become an advocate for addressing climate change and protecting the environment. 

Tenorio said the creation of the caucus is “historic” and a “declaration” that Asian Americans deserve to help shape the future of the state. 

“For too long, our stories, struggles, strengths and victories have been overlooked,” Tenorio said. “As members of the Legislature, we have a seat at the table, and we carry the responsibility to make this table bigger, more inclusive and more representative of our state.” 

Tenorio noted that the lawmakers have introduced a resolution to recognize 2025 as the “Year of the Snake” and a resolution to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of the Vietnam War, the Secret War in Laos and of the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Phnom Penh in Cambodia —  conflicts that led to people from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam resettling in the U.S. 

“Such communities largely resettled in Wisconsin, overcoming adversity to establish vibrant communities that have significantly contributed to the social, cultural, and economic fabric of our state” the commemorative resolution states. “Wisconsin is now home to the third-largest Hmong population in the United States, with communities thriving in cities like Appleton, Sheboygan, Green Bay, Wausau and Milwaukee.” 

“These resolutions aren’t just ceremonial. They’re a part of our broader efforts to write our stories into the narrative of our states, to affirm that we are not outsiders,” Tenorio said. “We are part of the fabric of Wisconsin.”

The caucus members said they will host events throughout the month to highlight the contributions of Asian Americans, including one focused on Japanese internment, another on celebrating the Hmong community and one to uplift Filipino stories.

“There is so much to celebrate, so much to be proud of and so much to feel honored by being an Asian American,” Hong said. 

Maydev is the first South Asian elected to the Assembly and represents the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and other parts of the state’s capital city. She noted that her district is about 17% Asian American and she represents the highest concentration of Asian Americans in the state. 

Mayadev said that her journey to hold public office didn’t start when she submitted her nomination papers. 

“It started when my parents decided to leave everything they knew in their homes more than 50 years ago, and traveled from India as immigrants to the United States,” Mayadev said. “Like the representatives beside me, we are all first-generation Americans — proud children of immigrants.”

Mayadev also emphasized that the lawmakers will bring in the voices of others in the community. She said people have reached out to her for that reason already. 

“They said they’ve never reached out to an Assembly person before, but they reached out to me because they felt that they would have an empathetic ear and an understanding that goes deeper that maybe they felt that somebody else wouldn’t be able to be,” Mayadev said. 

Hong said caucus members will also make sure to go to different communities in the state and work to identify leaders who want to build relationships. 

The formation of the caucus comes as Republicans at a federal and state level have targeted immigrants as well as diversity and inclusion efforts. 

“We must do more. We know the reality on the ground. AAPI folks, like so many immigrants, workers and people of color, continue to face threats and challenges — from the underrepresentation and political exclusion of Asian Americans to the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes to growing economic inequality,” Tenorio said. “We are navigating a landscape that too often undermines our dignity and our safety.” 

Mayadev acknowledged the caucus is being established during a time of upheaval for immigrants as the Trump administration has proclaimed its aim of carrying out mass deportations and has detained even immigrants who are in the country legally. Wisconsin Republicans have supported those efforts, seeking legislation that requires local law enforcement to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to discussing removing a Milwaukee County judge who was arrested by the FBI and is accused of impeding the arrest of a man that ICE followed to her courtroom.

“There’s much uncertainty and fear,” Mayadev said, adding that caucus members are committed to providing “guidance and leadership during this time, so that all feel welcome in Wisconsin.”

Asked about the targeting of inclusion efforts by Republicans in the state Legislature, Hong mentioned a recent hearing in the Joint Audit Committee, where Republican lawmakers grilled state agency leaders on their inclusion efforts. 

“I plan to speak with the chairs of that committee about my experiences when I first got here of deep xenophobia and racism,” she said, adding that she hoped by being “very truthful, honest and vulnerable” she and other members of color could “dispel some of the preconceived notions that racism and discrimination isn’t happening right here in the halls of power amongst colleagues.”

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections Madison offices. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)

Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy took questions from lawmakers on the Assembly Corrections Committee Tuesday, explaining the plan for Gov. Tony Evers’ about $500 million state budget request. 

Hoy previously defended the proposal to the Joint Finance Committee prior to which co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) had expressed concerns that the plan lacked detail.

