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On March 11, a new bill, referred to as SB-119 or the “Fund the Police Bill,” was discussed in the Wisconsin legislature at a public hearing in Madison. Under this bill, cities and towns that make any decreases to local police budgets would have money deducted from the amount each municipality receives from the state budget. In addition, the amount taken from these municipalities would be distributed to those that
did not take any money from their police budget.
Pro-police policies like this are an effective counter to any kind of legislative reforms aimed at defunding, restructuring or creating community control of the police. Due to the conservative nature of Wisconsin politics, very few have spoken out against the proposal. Milwaukee County Supervisors Ryan Clancy and Joseph J. Czarnezki have been among few elected officials to actively oppose the bill.