A sign for the Oneida Community Health Center in Hobart, Wis. | Photo by Jason Kerzinski for Wisconsin Examiner

Wisconsin state Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto) and Rep. Joy Goeben (R-Hobart) heard concerns about potential Medicaid cuts and gambling at a listening session Monday in Oneida, Wis. 

A woman at the session said her son receives Medicaid through the Katie Beckett program, which serves children under 19 who live at home and have certain health care needs. She said that “with the $880 billion that is going to be reduced in the federal budget, it is without a doubt going to impact Medicaid in our state.” 

A budget proposal approved by the House in late February requires lawmakers to cut spending to offset tax breaks, likely requiring Medicaid cuts, KFF Health News reported. The committee that oversees spending on Medicaid and Medicare is instructed to cut $880 billion over the next decade.

The Congressional Budget Office found House Republicans’ budget goals would require cuts to Medicaid, CBS News reported on March 6. 

The woman said she’s wondering what’s happening in the state budget to “plan for these shortcomings that are going to be coming from the federal level.” 

“I don’t know on the federal side, what’s going on there,” Wimberger said. “…I can’t imagine that we’d let any sort of tragedy happen to people who—if there’s a cut of any kind, so we’ll have to adjust to it.”

Medicaid is funded by both federal and state governments. Proposals that would reduce the amount of money paid by the federal government would not require states to pay more to make up the difference, and most states will not likely increase their health care spending, according to an opinion article by the president of the health policy research and news outlet KFF.  

Wimberger is a member of the state Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance, which is responsible for reviewing state appropriations and revenues. The committee will hold listening sessions on April 2 in Kaukauna, April 4 in West Allis, April 28 in Hayward and April 29 in Wausau.

Oneida Nation requests anti-gambling efforts, grant funding

Brandon Stevens, the vice-chairman of the Oneida Nation in northeast Wisconsin, spoke at the listening session. One topic discussed was online and in-person gambling. 

In Wisconsin, tribes have the exclusive right to operate Class III games, through compacts with the state. Class III includes banking card games, electronic games of chance, including slot machines and, generally, high-stakes, casino-style games. 

Tana Aguirre from the Oneida Nation’s intergovernmental affairs and communications office sent the Examiner a statement that covers a few of the tribe’s budget priorities. 

The Oneida Nation is requesting an increase in funding to help address illegal/unregulated gambling activities, according to Aguirre. The tribe requests compliance and/or enforcement measures “to help deal with illegal gambling machines and practices throughout Wisconsin.” 

“We’re paying a premium for exclusivity through the gaming compact [between the tribe and the state]. It’s basically a violation of the compact if they’re allowed to game at a particular level,” Stevens said. 

Aguirre said the Oneida Nation and other tribes want to see increased funding for a tribal elderly transportation grant program. The grant gives the state’s 11 federally recognized tribes financial assistance for transportation services for tribal elders on and off the reservation. 

The Oneida Nation also wants funding to go toward an intergovernmental training program, Aguirre said. 

The program “is meant to enhance the skill set and understanding between state and tribal officials.” It aims to promote the different governments engaging in “meaningful and productive” consultations and discussions. 

Aguirre said that for the items included in his email, the tribe is requesting that funding come from Oneida Nation gaming revenue that the state of Wisconsin receives.

Tribes submit gaming-related payments to the state. A variety of state programs receive state funding from tribal payments, such as gaming regulation in the Department of Administration and law enforcement in the Department of Justice. Gaming revenue has been put toward tribal family services grants, a tribal law enforcement grant program and other programs. 

A teacher and students in a classroom. (Klaus Vedfelt | Getty Images)

An audit announced this week of changes in recent state testing standards is the latest reaction of Republican lawmakers to changes the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) approved last year in the names and cut scores for achievement levels. It also comes as state Superintendent Jill Underly campaigns for reelection facing a challenger criticizing DPI for “lowering” state standards.

Co-Chairs of Wisconsin Legislative Joint Audit Committee Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto) and Rep. Robert Wittke (R-Caledonia) announced the audit Tuesday of DPI’s decision to update terms describing achievement levels and revise the cut scores used to measure student achievement. 