About $325 million in Evers’ proposal would go to overhaul the state’s correctional facilities through a “domino” plan — starting with work to close Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls, which were initially supposed to close in 2021 under 2018 Act 185, and culminating in the closure of the Green Bay Correctional Institution. 

“There are a lot of issues with running facilities that are that old,” Hoy said about the Green Bay facility, which was built in 1898. It would cost about $6.3 million for the closure. “We shouldn’t be running prisons in that manner in 2025… We want to do more with our population than what those facilities can afford us to do.”

Under the plan, Waupun Correctional Institution would be closed temporarily for renovations, including replacing the existing cells with modern housing for 600 medium-security beds and establishing space for a “vocational village.” The work on Waupun would cost about $245.3 million and be ready to open in 2031.

“If we are going to keep Waupun open, we are going to completely flip the script. We are going to rewrite the narrative of Waupun,” Hoy said.

Hoy said that the idea wouldn’t be far from turning the Waupun facility into a “college campus” where inmates can receive vocational, career and technical education. 

“They’re living in community together. They’re going to school together. They’re studying in the evenings together, and it’s predicated on robust partnerships with the community so that we have manufacturers out in the community who come in to do the training on site,” Hoy said. 

Other infrastructure funding would include $130 million to complete construction of a Type 1 youth facility in Dane County, which would be necessary to close Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake schools, $9 million to convert Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake into a 500-bed facility for men, $8.8 million to convert Stanley Correctional Institution to a maximum-security institution and $56 million to expand Sanger B. Powers Correctional Center by 200 beds.

Committee Chair Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) asked how DOC considered future budgets and whether there would be increases to the cost.

“It’s not the full cost of capital and programming for the future, so there’s a cost that is going to be harder to quantify when you build this, and you get it up and running,” Kaufert said.

Hoy said that closing Green Bay would actually represent a significant decrease in operating budget and updating Waupun would also lead to some decreases.

“Operating Waupun is quite cost prohibitive because [of] the number of staff that you need to run those aging facilities,” Hoy said. “Running a smaller facility at Waupun…requires less staffing, as well as shutting down Green Bay, your overall operating budget starts to offset [needing] more staff at Sanger Powers [Correctional Center]” to help with the additional beds.

Hoy also addressed some of the policy changes meant to address the growing prison population. Wisconsin’s prison population as of February was 23,074 and is expected to grow to 24,000 by the end of the biennium, despite the state only having capacity to house 17,638 people across its correctional facilities.

“About a third of our entire population is nonviolent in our prisons, and so we have existing programs that help people get the treatment, get the support and get them back out the door in a timely manner,” Hoy said. “One of the main mechanisms we have to do that at our disposal is the earned release program.” 

Evers’ plan would expand access to the state’s Earned Release Program to allow an additional 2,500 participants. The plan would expand access to workforce training and substance use treatment for people who have 48 months or less left in their sentences for nonviolent offenses  to support this. 

Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) asked if the state is hitting a “tipping point” when it comes to its prison population. 

“Are we at the point of even thinking about sending people to other jails? Are we thinking about sending people out of state?” Stubbs asked. “Our incarceration numbers right now… are very high.” 

Hoys said that would be a “nuclear” option, given that it would take people away from their families and community. 

“I have no intention, no desire to send people out of state,” Hoys said, but added that “at some point our options are going to run out.” 

Hoys said DOC is leveraging jail contracts as much as it can and noted that one change that is being sought in the budget is an increase to the daily rate. Right now, he said the rate is capped at $60 a day and he wants that bumped to $80 to match the rate for federal inmates. 

“If I’m a sheriff and I’m looking at taking in-state guys versus federal guys or women for that matter, I’m going to choose the federal folks because the price tag [is] better,” Hoy said. “I want to be able to have that as a resource. Again, I’d like to keep everybody in our facilities as opposed to county jails, but that is a safety valve for us that we currently do utilize.” 

Kaufert, who was newly elected to his seat in November, noted that during his previous tenure in the state Legislature in the 1990s, lawmakers on the corrections committee toured facilities in other states where Wisconsin inmates were being held.

“I don’t want to make that mistake again,” Kaufert said. 

