(The Center Square) – Democratic legislators introduced a bill package allowing the state of Wisconsin to fight against the federal government withholding funds, federal actions against Wisconsin residents and state agencies sharing personal identification information with the federal government.
Democrats said they created the “Protect Wisconsinites Package” in response to “unconstitutional” and “unlawful” overreach by the President Donald Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency.
“Wisconsinites deserve to have a government that protects the people,” Rep. Renuka Mayadev, D-Madison, said in a statement. “This package of bills commits to protecting the people of Wisconsin by giving Wisconsinites tools to push back on the unlawful Republican attempts to strip essential public programs, violate civil rights, and compromise the privacy of countless individuals.”
Legislative Reference Bureau 2778 would provide the state of Wisconsin a way to respond when the federal government fails to send money legally promised through Congress.
If a federal agency or the White House blocks the funds, the bill would allow the state to temporarily hold back state payments to the federal government in the same amount and release the held funds once the federal government pays what is owed.
Likewise, LRB2779 allows Wisconsin to place a temporary lien on federal properties in the state when the federal government doesn’t send funds appropriated by Congress.
The lien would be released once the federal government sends the full payment to the state.
According to Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, the bills are necessary because more than one-fourth of Wisconsin’s money comes from the federal government. He said the state received $28 billion from the federal government.
“That’s not including block grants that go directly to communities and nonprofit organizations and other federal spending,” Larson said.
Larson said every federal dollar promised by law to the state that comes under threat only has “significant negative impacts” for Wisconsin’s communities.
LRB3520 would establish a “civil cause of action for violations of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or law or those under the state constitution and laws.”
The bill would ensure people operating under the “color of law” can be sued in state circuit court.
While there exists a federal law that permits certain lawsuits for federal violations, Larson said in a statement that this bill would “expand” the ability of individual Wisconsin citizens to protect their rights against law enforcement and federal agencies.
LRB3556 would prohibit state agencies or other bodies of the state government from sharing personal ID information with the federal government unless necessary to comply with state or federal laws or to carry out the administration of a state or federal program.
Rep. Mike Bare, D-Verona, said this bill will protect Wisconsinites from encroachment from Washington.
“I started working on this bill in January, when Elon Musk and DOGE were digging into Social Security and IRS data, and I was hopeful I could find a Republican who would be interested in working on this with me,” Bare said. “It’s a conservative principle to protect our data and civil liberties. They’re not interested, unfortunately.”
The Center Square was unsuccessful getting comment from Republican legislators.
