Monday’s legislative session on policing policies ended after seconds.
No Republicans showed up, made action plans
MADISON – As tensions simmered over a police shooting and the killing of two protesters in Kenosha, Republican legislative leaders convened a special session on policing policies Monday for less than 30 seconds and gave no assurances they would eventually act.
Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke of Kaukauna said a task force will review legislation over the coming months. He said he hopes to take votes in 2021 but gave no promises that lawmakers would.
Those calling for action expressed outrage at the Republican approach.
“We are here once again to say please show up for work,” Brandi Grayson of the group Urban Triage said ahead of the abbreviated session. “I don’t get to not go to work because if I don’t go to work, I don’t pay my bills and you are for sure to evict me.
“You can no longer hide and say that you’re not racist. You can no longer say that you don’t support the killings or the murders that have been taking place in Kenosha. We know through your silence that you support it.”
In the Senate, no Republicans showed up for the session. Instead, they left it to Chief Clerk Jeff Renk to bang the gavel to start the session and immediately bang it again to end it, at least for the time being.
“I guess Fitzgerald is running for Congress and just doesn’t care,” Democratic state Sen. Dave Hansen of Green Bay said just after the session, referring to Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau, who hopes to win a race for Congress in November.
Republicans treated Monday’s special session the same way they have treated others called by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. They quickly shut down those sessions, which he called to try to establish universal background checks for gun purchases and delay last spring’s election for state Supreme Court because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The state constitution allows Evers to force lawmakers into session, but it doesn’t give him the power to make them take action once they convene.
Evers wants to ban police chokeholds and no-knock warrants, make it harder for overly aggressive officers to move from one police agency to another and make it easier to sue those who unnecessarily call the police.
Separately, Republican Sen. Van Wanggaard of Racine last week unveiled legislation to require police shootings to be analyzed in a way similar to how the National Transportation Safety Board investigates plane crashes. His legislation also would cut state aid to communities that reduce their police budgets.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester last week announced he was forming a task force on racial disparities, educational opportunities, public safety and police policies.
On Monday, he announced it would be headed by Steineke. He has not named others to the task force, but Steineke said it would include religious leaders and those associated with the Boys & Girls Clubs.
“The task force is not going to look like me. The task force is going to be much more representative of communities of color,” said Steineke, who is white.
He said lawmakers weren’t acting now because they need time to review the legislation, even though they’ve had it for months.
“It’s just not how it works,” he said of the idea of acting immediately. “Our legislative session typically ends in March or April, so there really isn’t a session to consider them in. Now the governor has called a special session so we gaveled in.”
In a statement, Vos argued the task force would help policymakers reach consensus.
“After the tragic events this past week, the best way forward is not through divisive and partisan politics but through bipartisan cooperation. The Speaker’s Task Force is an opportunity to bring people together to find solutions,” his statement said.
Evers said in a statement he was disappointed with the lack of urgent action.
“The people of Wisconsin don’t want another task force or more delays — they want action and results, and they want it today, not tomorrow or some day months down the road,” he said in his statement.
Evers called the special session after Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Jacob Blake in the back Sunday after Tasers did not stop him. The state Department of Justice has said Blake had a knife but has not said whether it was in his hand or his vehicle when he was shot.
The shooting prompted protests that later turned to looting, window-smashing and the burning of buildings and vehicles. On Tuesday, a gunman killed two people and injured a third. Kyle Rittenhouse, who was part of a self-appointed militia, was charged last week with intentional homicide and other felonies.
The situation in Kenosha puts political pressure on both sides.
Republicans are resisting taking up legislation while they’re already being bombarded with criticism by Democrats and members of the Milwaukee Bucks for not doing more to address the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout.
Evers, meanwhile, is being pilloried by Republicans for not accepting help from the White House to quell the unrest in Kenosha in the hours before the shootings. Evers the next day agreed to get more National Guard support from the federal government.
His Kenosha response prompted a Burlington woman to launch a recall campaign against him Friday.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump plans to survey damage in Kenosha. His Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, last week spoke with Blake’s family.
Republicans have cheered Trump for coming to the city as he campaigns against unrest there and in Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon. Evers and Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul have asked Trump to reconsider his trip, with Kaul labeling the president “a threat to the rule of law.”
The blink-and-you-missed-it session frustrated Democrats even before it began.
“We don’t need a study committee to verify what we already know,” Democratic state Sen. LaTonya Johnson of Milwaukee said before the vote. “We need action and we need Republicans to do their damn job.”
She and other Democrats said they were frustrated that lawmakers were delaying action — and may not take any at all.
“There’s no shame for my white colleagues on the Republican side for Wisconsin being the worst place in the country to raise an African American child,” Johnson said. “There’s no shame for that because they don’t see people of color being their constituency.
“Until the people with the real power decide that they’re going to address these issues, these issues are never going to improve.”