Assembly to Vote on State Treasurer Resolution Next Tuesday!

The State Assembly will vote on Assembly Joint Resolution 5 next Tuesday, October 27.

As you know, AJR5/SJR4 deletes the state treasurer from the constitution and replaces the treasurer with the lieutenant governor on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands.

WEMTA believes there are potential unintended consequences of AJR 5/SJR 4 that could put school library funding at risk.  We believe that replacing the State Treasurer with the Lieutenant Governor on the BCPL jeopardizes our founding fathers’ commitment to maintaining a constitutionally protected form of school library funding. As envisioned by our founding fathers, current BCPL Commissioners do not play a leading role in K-12 school funding or the state budget process—this makes them ideal custodians of the Common School Fund and helps protect the integrity of the fund.

If you have concerns about this proposal, now is the time to contact your State Representative and State Senator.

This proposal is incredibly close to being passed by the legislature this session. If AJR5 is approved by the Assembly on Tuesday, all that is left is for the full senate to vote on the proposal. Since  AJR5/SJR 4 amends the state constitution, the resolution must be be re-introduced next session for approval and then approved by voters in a statewide referendum.

HOW DO I CONTACT MY LEGISLATOR?

The first step in contacting your legislator is knowing who your legislator is. The easiest way to do this is the tool found on the Legislature’s home page, athttp://legis.wisconsin.gov. In the right-hand side of that page is a link that says Find My Legislators!  Type your address in the box below that link to get the names of your state representative and senator.

·  Phone.  You may leave a message for your legislator’s Capitol office or indicate your position on legislation through the toll free Legislative Hotline, at 1-800-362-9472.

·  E-mail. The e-mail addresses of members of the Wisconsin Legislature all have the same format. For members of the Assembly, the form is Rep.Jones@legis.wisconsin.gov; for members of the Senate, the form is Sen.Adams@legis.wisconsin.gov.