Rep. Benjamin Franklin (R-De Pere) asked whether DOC would at least consider building a new facility to replace the Green Bay one. He added that he recently spoke to the Brown County sheriff, who said there are hundreds of people at home on ankle bracelets because there just isn’t enough space. 

“I want to commend the governor for acknowledging that that needs to go away — GBCI,” Franklin said. 

“We definitely did look… but to just replace Green Bay [maximum] facility — same size, same number of beds — you’re approaching a billion dollars, if not more,” Hoy said, adding that the state  also got an estimate of about $800 million for a smaller facility. 

“If I was looking across our population right now, and we were packed to the gills with violent offenders… I wouldn’t be saying, no, let’s not build anything. I’d be saying… we need to make sure our communities are safe and continue to house these people,” Hoy said. “But when I’m sitting on, you know, a third of 23,000 people that are non-violent… I believe it’s not only the right thing to do, but fiscally responsible to give those folks a chance in the community.” 

Rep. Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond Du Lac) asked how far up DOC is on Evers’ priority list. Noting the University of Wisconsin system budget and the public K-12 funding challenges, he said that everyone is seeking funding from the same pot of money. Wisconsin has a $4 billion budget surplus and Evers had suggested raising taxes on the wealthiest Wisconsinites. 

“I think we’re pretty close to the top, and I’m not just saying that because I’m the secretary of DOC. I mean I think it’s one of his biggest priorities,” Hoy said. 

Kaufert expressed interest in having more committee hearings with DOC about the plan. 

“There’s so many arms and legs on this that one impacts the other,” Kaufert said, adding that they could break it down to have more time to speak about all the pieces. He noted that if they are spending hundreds of millions and ending up with less beds, they better have “darn good answers” for taxpayers.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court chambers. (Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)

The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan Tuesday due to the federal charges that allege she tried to help a man in her courtroom avoid arrest by federal immigration agents.

Dugan was arrested Friday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Milwaukee County courthouse and has been charged with two federal criminal offenses, felony obstruction of a federal agency and a misdemeanor for concealing a person to help them avoid arrest. 

Earlier this month, ICE and other federal agents showed up outside her courtroom to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old Mexican immigrant accused of misdemeanor battery. The federal government alleges she helped Flores-Ruiz evade them by allowing him to exit using a side door without going past the agents. The agents then apprehended him outside the courthouse on foot.

The Court said in a two-page letter that it was in the public interest to relieve Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan of her duties. The letter stated that Dugan is temporarily banned from “exercising the powers of a circuit court judge” as of Tuesday.

“In the exercise of [the Supreme Court’s] constitutional authority and in order to uphold the public’s confidence in the courts of this state during the pendency of the criminal proceeding against Judge Dugan, we conclude, on our own motion, that it is in the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duties,” the Court stated.

Dugan’s legal team said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that they “are disappointed that the Court acted in unilateral fashion. We continue to assert Judge Dugan’s innocence and look forward [to] her vindication in court.”

Wisconsin libraries rely on funding provided by the federal government through the Library Services and Technology Act Grants to States Program. (Photo courtesy of Madison Public Library)

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) received $1.6 million in grants from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support library operations and programming last week, though uncertainty remains for the program. 

Wisconsin libraries rely on funding provided by the federal government through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grants to States Program, but that program has been in danger since President Donald Trump signed an executive order to downsize and begin the process of eliminating the agency. DPI and libraries throughout the state have warned that eliminating the funding would be a blow to statewide support for library programs as the grants fund staff for programs including the interlibrary loan system and other grants.

The notification message from IMLS to DPI stated that the partial payment is for the time period through April 2025. It also notified the state agency that “any additional amounts are subject to the availability of funds, IMLS discretion and other actions” and that “should those conditions be met, IMLS anticipates issuing supplemental awards and will send the allotment table at that time.”

“At this time, the DPI has not received a final allotment table indicating the amount of funding Wisconsin will receive,” the DPI stated in an update to libraries Tuesday afternoon. “This is not the typical fashion in which these funds are granted to states, but receiving a partial award provides some stability and relief in the short term.” 