Underly and DPI have repeatedly defended the changes as part of the agency’s regular process to ensure standards are kept current. Assembly Republicans passed a bill last week that would reverse the changes, requiring  the state to reinstate standards set in the 2019-20 school year and tie changes to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP is a nationwide assessment meant to provide representative data about student achievement. 

Wimberger and Wittke noted in a statement that the recent NAEP results found that 31% of fourth grade students were at or above proficient in reading. Under the new state testing standards, Wisconsin had a proficiency rate of 48% in English/Language Arts and 49% in math. The legislators accused Underly of trying to hide the state’s literacy challenges.

The “unilateral changes to cover up DPI’s failing is absolutely unacceptable, and this audit will help us uncover exactly how and why these reporting standards were changed to stop future manipulation,” the lawmakers said.

According to the Legislative Audit Bureau, the audit could look at several topics related to the changes, including DPI’s written policies and procedures for developing the state’s annual school report card and for updating assessment cut scores. Other topics include, whether the current policies comply with statutory and administrative rule requirements, the way the agency gets input from educators and parents when developing changes, and how the process used for the recent changes versus previous years, State Auditor Joe Chrisman wrote in a memo to Wimberger and Wittke.

Deputy Superintendent Tom McCarthy said in a statement that the audit was for political purposes, noting the upcoming state superintendent election.

“Our approach has been transparent. If the Legislature were genuinely interested in this issue, and had listened to our testimony just a few weeks ago, they would understand that updating cut scores is a standard procedure whenever updates are made to our rigorous state standards,” McCarthy said. 

During a hearing on the bill to reverse the changes, McCarthy and other DPI representatives laid out the process the agency used, including a survey and consulting education experts to discuss potential changes and come up with recommendations. 

In his statement, McCarthy reiterated that the updates were recommended by experts and that  NAEP is a “national benchmarking tool” not a state accountability tool. The test is typically taken by only  a few thousand students in the state to develop a representative pool.

“It does not measure Wisconsin academic standards, which are used by teachers to deliver instruction. Comparing the two is like trying to use a thermometer to measure the length of a two-by-four — it makes no sense,” McCarthy said. “Especially since it seems NAEP is under attack by the White House, including canceling a major NAEP assessment and firing analytic staff.”

The Trump administration recently put NAEP Chief Peggy Carr on administrative leave. The Department of Education also recently canceled the NAEP Long-Term Trend exam, which measures the math and reading skills for 17-year-olds. 

McCarthy said DPI learned about the audit from a press release that “falsely states that the DPI didn’t support literacy reform.”

“Let’s be clear: we supported and still support literacy reform. The legislature, on the other hand, is still holding back nearly all of the $50 million meant to help kids learn to read. Instead of funding the solutions, they’re trying to manufacture controversy,” McCarthy said. “This newly announced ‘audit’ is not a desire to truly learn, but to lay a political hit on a state elected official in the middle of a campaign.”

State testing standards have become a central issue in the April 1 election for state superintendent as Underly’s challenger, Brittany Kinser, who is backed by Republicans, has said she is running on a platform of “restoring high standards.” 

State grants audit

Lawmakers also announced that they plan to launch an audit into the administration of state grants, which they say is meant to help examine whether there is waste, fraud and abuse in the state.

According to the LAB, the audit could look into the policies an agency has for administering grants, whether agencies are compliant with state statute and administrative rules in implementing grants, the amount of grants awarded in recent years and outcomes from those awards.

The audit request comes as lawmakers are starting the process of writing the next two-year state budget. 

Wimberger and Wittke said that given the budget it is “prudent” to look at how much is being spent on grants. 

“In the last budget, the state issued more than $44 billion in grant assistance funding. Evaluating these programs for wasteful, fraudulent, or abusive spending means we can identify and cut the fat of big government, making Wisconsin’s state government more accountable for our hardworking taxpayers,” the lawmakers said. 

A public hearing on the proposed audits is scheduled for Tuesday. 

