Senate and Assembly Democratic lawmakers proposed their own package of education bills ahead of the floor session that would increase general aid for public schools by $325 per pupil, provide transparency on voucher school costs and provide free school meals to students. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Wisconsin Assembly Republicans passed a handful of bills Thursday on an array of issues. Democrats argued the measures won’t solve the problems facing Wisconsinites and unveiled their own proposals. 

The Assembly floor session is the first since lawmakers broke for the summer after completing the state budget. The Senate does not plan to meet this month, and Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) told reporters during a press conference that it was a “shame” they wouldn’t. She said she has had conversations about meeting in October. 

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said Republicans’ agenda for Thursday was an example of “prioritizing culture wars” rather than “doing what’s right.” 

Democrats’ education bills

Senate and Assembly Democratic lawmakers proposed their own package of education bills ahead of the floor session that would increase general aid for public schools by $325 per pupil, provide transparency on voucher school costs and provide free school meals to students. 

“We would like to see our legislative Republican colleagues focus on the issues that are facing Wisconsinites — issues like cost of living, their public schools and their property taxes,” Neubauer said. “That’s why we’re bringing forward this package today, because we know from conversations with our constituents what they’re really concerned about.”

The Democrats’ education agenda  contrasts with the plan announced by Assembly Republicans earlier this week. Republican proposals include encouraging consolidation of schools, calling on Gov. Tony Evers to opt into a federal school choice program, banning drones over schools and improving math education.

One Democratic  bill would dedicate $325 in additional per pupil state aid to Wisconsin school districts. It would cost nearly $500 million for 2025-26 and nearly $700 million for 2026-27. 

Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) called it the “bare minimum” that school districts need and said it would help school districts avoid raising property taxes. 

“School districts will do better under this bill than current law,” Roys said. “We know every kid around the state deserves to go to a great school so that they can meet their potential, but to be clear, this bill is not everything that our kids need or deserve, not even close.” 

Wisconsin’s most recent state budget did not give school districts any increase in per pupil general aid, despite calls from education advocates, Gov. Tony Evers and other Democrats to provide additional funding.

Republican lawmakers said they would not increase state aid after  Evers used his partial veto power to extend a cap on the annual increase to limits on the revenue districts can raise from local taxpayer of $325 per pupil for the next 400 years. Without state funding, school districts only have the option of increasing property taxes to bring in the additional funds. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau projects that property taxes will increase by more than 7% on average over the next year.

Roys said the bill is a “test” to see if Republicans want to help keep property taxes stable, since providing no state aid to schools will drive those taxes up. She blamed Republicans for placing districts in a situation where they have to go to property taxpayers to keep up with costs. 

Roys also knocked a Republican bill that would encourage school districts to explore consolidation and sharing services. 

“They want to consolidate school districts. They want to close schools, and by the way, everything’s the governor’s fault. Give me a break,” Roys said. “They want to hold the line on property taxes? Prove it.” 

The bill also includes an additional $31 million to ensure no school districts receive less state aid in 2025-26 than they received in 2024-25. 

The Department of Public Instruction’s July 1 estimate found that 277 districts — or 65.8% — of school districts were going to receive less in general aid from the state in 2025. 

Another bill seeks to provide greater transparency on the costs of voucher schools to districts by requiring property tax bills to include information about the cost. The bill would expand on a push that public school advocates are making at a local level after the city of Green Bay was able to add the information. 

Rep. Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay) said the bill would help inform residents who may be confused about where their tax dollars are going. 

“We can say, time and time again, that the state is underfunding our local public schools. That is true. What they also don’t understand, and there’s a really simple fix, is how much of that money is leaving their district to go to other voucher schools. In some cases, millions and tens of millions of dollars… It is a simple fix. It is very straightforward,” Andraca said.

Requiring in-person work for state employees 

AB 39 would require state employees to return to in-person work for at least 80% of their time — or four days a week for a full-time employee — starting this year. The bill passed 51-44 with all Democrats opposing it. 

The bill initially required state agency employees to be in person the whole week, but an amendment dropped the minimum to four days. 

Republican lawmakers have been calling for stricter limits on remote work for several years. The policies became normal for state employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Nedweski said she isn’t “anti-telework,” but said remote work needs to be managed and measured. She said agencies haven’t provided data to show it is working. During the Assembly Committee on Government Oversight, Accountability and Transparency hearing on the bill, agency leaders said remote work policies have helped with recruitment and retention of employees.

