WISCONSIN CATHOLIC CONFERENCE

CAPITOL UPDATE


March 18, 2024

Senate and Assembly Adjourn for the Remainder of Session

On March 12, the Senate adjourned for the remainder of the legislative session. The Assembly adjourned on February 22. The Governor may still sign or veto bills that have passed both houses. Any other bills that were awaiting action in the Senate and Assembly are essentially dead. The bills will not receive a hearing or a vote.

Senate and Assembly Pass Human Trafficking Bills

On March 12, the Senate passed three bills related to human trafficking in Wisconsin. AB-973 (Gundrum, Rick) requires mandatory training on human trafficking for employees of community-based residential facilities and other entities.  AB-976 (Billings, Jill) provides that in a criminal prosecution for a human trafficking crime, the testimony of a child witness may be taken in a room other than the courtroom and simultaneously televised in the courtroom. AB-978 (O'Connor, Jerry) creates a statewide Human Trafficking Council and requires counties experiencing above-average sex trafficking activities to create county task forces. The three bills have now passed both houses and await the Governor’s action. The bills are part of a larger package that emerged from a bipartisan Speaker’s Task Force on Human Trafficking. To learn more about the bills, read the Task Force report. The WCC testified in support.

Senate and Assembly Pass Healthy Food Program

On March 12, the Senate passed AB-1013 (Joers, Alex), establishing a healthy food incentive program statewide. The bill allows Wisconsinites participating in FoodShare to utilize matching dollars exclusively for locally grown fruits and vegetables. The bill has now passed both houses and awaits the Governor’s action. The WCC registered in support.

Senate and Assembly Pass Instruction on Hmong & Asian Americans

On March 12, the Senate passed AB-232 (Snyder, Patrick), directing school boards to provide instruction on Hmong Americans and Asian Americans. These bills add to a statute that already requires instruction on Native Americans, Hispanics, and Black Americans. The bill has now passed both houses and awaits the Governor’s action. The WCC registered in support.

Senate and Assembly Pass Sports by Sex of Participants

On March 12, the Senate passed AB-377 (Dittrich, Barbara), designating athletic sports and teams at K-12 schools, colleges, and universities based on the sex of the participants. The bill has now passed both houses, but Governor Evers has announced his intention to veto the bill. The WCC testified in support.

WCC Supports Task Force on Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls

On March 6, the WCC testified in support of SB-568 (James, Jesse) / AB-615 (Stubbs, Shelia), creating a task force on missing and murdered African American women and girls. The task force must examine various factors that contribute to violence against African American women and girls and submit a report to the Legislature on actions that can be taken to eliminate this violence. The bills passed the Senate committee and the Assembly, however, they did not receive a floor vote in the Senate and will therefore not pass this session.

WCC Public Policy Positions: Eliminate Hunger

Here we elaborate on each of the WCC's 2023 Public Policy Positions. The complete document can be found below. You can learn more about Catholic Social Teaching on the USCCB website.


Eliminate Hunger. Food is a basic human right. For children it is especially vital, as malnutrition impairs cognitive and physical growth. Wisconsin must ensure that all residents have access to healthy and affordable food.


The Catholic Church recognizes that every person is created in the image and likeness of God and has a right to life. The right to life is inextricably connected to the right to food and proper sustenance to live a full and vibrant life. Hunger and poverty threaten human life and dignity. 


Through the centuries, the Church has worked to live out Jesus' command to “feed the hungry” and perform other corporal works of mercy. As St. John Paul II noted, addressing hunger and poverty is “an issue of justice and charity” and allowing “millions of people who still suffer from malnutrition is intolerable for humanity” (World Food Day 1999). More than a decade later, Pope Benedict XVI stated that “liberation from the yoke of hunger is the first concrete expression of the right to life which, in spite of being solemnly proclaimed, is often very far from being effectively put into practice” (World Food Day 2011). In 2021, Pope Francis addressed the paradox of food access in our current world where “on one hand, more than 3 billion people do not have access to a nutritious diet, while on the other hand, almost 2 billion are overweight or obese due to a poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle” (World Food Day 2021).  In the same address, Pope Francis further urged nations to make “a world without hunger a reality.”


In their 2003 pastoral reflection, For I Was Hungry & You Gave Me Food, the U.S. bishops stated, “The presence of so much hunger and poverty in our communities, nation, and around the world is a grave moral scandal.” Furthermore, when trying to respond to these issues, a “key measure of every agricultural program and legislative initiative is whether it helps the most vulnerable farmers, farmworkers, and their families and whether it contributes to a global food system that provides basic nutrition for all.” 


While there must be safety nets for those struggling with poverty and hunger, we must also do our part in the community by volunteering at local soup kitchens, donating to food pantries, or seeking out those in need. Look for organizations like St. Vincent de Paul or check out ways you can serve through your local parish, diocese, and community. 

Updates from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

WCC 2023 Public Policy Positions

The WCC's 2023 Public Policy Positions are designed to inform state legislators, policy makers, and other interested parties about the Church's public policy positions and the principles that undergird them.


2023-24 Legislature and Citizen Resources

To find out who your legislators are, go to the Wisconsin State Legislature's home page and enter your address under Who Are My LegislatorsOther legislative resources include:



You can also follow state government by tuning in to WisconsinEye, the independent, nonpartisan news service that provides uncut video coverage of state government proceedings.

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