The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety. Seated at the table are Detective Joseph Mensah (left) and Wisconsin Fraternal Order of Police President Ryan Windorff (right) (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

A Republican bill aiming to shield police officers from investigations after fatal shootings spurred committee debate and a deadlock vote Tuesday morning. The Senate’s Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety held an executive session to vote on the bill, which would prevent the use of John Doe hearings to review cases where officers are involved in fatal shootings of civilians. The hearing ended in a deadlocked 4-4  vote on advancing the bill. 

The bill was reported out of committee “without recommendation.” This means that the committee “has not recommended either approval or rejection of the bill,” Eric Barbour, the Senate committee clerk explained. It will next go to the Committee on Senate Organization, where it can then be scheduled for a vote by the full Senate.

Republican Sens. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield), the bill’s author, committee chairman Van Wanggaard (R-Racine), Sen. Jesse James (R-Altoona), and Sen. Andre Jacque (R-De Pere) voted in favor of the bill. Democratic Sens. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee) and LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) were joined by Republican Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto) in voting against the bill. 

Wimberger also voted against the bill last year, when it was first introduced by Hutton and Rep. Clint Moses (R-Menomonee). The bill’s original version was criticized for potentially preventing crime victims from having cases reviewed after a prosecutor declined to issue charges. Its latest version makes a specific carve-out for police officers involved in fatal shootings. Were it to pass, judges would be unable to hold hearings under Wisconsin’s John Doe law in cases where prosecutors have declined to issue charges. Instead, new or unused evidence would be required before a John Doe hearing could be considered. 

During a committee hearing earlier this month, Hutton said that the John Doe bill is archaic, and is increasingly being used to harass police officers. He and the law enforcement officers who testified  pointed to two instances of the law being used in recent years. One John Doe hearing held in 2021 reviewed the 2016 shooting of Jay Anderson Jr. by then-Wauwatosa officer Joseph Mensah. The other hearing was held in 2023, and reviewed the shooting of Tony Robinson by Madison Police officer Matthew Kenney. Both hearings were unsuccessful, with a judge dropping Robinson’s case and special prosecutors declining to pursue charges after Anderson’s hearing. 

Mensah spoke to the Senate committee when Hutton re-introduced the bill this year. During public testimony, Mensah described going through multiple investigations into his shooting of Anderson. Over a five-year career as a Wauwatosa officer, Mensah was involved in three fatal shootings. No charges were issued by the district attorney’s office in any of these cases. Anderson’s was the only one of Mensah’s shootings to get a John Doe hearing. 

Hutton has said that although he’s talked extensively with law enforcement about the bill, he has not engaged with any of the families of people killed by police. 

During Tuesday’s executive session, Sen. Roys expressed concern that the bill would create a new class protection for police officers. Roys highlighted recent findings regarding the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team (MAIT), which investigates police shootings and deaths in the Milwaukee area. Roys noted that the team’s policies afford officers numerous protections and privileges including the ability to refuse to give a recorded statement and the ability to make additional statements after viewing video evidence. 

James, who has had a career in law enforcement, responded that officers get to view video evidence because the incidents themselves happen so quickly, that they may forget certain details. “I don’t think there’s a real understanding of the complete process,” said James, who described Mensah as a victim because the shootings he was involved in were reviewed multiple times. 

Sen. Drake said that while officers deserve support, changing the John Doe law would take away an avenue of recourse from victims of police shootings and their families. 

A PFAS advisory sign along Starkweather Creek. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)

Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday announced a $145 million budget proposal to address PFAS pollution across the state, an amount that more than doubles the money set aside in the last state budget to address the problem. 

In the 2023-25 budget, Evers and lawmakers set aside $125 million in a trust fund to be spent on PFAS remediation, but the governor and Republicans in the Legislature failed to reach an agreement on a bill that would get the money out the door. 

Communities across the state have been affected by water contaminated with PFAS, a family of man-made compounds known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down easily in the environment. PFAS have been used to manufacture household goods such as non-stick pans, fast food wrappers and certain types of firefighting foam. 