“It’s time for state employees to return to the office and do the work that Wisconsin’s hard-working taxpayers are paying them to do to the best of their ability and in their most productive and efficient way,” Nedweski said. “We have a policy that allows for remote work agreements. We’re not saying the policy is ending, we’re saying, come back, have your performance evaluated and re-sign your remote work agreement.” 

Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona), the ranking member of the GOAT committee, pointed to the testimony they heard as he argued the bill wouldn’t help.

“A bill like this with a one-size-fits-all return to work policy will not make our state government better… Remote work policies were born from a crisis, and we all remember too well. They’ve  become a success for our state government. We now have state workers dispersed all across the state. We’ve achieved savings by consolidating physical workspace. We’ve stayed competitive with the private market by appealing to how employees want to work and then what they expect from their work environment.” 

Flag prohibition

AB 58 would prohibit flags, other than the United States flag, the state of Wisconsin flag and a few others on a list of exceptions, from being flown outside state and local buildings including the Wisconsin State Capitol. The bill passed 50-44, along party lines. 

Rep. Jerry O’Connor, the author of the bill, argued that flags are part of the reason for increasing divisiveness, and even political violence. Wisconsin leaders condemned political violence during the session after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.

“It’s not the role of the government to pick the winners and losers on partisan and activist issues,” O’Connor said. 

Some of the exceptions would include local government flags, those commemorating veterans, prisoners of war or missing in action, those recognizing a foreign nation for special purposes and a flag of a unit of firefighters, law enforcement officers or emergency medical technicians. 

He said these exceptions are “simply recognizing those flags that are efficiently recognized by all levels of government.”

“We should have a shared outlook as to what we do as elected officials in this building here to promote unity and not division… I think we all could agree that those are the flags that represent all of us,” O’Connor said. 

Rep. Chuck Wichgers (R-Muskego) spoke specifically about pride flags, which are a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, when explaining his support of the legislation. 

“You’re asking every Wisconsinite to sanction what that means,” Wichgers said in reference to the Progress Pride flag. The chevron portions of the flag include black and brown stripes to represent people of color who identify with the LGBTQ+ community as well as those living with HIV/AIDS. The light blue, pink and white stripes in the chevron represent transgender people.

“I can guarantee you when you ask the people that are in favor, they’re not going to know what that chevron means, so we’re endorsing, sanctioning something that is being flown above our flag that is probably divisive,” Wichgers said. 

Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) said, however, that she views the bill as being divisive and as a violation of the First Amendment. 

“I think as a body we should be promoting inclusiveness. It’s not just the more morally right thing to do. It also strengthens our communities, promotes mutual respect, and actually leads to more civic engagement,” Sinicki said. “These symbolic acts do matter. They matter to me, and they matter to the majority of people across Wisconsin.” 

Prohibit health services funding for immigrants without legal status

AB 308, coauthored by Rep. Alex Dallman (R-Markesan), passed 50-44 along party lines. The bill would prohibit state, county, village, long-term care district and federal funds from being used to subsidize, reimburse or provide compensation for any health care services for a person not lawfully in the United States.

Dallman said at a press conference that the bill is meant to stop Wisconsin from expanding its Medicaid to cover immigrants without legal status. Wisconsin already doesn’t allow this. 

“This is going to take a step forward to say that we are going to again keep these funds available for our citizens who are paying in all these dollars,” Dallman said. 

Advocates expressed concerns to the Examiner earlier this week that the bill would lead to health service providers having to check everyone’s citizenship status before providing care.

Rep. Angela Stroud (D-Ashland) said the bill is “the kind of thing that makes people hate politics.”

“We don’t provide health care to undocumented immigrants. The reason we’re voting on this today is so that the majority party can go out and tell their voters that Democrats failed to stop giving health insurance to undocumented people, but we can’t stop something that isn’t happening. Why waste time and taxpayer money this way?” Stroud said. “If you don’t have affordable health care, they don’t want you to hold them accountable. Instead, they want you to blame someone else.”

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he is “very confident” in the Capitol police force and noted that many of the incidents that have occurred were not located in Capitol buildings. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner).

