MADISON, WI – The Wisconsin State Assembly met on February 22, 23, and 24 to approve legislation in a number of areas – particularly education and elections – as the 2021-2022 legislative session nears its end.
“Education and elections are two of the biggest issues I hear about from constituents,” State Rep. Dave Armstrong (R-Rice Lake) said. “On February 22, my Assembly colleagues and I took up a number of education bills. For example, we concurred in Senate Bill 409 to address critical race theory in higher education by prohibiting UW schools and technical colleges from teaching race or sex stereotyping. We also stood up for families against school overreach by passing a parental “bill of rights” in Assembly Bill 963, and Assembly Bill 995 will allow parents to opt their children out of school-imposed masking requirements. Assembly Republicans also passed several proposals to address student reading achievement, as well as to increase access to charter and choice schools.
“The highlights of the February 23 and 24 calendars were the election integrity measures,” Representative Armstrong said. “In the course of those two days, the Assembly passed three proposed state constitutional amendments relating to elections: requiring photo ID to vote [Assembly Joint Resolution 133], clarifying that only US citizens may vote in elections in Wisconsin, [Senate Joint Resolution 32], and prohibiting the use of private donations or grants for election administration [Senate Joint Resolution 101]. I was also proud to cosponsor and vote for a package of election reform proposals, including tightening up the rules for indefinitely confined voters [Senate Bill 937], prohibiting ballot harvesting [Senate Bill 939], and increasing legislative oversight of the Wisconsin Elections Commission [Senate Bills 941, 942, and 943]. I believe the elections package the Legislature passed this week will address many of the problems Wisconsin experienced during the 2020 elections so that Wisconsin voters can be confident in the system’s integrity going forward.”
Legislation that has passed both houses will now go to Governor Evers for his consideration. This includes Assembly Bill 938, Representative Armstrong’s unemployment insurance efficiency and integrity bill, which the Senate concurred in on February 22. Proposed constitutional amendments approved for the first time in both houses this session must be reapproved in the 2023-2024 session before they can go to a statewide referendum.
Last Update: Feb 25, 2022 1:22 pm CST
