hist144861I am vetoing Senate Bill 463 in its entirety. This bill effectively requires school boards to maintain on their website a list of and bibliographic information for every piece of material assigned, distributed, or presented at any activity or course at every school in the district and in every classroom of every grade level for every subject area, with very limited exceptions, and to update that list no less than twice each school year and to provide a full text or copy of the material created by the board or a teacher employed by the board. The bill includes no appropriation and provides no additional resources or staff support to ensure school districts can implement these requirements.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to this bill’s failure to provide the necessary funding to implement these measures. I have and will continue to urge the Wisconsin State Legislature to provide sustainable, long-term state support for K-12 education so we can ensure our school boards, administrators, educators, and staff have the support and resources to further foster communication and collaboration with parents and promote parent involvement.
I trust parents and school boards to work together to do what’s best for our kids because we know we can improve academic achievement when parents have the opportunity to be actively involved in their kids’ lives, including supporting their education. I know how powerful family engagement is in kids’ loves, and as an educator and administrator, I greatly values the opportunity to engage with parents and family members about their children’s education. By providing the necessary, additional funding and bolstering staff resources, we can better empower and facilitate parent engagement, which is essential for our kids’ success.
Additionally, under existing federal law,-every school district already must have policies and procedures to make sure parents can request access to instructional materials being taught to their kids. Nearly all school districts also have policies and procedures to address parents’ concerns or complaints about instructional materials being used in their kids’ classrooms. These are essential measures for promoting parent engagement while ensuring transparency in our classrooms.
Finally, this bill exempts independent charter schools and private schools in the various parental choice programs likely funding mostly or entirely by state and local tax dollars. We should be working to improve transparency and accountability for every parent, regardless of which school their kid attends.
Respectfully submitted,
TONY EVERS
Governor
_____________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
December 3, 2021
The Honorable, the Senate:
hist144862I am vetoing Senate Bill 16 in its entirety. This bill relates to healthcare provider standards of care following an abortion and provides a criminal penalty.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to legislation designed to interfere between patients and their physicians. This bill only serves to create political interference with the personal healthcare decisions made by parents, in consultation with their healthcare providers, while faced with difficult reproductive healthcare decisions late in pregnancy due to medical emergencies and life-threatening circumstances. Moreover, existing state law already provides the protection this bill seeks.
Respectfully submitted,
TONY EVERS
Governor
_____________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
December 3, 2021
The Honorable, the Senate:
hist144863I am vetoing Senate Bill 503 in its entirety. This bill would prohibit the Department of Health Services from certifying, and requires the department to decertify by July 1, 2022, and any provider under the Medical Assistance program that is a private entity that provides abortion services, with certain exceptions. The bill would also require the department to seek any waiver of federal law, state plan amendment, or other federal approval necessary to implement this prohibition.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to placing restrictions on a patient’s access to basic reproductive healthcare. Under current law, government funding cannot be used to provide abortion services. And yet, this bill maliciously seeks to limit healthcare options for people seeking a number of basic, preventative, and life-saving care, such as pre-natal and pregnancy care, cancer screening and prevention, sexually transmitted infection screening and treatment, and wellness exams.
Amid an ongoing pandemic, we should not be limiting options for folks to access basic and necessary care. We should be doing everything we can to ensure every Wisconsinite has access to quality, affordable healthcare, including preventative healthcare.
Respectfully submitted,
TONY EVERS
Governor
_____________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
December 3, 2021
The Honorable, the Senate:
hist144864I am vetoing Senate Bill 591 in its entirety. This bill would mandate a physician to orally inform a patient of certain information if the patient considering or planning to have an abortion induced by a drug regimen that includes mifepristone, and requires written materials provided to a patient considering an abortion to include certain information. The bill creates additional information to be reported by the hospital, clinic, or other facility to the Department of Health Services, including the patient’s reason for seeking abortion, the number of patient’s previous induced abortions, and identifying information about the abortion location.
Physicians take an oath to provide patients with medically accurate information so patients can make informed decisions about their health and healthcare. I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to mandating physicians to effectively defy that oath by providing patients medical information that is not ethical or evidence-based and is inaccurate and misleading. Healthcare providers should be trusted to provide medically appropriate and accurate information, treatment, and care for this patients without the unnecessary and political interference of politicians. Further, this bill requires reporting of additional invasive patient information and adds the name of the hospital, clinic, or facility where an abortion was induced to the list of data to be published by the Department of Health Services. This creates needless concern for patient safety and privacy.
Respectfully submitted,
TONY EVERS
Governor
_____________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
December 3, 2021
The Honorable, the Senate:
hist144865I am vetoing Senate Bill 592 in its entirety. Senate Bill 592 mandates that physicians who administer a prenatal or postnatal test for a congenital condition and receive a positive test result disseminate certain information related to the congenital condition to their patients, instead of allowing physicians to use evidence-based practices and their knowledge and expertise as medical professionals to advise parents.
I am vetoing Senate Bill 592 in its entirety because I object to legislation that dictates the conversations between a patient and their healthcare professionals. Physicians take an oath to provide patients with medically accurate information so patients can make informed decisions about their health and healthcare. I trust our doctors to use existing resources in a manner that meets ethical treatment standards, and to have honest, open, and confidential conversations with their patients without politicians interfering with the terms of those conversations.
Respectfully submitted,
TONY EVERS
Governor
_____________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
December 3, 2021
The Honorable, the Senate:
hist144866I am vetoing Senate Bill 593 in its entirety. This bill would prohibit abortion in certain circumstances based on the perceived reason the patient has obtained the abortion and allows claims for damages to be brought by certain people if a prohibited abortion is performed.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to politicians interfering between patients and their healthcare providers. Wisconsinites have the right to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions. Licenses healthcare professionals should be trusted to give appropriate, evidence-based medical advice. SB 593 would substantially erode and interfere with the patient and provider relationship by encouraging healthcare professionals to evaluate and even question the bases of patients’ decisions. Further, it discourages honest, meaningful conversations between a patient and their physician while inviting intimidation of healthcare professionals by creating a path to legal damages for multiple parties.
I trust women to make the best reproductive healthcare decisions for themselves and their families. These are deeply personal determinations that should be made between a patient and their physician and nobody else.
Respectfully submitted,
TONY EVERS
Governor
