By Senator, Lena C. Taylor Early on Wednesday, June 5th, when the sun was coming up, the Joint Finance Committee was putting the finishing touches on the state budget bill for presentation to the full Legislature. It was early morning sausage making. Now there are many times that both parties have made some major changes [...]

By Senator, Lena C. Taylor It’s an old dirty trick in politics: dump the garbage on a Friday afternoon. This trick is typically used when politicians need to do something dirty or own up to a mistake It’s happens on Fridays because the press is usually gone and citizens are contemplating their weekend, not politics. [...]

By Senator, Lena C. Taylor Last week, I wrote about the need to support our Veterans in budget. I also emphasized our responsibility as legislatures to ensure that Veterans have the resources they need and the care they have earned. That responsibility does not begin or end with the budget, but exists throughout the legislative [...]

By Senator, Lena C. Taylor One of the Legislature’s most important responsibilities is to care for our veterans. We all know the sacrifices that veterans give to keep us safe. We all know the risks they take to protect our freedoms. After all they have given for us, they deserve our fullest effort to keep [...]

By Senator, Lena C. Taylor My son, Isaiah, is my first priority and my greatest joy. When I was young, my mother guided me, protected me, and taught me to make peace out of conflict. My mother shaped my life. In fact, I remember when my mother decided it was time for me to go [...]

By Senator, Lena C. Taylor Think about the women in your life—in the office next to you, in a school teaching your child, your mother, the teen checking you out at the grocery store, the woman sitting next to you in church, the bus driver who took you to work this morning, your daughter. One [...]

By Senator, Lena C. Taylor On April 22, we can all come together to celebrate the place we call home. For centuries, the immensity of our planet forbade any notion that humans could make any significantly impacts. As our knowledge and understanding of the world grew, we also came to understand the influence that humans [...]

By Senator, Lena C. Taylor Two major food stamp changes that have been proposed in the Legislature will ultimately have a serious and likely negative affect for every FoodShare user. Both bills will have a hearing next week in the Assembly. FoodShare, like WisconsinShares are integral to our community’s success and growth. Whenever legislation is [...]

By Senator, Lena C. Taylor This week the Joint Legislative Audit Committee authorized an audit of Supervised Released Program Placements. In lay terms, the state will audit its performance, financing, and policy behind how we release sex offenders in the community. Since the inception of the Ch.980 laws we have never audited how we are [...]

By Senator, Lena C. Taylor The GOP is at it again. There’s another new bill to restrict the ability of people to cast votes in a more easily accessible and efficient manner. This bill, AB 54, restricts local municipalities from opening on weekends to accept absentee ballots. Let me say clearly, we need more voting [...]