The uncertainties for federal funding will still have some impact on the services that DPI carries out. Typically, the DPI Library Services office opens grant subawards, which are grants funded by federal funds and administered by the state agency, to library systems in Wisconsin in July. That won’t happen this year due to the uncertainty surrounding the amount and timing of future Grants to States funds.

“The DPI will prioritize the Library Services salaries and the tools necessary to do their jobs with this partial allotment,” DPI said in the email. The Library Services team is made up of about 20 people with 16 of the positions funded with federal dollars. “The team will reassess the viability of providing subawards once more is known about the future of IMLS and LSTA funding.” 

The amount that the state received is about half of the $3.23 million that Wisconsin received for the Grants to States Program received in 2024. 

Ben Miller, DPI library services director, had previously told the Examiner that the expected payment would serve as the next milestone for the state agency. There was uncertainty surrounding whether the payment would be sent given the gutting of staff for the IMLS office and the fact that other grants for libraries and museums have already been cut. Wisconsin is part of a multi-state lawsuit challenging the cuts to IMLS.

Miller had said that even if the agency received the payment, it will likely be cautious in proceeding with certain actions as the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018, the federal law that the grant program relies on, is up for renewal this fall. 

DPI spokesperson Chris Bucher said in an email to the Examiner that the state agency is “encouraged” by the first payment and is “optimistic given the IMLS note about issuing the supplemental awards.” 

“Our top priority remains being [of] service to Wisconsin kids and communities,” Bucher said. 

DPI also it would continue to provide updates to libraries as the situation evolves and thanked the library community for “sharing your stories, working with elected officials, and remaining steadfast in the incredible services you provide every day.” Libraries across the state have been working to inform the public about the potential cuts and to advocate for the federal funding with lawmakers. 

“Keep being loud and proud about the meaningful work happening in your libraries and communities,” DPI wrote. 

Tim Muth, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Wisconsin, said that during a hearing in computer engineering student Krish Lal Isserdasani's case that “the government's lawyer was unable to say that it wouldn't happen again." UW-Madison Engineering Hall. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

University of Wisconsin international students’ visa terminations are being reversed by the Trump administration after many judges across the country blocked the actions, including in Wisconsin.

Dozens of UW students were part of a group of thousands of international students in the U.S. who had their visas abruptly cancelled without notice from the federal government and without a chance to challenge the decision. 

According to a Politico report Friday, the Trump administration said in federal court it was reversing course and reinstating visas for many international students and alumni. A Justice Department attorney said, according to the report, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is “developing a policy that will provide a framework for SEVIS record terminations, and that the records for students “will remain active or shall be reactivated if not currently active, and ICE will not modify the record solely based on the [National Crime Information Center] finding that resulted in the recent SEVIS record termination.” The attorney also emphasized that ICE still has the authority to terminate a SEVIS record for other reasons.

The American Immigration Law Association estimates there were about 4,700 affected students across the country. 

UW-Madison said in a statement Monday that each of the 27 cancellations for its international students and alumni were reversed as of late afternoon Saturday, and that affected students and alumni will be able to continue their studies or post-graduation training at UW-Madison as a result.

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said in the statement that she was “relieved and grateful” for the development. 

“This situation was deeply troubling, upended lives and created both fear and harm,” Mnookin said. “I want to personally thank the many members of our community, along with local, state and federal officials, who worked to assist our students.”

Reported reversals started Thursday and continued through the weekend, according to UW-Madison, and similar to the cancellations, there was no explanation for the records being restored.

The institution said that it has notified the students of the most recent change to their records and that International Student Services and International Faculty and Staff Services are continuing to provide information, resources and support.

“We are pleased to see that all of our affected students and alumni have had their SEVIS records returned to active status, as it has been a difficult period for all involved,” UW- Madison International Division Dean Frances Vavrus said in a statement. “We will continue to follow this evolving situation closely throughout the summer and upcoming academic year.”

Universities of Wisconsin spokesperson Mark Pitsch said in an email that there have been “a number of reversals at our universities” and that the situation remains “fluid.”

Reversals come after judges in cases across at least 23 states had issued emergency orders temporarily blocking the government’s action including in Wisconsin.

