Wishing You a Blessed Holy Week
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| The Wisconsin Catholic Conference wishes you a blessed Holy Week and a very happy Easter. The WCC will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday. |
Urge Governor to Veto Sports Gambling; Sign Age Verification for Minors Online
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| With the legislative session now ended, the Wisconsin Catholic Conference is asking Catholics to contact Governor Evers and urge him to take action on two key bills: veto AB 601 online sports gambling and sign AB 105 age verification for minors online. Please ask the Governor to:
Veto AB 601, which expands online sports gambling (OSG) in Wisconsin. OSG is highly addictive and will harm individuals and families throughout the state. OSG increases consumer debt, crime, and family disintegration. Those who develop a gambling addiction attempt suicide at the highest rate of any addiction disorder. Over 95% of people who try sports gambling lose money over time, with the average family losing about $1,100 per year. Wisconsin should not make this bet.
Sign AB 105, which protects kids from the harmful effects of pornography by requiring age verification to view online pornography. In the short term, kids using pornography often experience loneliness, shame, withdrawal from social events, and other negative effects. Long term, porn consumption is linked to poor mental health, sexism and objectification, sexual violence, and more. This is commonsense legislation to protect children.
We encourage you to personalize your message with the impact of these policy issues on your community. Thank you to all who have already sent a message to the Governor. If you haven’t yet, please take a quick minute to send your message: |
Governor Evers Vetoes Tax Credit Scholarship Bill
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| Today, Governor Evers vetoed AB 602, which allows Wisconsin to participate in the federal tax credit program for scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) to the benefit of students in all Wisconsin’s schools. Any student in any school—public, private, charter, or even home school—is eligible to receive a scholarship if they are under the income eligibility threshold. Such scholarships could be used for a wide variety of educational expenses including tuition, tutoring, educational technology, transportation, and more.
The federal tax credit scholarship program was created by Congress last summer and would allow individuals to receive a $1,700 dollar for dollar tax credit for donations made to qualifying K-12 SGOs. However, SGOs can only qualify for the tax credit program if the state opts in to the program.
Despite the WCC’s support, Governor Evers did not opt in to the program. Therefore, for the time being, no SGOs or scholarships will be eligible for the tax credit in Wisconsin. However, since it is a federal tax credit, individual donors can still receive the $1,700 tax credit by donating to SGOs in other states that have opted in to the program. The WCC will continue to advocate for Wisconsin to join the program in the future. |
Read Faithful Citizenship Resources Ahead of Supreme Court Debate (April 2) and Spring Election (April 7)
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| The spring election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and various local offices is coming up next Tuesday, April 7.
WISN 12 is hosting a debate between the candidates running for the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The rescheduled debate will feature Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judges Maria Lazar and Chris Taylor on Thursday, April 2 from 7pm to 8pm. Along with being broadcast on WISN 12, the debate will also air on all UPFRONT partner stations and via livestream on wisn.com.
Find information on voting in the WCC bulletin insert Wisconsin Voter Information. The WCC offers resources on Faithful Citizenship to help Catholics form their consciences and evaluate candidates and policies on important issues. These include:
All WCC Faithful Citizenship resources, including Spanish versions, can be found at wisconsincatholic.org/fc. |
Governor’s Action on Previously Reported Bills
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Antisemitism Definition ▲ Testified in support
SB 445 (Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield) / AB 446 (Ron Tusler, R-Harrison)
The bill creates a definition of antisemitism for purposes of laws, ordinances, policies, or criminal penalty enhancers concerning discrimination based on race, religion, color, or national origin. Here in Wisconsin, the Jewish community has seen an increase of over 450 percent in antisemitic incidents since 2015. Jewish synagogues, schools, community centers, and other Jewish organizations have been threatened and vandalized. As a result, Wisconsin’s Jewish community ends up paying millions of dollars in enhanced security to protect its members. The Catholic Church opposes antisemitism in all its forms.
Status: Signed into law as 2025 Wisconsin Act 143
Substitute Teaching ▲ Registered in support
SB 526 (John Jagler, R-Watertown) / AB 518 (William Penterman, R-Hustisford)
The bill allows individuals who hold a substitute teaching permit to substitute teach at private schools participating in a parental choice program. Public schools already permit this so the bill aligns parental choice program schools with public schools.
Status: Vetoed (Veto Message) |
Updates from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
To take action on the USCCB’s current federal action alerts, click here. |
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