Wisconsin leaders condemned political violence and said they are continuing to discuss security in the Capitol on Thursday following the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.

Kirk, a conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at a university event in Orem, Utah. The search is still underway for the shooter.

During a floor session Thursday, the Wisconsin State Assembly held a moment of silence for Kirk as well as one to honor the 24th anniversary of 9/11.

“Mr. Kirk’s family are in our thoughts today,” Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) said at a press conference. “We are still sad about the assassination of Representative Melissa Horton in Minnesota. Political violence and violence is never the answer — whether it’s the arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home, the attempt on President Trump’s life or the university and college shootings that are happening all across our nation. Violence is never the answer.”

Hesselbein also acknowledged the shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado that happened Wednesday afternoon.

“This was another senseless act of political violence unfortunately against Charlie Kirk, and I want to express my deepest condolences to his loved ones,” Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said. “We all condemn political violence in the strongest possible terms. No one should fear for their lives because of their jobs.”

Security and safety concerns have been at the forefront of lawmakers’ minds this year, especially after the assassination of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband. The names of several Wisconsin politicians were found on a list of targets belonging to the Minnesota shooting suspect.

“Given the recent rise in political violence, of course, this is top of mind for many of our colleagues, and of course, the staff who work in the Capitol as well as the press, the guests, the children that come through this building on Capitol visits,” Neubauer said. “It’s an ongoing conversation, and we hope to continue that with our Republican colleagues, who of course control the safety in our chambers, as well as the other entities in the Capitol.” 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he is “very confident” in the Capitol police force and noted that many of the incidents that have occurred were not located in Capitol buildings. 

“When you look at Minnesota, it was in their homes. If you look at what happened yesterday to Charlie Kirk, it was in a public venue on campus, so the idea that we’re somehow going to fortify a single building to make people feel safer when the reality is that most of the violence that has occurred has not been inside of the buildings, but outside of people’s home.

In a video Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump condemned the assassination and listed acts of violence that have occurred against right-leaning figures, including the attempt on his own life last year, but neglected to mention the murder of the Hortmans. He blamed the incidents on “radical left political violence.” 

“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now,” Trump said. “My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence.”

Asked about Trump only recognizing violence against conservatives, Vos said he didn’t see the comments. But Vos said he knows that in Trump’s “heart” he believes that “assassination is 100% of the time wrong.”

“When Melissa Hortman, who was clearly a liberal Democrat, I didn’t hear anybody on the right celebrating the fact that she was assassinated. It was awful, and that’s what it should be,” Vos said, adding that he condemned anyone celebrating Kirk’s death.

During the moment of silence, Vos said Kirk was a man “who represented free speech” and “was silenced in the most horrific way possible.” He said that the country is “rapidly deteriorating” as “many see the other party as their mortal enemies out to destroy the country, not just good-hearted political rivals that we should be.”

Wisconsin’s congressional delegation and other state leaders also condemned political violence on Wednesday, though one Republican has taken the route of blaming others for the violence. 

Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said that “there is no two ways about this: political violence has no place in America. I am keeping Charlie and his family in my thoughts in this truly horrifying moment.”

U.S. Rep. Tony Wied called Kirk “a true American Patriot” and said “his legacy will live on for generations to come.” 

“There is absolutely zero place for political violence in our country,” Wied said. 

“Violence against anyone because of their political beliefs is wrong. Violence against others is wrong.  Violence is never the answer for resolving our differences or disagreements,” Gov. Tony Evers said. “Wisconsin joins in praying for Charlie Kirk and the Utah Valley community and first responders.”

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who represents Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, has been posting consistently since news broke about the assassination, blaming reporters and Democrats for the violence. 

“The left and their policies are leading America into a civil war. And they want it,” Van Orden wrote in one post. In another, he said reporters and Democrats were “directly culpable.” 

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker said in a statement that Van Orden was encouraging violence. 

“His terrifying statements, which are inviting civil war and encouraging violence against Democrats and the media, are being completely ignored by Republicans in Wisconsin and in D.C.. They have a responsibility to tell Derrick Van Orden to stop pouring gasoline on an open flame, and I implore them to do so immediately,” Remiker said.

Remiker had already condemned the violence in a statement Wednesday, saying, “this sort of violence will continue until all of us, regardless of party, condemn these sorts of heinous actions.”

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