In one case, Krish Lal Isserdasani, a 21-year-old computer engineering senior from India, had his SEVIS record terminated less than a month before he was scheduled to graduate from UW-Madison. His case had noted that Isserdasani and his family have spent about $240,000 on his education at UW-Madison and he could lose $17,500 on the current semester’s tuition and would be responsible for four months of rent despite not being able to stay in the country. Isserdasani had also reported a significant psychological impact, including “difficulty in sleeping and fear that he will be placed in immediate detention and deportation.” U.S. District Judge William Conley had temporarily blocked his visa cancellation. 

In another case last week, Conley said that the government had wrongly cancelled Yue “Alison” Yang, a UW-Madison student from China, and granted her protection from deportation. 

Despite the step back by the Trump administration, the ACLU of Wisconsin is calling for injunctive relief from federal courts. The ACLU of Wisconsin filed an amicus curiae brief in two cases challenging the revocations, including Isserdasani’s case and a case recently brought by three anonymous international UW-Madison students, saying the issue isn’t “moot.”

Tim Muth, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Wisconsin, said that “resorting to the courts is continuing to be an important check on actions that this administration is taking without regard to the human consequences on persons like the student in this case.”

In an amicus curiae brief, Muth wrote that the reversal offers “little protection” for plaintiffs and urged the Court to issue a ruling that “declaring such terminations, without due process and without compliance with applicable law and regulation, to be illegal.”

“It is clear that the recent pivot by the federal government should not moot these 100+ cases pending around the country since they are clearly able to be reversed immediately after dismissal of suits challenging them, and the present likelihood of irreparable injury to the Plaintiffs remains a going concern,” Muth wrote in the amicus curiae.

Muth told the Wisconsin Examiner that the reversals are a sign of the Trump administration’s “losing record” in these cases, but said it’s difficult to trust the Trump administration on immigration matters. 

“It’s not as if the Department of Homeland Security issued a press release or a formal statement announcing a change in policy,” Muth said. “What we had were a couple of attorneys in a couple of different cases saying the government is reactivating student status in SEVIS… Nothing official… has come out from the government. No statement of ‘Oh, we made a mistake on these 4,700 students, and we’re going to correct it. We’re so sorry.’” 

Muth said that during a hearing Monday in Isserdasani’s case Conley asked the government’s lawyer if she was authorized to say that a termination of Isserdasani SEVIS status wouldn’t happen again under the “new policy that supposedly they are developing.” 

“The government’s lawyer was unable to say that it wouldn’t happen again,” Muth said. “That is why the ACLU and… lawyers for international students around the country are saying there continues to be the need for courts to step in until there’s some legally binding correction made by the government.”

Muth said the law is “pretty clear” about when international students can lose their status. Those cases include when someone is no longer a full time student, when someone is engaging in employment that isn’t authorized by the law, lying to ICE or committing a crime of violence. He said things like traffic citations or an arrest for a charge that has been dismissed (as in the case of Isserdasani) are not authorized reasons for terminating somebody’s F1 visa status. 

“It is not something that can just be done unilaterally because the government has decided it wants to have fewer international students,” Muth said. 

The brief notes that students were provided with “vague boilerplate reasons” for their visa termination. In Isserdasani’s case, he received an email that said he was “otherwise failing to maintain status” and that he was “identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked.” It states that the reasoning does not satisfy due process requirements because it doesn’t describe a student’s circumstances and students are not provided with the opportunity to defend themselves. 

In the brief, Muth also notes the recent case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland resident who was erroneously deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, saying that the visa cancellations for international students are part of a larger pattern of the Trump administration ignoring the due process rights — which includes being entitled to notice and the opportunity to be heard — of noncitizens. 

“The due process protections of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution are protections, not just for U.S. citizens, but they are protections for everyone residing in this country — that right not to be arbitrarily arrested, detained, kicked out of the country,” Muth said. 

Muth said he didn’t know what new policy the Trump administration could be developing.

“If they’re talking about coming up with a policy that would allow them to terminate SEVIS records in that situation, I think they would be violating the existing law set up by Congress,” Muth said. “People are entitled to what they didn’t get here, which is, if you’re going to terminate my status, tell me why, and give me a chance to object if what you are doing is contrary to law or contrary to what the facts are.”