Clean water advocates saw the $125 million appropriation set aside two years ago as a good first step for addressing the problem. Democrats and advocates turned against a bill authored by a group of Green Bay-area Republicans, including Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto), because they believed it would allow polluters to receive funds through its innocent landowner grant program and let them off the hook for damage they caused. 

As the debate over that bill took place through much of the last legislative session, residents of communities harmed by PFAS pollution complained that the bill did nothing to address the state’s lack of a standard for the acceptable level of PFAS in groundwater — the source of drinking water for the large portion of residents who use private drinking wells. The state has passed standards for PFAS in surface water and municipal water systems, but a previous effort to set a groundwater standard was halted by Republican appointees on the state Natural Resources Board in 2022.

Another proposed rule from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to set a groundwater standard has stalled because it is estimated to cost more than $10 million to implement. Under a state law known as the REINS Act, any administrative rule with an estimated cost over $10 million must be approved by the full Legislature. 

That proposed rule is set to expire March 12, which would require the DNR to start the years-long rulemaking process over again. On Tuesday, Evers announced he has approved a new rulemaking effort to set a groundwater standard. 

Under Evers’ budget proposal, the $145 million would be used to create a grant program for municipal water systems addressing PFAS pollution, helping private well owners sample and test their wells for the chemicals, research the destruction and disposal of the chemicals, provide grants to local businesses to reduce or eliminate their use of PFAS and provide bottled water to affected communities. The proposal, according to a news release, would also “protect innocent landowners like farmers who unknowingly spread biosolids containing PFAS,” an issue that Wimberger has cited as his motivation for his inclusion of the language that Democrats objected to in his previous bill. 

In a news release, Wimberger responded to Evers’ proposal, saying the governor had finally come around to his view on the innocent landowner provisions while complaining Evers had not provided a counter-proposal to last year’s failed bill.

“It seems Governor Evers has come around to my position and supports my bill that he vetoed last year,” Wimberger said. “His proposals today are an admission of what I’ve been saying for years: we can’t just write the DNR a check for $125 million to fight this problem. We need a strong legal framework to fight PFAS contamination, including language protecting innocent landowners from being treated like polluters. However, I’ve been waiting for months for the Governor to clarify his definition of an ‘innocent landowner,’ and he has refused to respond to my requests. This delay is holding up meaningful solutions to PFAS problems affecting communities across our state. I find myself sitting at the table waiting to have a meaningful conversation on how we can pass a bill to fight PFAS in Wisconsin, and I hope the Governor will join us there soon.”

The language of Evers’ proposal isn’t yet public so it’s unclear how his definition of innocent landowners differs from Wimberger’s bill, but Erik Kanter, government relations director for Clean Wisconsin, told the Wisconsin Examiner that exempting farmers who spread PFAS-contaminated biosolids from being held responsible for PFAS pollution was something that had been talked about among lawmakers and interest groups. He added that Clean Wisconsin couldn’t support a PFAS bill unless the innocent landowner definition is narrowed.

Evers said he also wants to expand eligibility for the state’s well compensation grant program, which helps fund the addition of treatment systems or replacement of private wells. The program currently does not apply to private wells used for drinking water. He also said he wants to pass a bill that would exempt the proposed groundwater standard from the REINS Act requirements and prohibit the spreading of biosolids that exceed certain PFAS levels.

“Whether it’s kids in the classroom, families at home, or our farmers and agricultural industries, Wisconsinites’ health and well-being depend on access to clean, safe water,” Evers said in a statement. “Folks should be able to trust that the water coming from their tap is safe, but we know that’s not the case for far too many families and communities. We have a responsibility to ensure Wisconsinites have access to safe, clean drinking water no matter where they live in our state.”

The governor called on lawmakers not to repeat past delays.

“This is an urgent issue, and we cannot afford more years of inaction and obstruction,” Evers said. “I urge Republicans and Democrats to work together to do what’s best for our kids and Wisconsin’s families by investing in critical efforts to improve water quality and get contaminants out of our water in our next state budget.”

Evers’ full budget proposal is set to be released Feb. 18.