MADISON, Wis. - Today, the Wisconsin State Assembly held a floor session largely consisting of popular but unfunded bills. Rep. Palmeri released the following statement:

“Today the Assembly came together to consider a lot of bills that are common sense and I would like to support, but the approach my Republican colleagues are taking to pass them is anything but commonsense. By passing bills with no funding attached, we’re asked to just trust that funding will be included in the budget that is eventually passed. There was a perfect example today with Assembly Bill 111, which addresses mental health resources. I have no problem with the policy and even believe it would have positive impacts on our community. However, I refuse to vote for unfunded mandates at a time when most of our communities are struggling to maintain the services we do have,” stated Rep. Palmeri.

“While we are debating these bills without funding, all with the disclaimer they will be funded in the budget– negotiations have seemingly stalled. The majority party does not seem concerned about going past the June 30^th deadline, but I have heard from plenty of constituents and stakeholders who are concerned and will be impacted by these delays.

We are still waiting for the Committee on Joint Finance to take up funding for UW-Oshkosh and the rest of UW-Systems. Waiting to learn if the majority party sees the value our UW-System campuses bring to our communities or if they will cut funding by $87 million. Each day we delay means organizations throughout the state are required to make tough decisions about essential services and functions.”