[UPDATE: the snitch house bill went to vote Wednesday June 15. Some representatives, esp Baldeh, Brostoff, and Bowen made strong arguments against snitch houses on the floor, but the bill passed by voice vote, so we cannot tell who all voted which way on it. The republicans were capable of passing the bill even if we had turned every democrat against it. Governor Evers has stated that he will sign the snitch house bill, as well as a few other bills that had bipartisan support.
There was a lot of bad legislation rammed through on Wednesday, some of it met strong opposition from democrats. For the most part, republicans did not respond verbally, they just moved to vote and passed the bills as quickly as they could. Evers will veto bills that didn’t gain support from democrats in the legislature, which is why it matters when democrats like senator Lena Taylor and representative Sheila Stubbs collaborate with clear white supremacists like Van Wanggaaard and Jim Steineke. They give legitimacy to bad legislation that would die if they hadn’t supported it.]
There are a few bills that expand police funding working their way through the legislature.
The snitch house, or “COP house” bill, AB258 is at the front of the pack. It uses the farce of “community oriented policing” to look like a reform, but, it actually expands not only police funding, but also puts more social services and responsibilities into the hands of the police. With this bill, in targeted neighborhoods, police may get involved in after school programs, tutoring, counseling, assistance with permits, community organizing, gardening, and more. We want to defund and abolish police. Moderates and Liberals want to “unburden” police of roles they don’t need to be in. This bill funds the police and expands their role in community life. It moves us in the opposite direction of what even the most modest reforms coming out of last summer.
Despite all that, it passed the senate unanimously. We need to knock it down in the assembly and get the governor to veto it. To do that, we start with the three democrats on the assembly committee on local government. We’re not targeting the republicans because they only hold power through corruption and gerrymandering, they actively want to hurt and vote against the people’s will, and they are not needed to stop this bad legislation.
The committee votes on snitch houses and “fund the police” on Wednesday. Call, email, and demand they vote against both bills!
Rep Sue S Conley (d-Janesville) 608-266-7503 Rep.Conley@legis.wisconsin.gov
Rep Mark Spreitzer (d-Beloit) 608-266-1192 Rep.Spreitzer@legis.wisconsin.gov
Rep Samba Baldeh (d-Madison) 608-266-0960 Rep.Baldeh@legis.wisconsin.gov
Share this call to action on social media!
ABOLISHmke 
3 thoughts on “Take Action Against Snitch Houses!”