Senate leader agrees to convene special session, but no immediate action taken.
But lawmakers won’t immediately move bills
MADISON - The leader of the state Senate is taking up Gov. Tony Evers on his call to convene a special legislative session in response to the police shooting of a Black Kenosha man and the eruption of violence that followed.
But lawmakers won’t take any bills right away.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a Republican from Juneau who also is running for Congress, said Friday he would gavel into the special session Evers scheduled for Monday but wouldn’t call lawmakers in until later.
The move comes after Evers and Milwaukee Bucks players called on the state Legislature to return to Madison to pass legislation to address issues related to police brutality and racial discrimination after the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha.
“This moment demands more than task forces or empty procedural gestures. Wisconsinites deserve elected officials who will show up to work and lead on the challenges facing our state,” Britt Cudaback, spokeswoman for Evers, said. The bills Evers wants would ban police chokeholds and no-knock search warrants and make it harder for overly aggressive officers to move from one job to another.
A spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Vos previously downplayed the idea of convening the special session quickly as Evers called for.
Vos said Monday it’s important to wait for more information about the incident and said he’s forming a task force focusing on racial disparities, educational opportunities, public safety, and police policies and standards.
Such task forces typically take months to develop legislation.
“This is not a time for political posturing or to suggest defunding law enforcement. When a community is hurting, the most important thing that we can do is to listen,” Vos, RRochester, said in statement. “We must find a path forward as a society that brings everyone together.”
Fitzgerald said the Senate would ultimately consider nine bills Evers proposed that would overhaul police practices and a package of legislation released by Republican Sen. Van Wanggaard aimed at police oversight that has not yet been introduced.
But there’s no time limit for the length of a special session. Lawmakers are required to gavel into a special session by the governor but are not required to act.
Fitzgerald suggested it would take months for lawmakers to work on new legislation, instead of the immediate action Evers called for.
The Senate leader also said he wants a bill that would create more penalties for violence against police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel.
“The riots in Kenosha and Madison this week further demonstrated that first responders are performing their public service duties at great risk to their personal safety,” he said in a statement.
“Wisconsinites deserve elected officials who will show up to work and lead on the challenges facing our state.” Britt Cudaback spokeswoman for Gov. Tony Evers