Wisconsin GOP takes no action on policing bills
MADISON, Wis. — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature took no action in a special session Monday called by the state's Democratic governor to pass a package of bills on policing policies just over a week after a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back.
Republicans started the session and recessed in both the Senate and Assembly in less than 30 seconds. That satisfied requirements of the law that they meet, even though almost no lawmakers were present. It's a tactic Republicans used in November when Gov. Tony Evers tried to force them to take action on gun control bills.
Republicans kept the session open rather than adjourning it, which means they could take action at a later date, although there are no signs they plan to do anything soon.
“Their silence on this issue, their inaction on this issue, sides with white supremacists,” said Democratic state Rep. David Bowen, a member of the Legislative Black Caucus, at a news conference Monday urging Republicans to pass the bills.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, on t he same day Evers called the special session, said he intends to convene at ask force on “racial disparities, educational opportunities, public safety, and police policies and standards.” Vos on Monday decried the special session as “divisive and partisan politics” and instead said the task force, to be chaired by a Republican who is white, was “an opportunity to bring people together to find solutions.”
Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who is running for Congress, said that combined with GOP bills related to policing, “there will be dozens of proposals that the Legislature will work through in the coming months.” Last week, Republican state Sen. Van Wanggaard, are tired police officer and one of Evers' loudest critics, proposed that state aid be cut to any community that reduces police budgets.
Evers decried the inaction, saying the people of Wisconsin don't want another task force or more delays.
“It' s disappointing that there's no sense of urgency from Republicans, and it's a let down to all the people who are asking us to lead,” Evers said.
The country's attention has been focused on Wisconsin following the Blake shooting and the killings two days later of two people by a 17-year-old from Illinois who faces firstdegree homicide charges. Blake's family said he is paralyzed from the waist down.