MADISON, WI (WSAU) — Just days after State Representative Katrina Shankland (D-Stevens Point) had a budget motion dealing with placement of sexually violent persons, or SVPs, vetoed by Governor Scott Walker, Senator Patrick Testin introduced a nearly identical bill.
Rep. Shankland says after looking over Sen. Testin’s bill she was only able to find two minor differences between her budget motion and his bill.
“One is the committee on housing, there’s just a word change,” she said. “And then the other is the deadline for DHS (Department of Homeland Security) to respond to a counties request. Mine was as soon as practically possible. His was within 10 days.”
Rep. Shankland says she doesn’t understand why Sen. Testin introduced such a similar bill after the governor vetoed her budget motion.
“I actually think its much more important to find out what it is that the governor wants changed and that we work with the governor to pass something that he will actually sign so we do have a law that protects our towns, our rural counties, and that also gives everyone a voice and a seat at the table,” said Shankland.
Rep. Shankland says she’s continuing to work to schedule a meeting with the governor to discuss the placement of SVPs and to discuss what he would like to see in a bill that he would support.
Rep. Shankland worked on her budget motion with State Representative Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam). The motion stated that SVPs should be placed in the county where they committed their crime and shouldn’t be allowed to be place in rural Wisconsin counties, such as Portage.
