Assembly GOP refuses to remove anti-consumer, bad policy ideas from budget



MADISON - Today Assembly Democrats attempted to remove from the budget anti-consumer, bad policy ideas that will hurt Wisconsin citizens and middle-class families all over the state. Republicans voted against the resolution.



The Assembly is scheduled to take up the budget Tuesday, June 18 and the Senate could take up the budget as soon as June 20, according to Republican leaders.



The items put in the budget in the middle of the night by Republicans with no public scrutiny or hearings include:

Retroactively tossing out lawsuits from individuals poisoned by lead paint.

Permitting bail bondsmen – also known as bounty hunters – to return to Wisconsin. Judges and law enforcement officers are overwhelmingly against this. Legislators commented that this is opening the door for corruption.

Giving cable companies more power and control over consumers by allowing them to cut consumers cable off immediately upon a missed payment instead of having to wait 45 days. They can then charge consumers a ridiculous reconnection fee.

Evicting the Center for Investigative Journalism from the UW-Madison campus.

Easing rules that control predatory payday lending operations.

“These bad ideas should be stopped, but at the very least Republicans should allow them to be debated as separate bills so that elected officials have to put their name on them and explain them to the public,” Assembly Democratic leader Peter Barca said. “That makes it easier to protect consumers and families and it could keep investigative journalism alive and well in Wisconsin. In a democracy it’s essential that we have transparency and allow for maximum citizen input into the legislative process.



“No one has owned up to whose ideas these are and why they are being done,” Barca added. “This budget attacks key needs of middle-class families by undermining public education, spending more taxpayer money to provide fewer people with quality healthcare and giving tax breaks that overwhelmingly favor the wealthy. The bad policy ideas being pushed by Republicans only serve to make this budget more harmful for the middle class.”



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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDate: June 12, 2013Contact: Melanie Conklin, 608.266.5504