Alberta Darling
Wisconsin Senate District 8
WORKING FOR YOU, GETTING RESULTS
As the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Finance, I balanced the budget without raising taxes and made a record investment in education, mental health and special education. We also put an all-time high of $700 million into our rainy-day fund.
I am committed to continuing to help small businesses endure the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring all children have access to quality education and mental
health resources, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and making sure our healthcare system is patient-focused. I will uphold these commitments without raising taxes and placing new burdens on hardworking Wisconsin families.
I am proud to serve our community, and my work is not done. I humbly ask for you to vote for me, Alberta Darling, for State Senate.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The last 4 years have been busy. More than 50 bills I authored have been signed into law.
A few bills I am especially proud of are:
- HOPE Agenda: Authored and supported more than 30 bills, with near-unanimous support, to address the opioid addiction crisis in our state.
- HOPE Involuntary Commitment Includes drug addiction as a reason for involuntary commitment to help put addicted loved ones back on the path to rehab.
- HOPE Addiction Medicine Hotline Creates a hotline around the state to connect primary care doctors with addiction specialists.
- HOPE Mental Health Counselors Removes unnecessary obstacles for mental health professions, making them available in more parts of the state.
- HOPE Recovery School Creates a special charter school to help children recovering from addiction continue their education in a drug-free environment.
- Family Drug Treatment Court: Created the structure for statewide systems of family drug treatment courts. Family courts focus on treatment with the goal of keeping families together.
- Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions: I am proud to co-sponsor and continue to support protecting coverage for pre-existing conditions in our state.
- Step-Therapy: Insurance companies who wanted to force patients through cheaper treatment steps compared to what their doctor prescribed are no longer able to. This enables people to get the prescriptions they need quicker and cheaper.
- Organ Donation: Allows an individual to take up to six weeks of leave if they donate an organ or bone marrow and help reduce waiting lists for organ donations.
- Cancer Treatment Fairness Act: Insurance companies are now required to cover oral chemotherapy.
- Care Coordination: This law will help keep health care costs down and improve the health of Medicaid patients. By reducing emergency department visits, costs to our state’s Medicaid expenditures will go down.
- Supporting Access to Health Care: Free and charitable clinics are an important safety net for the uninsured and under-insured. I authored two laws that will improve care and increase access to free and charitable clinics in Wisconsin.
- Supporting Home Health Care Workers: There are nearly 200,000 home care professionals, but we need more. That’s why in the state budget, I fought to provide more funding to keep and retain home healthcare workers.
- Breast Density Notification: The law provides women crucial density information and empowers them to take control of their healthcare.
- Largest Investment in K-12 School Funding Ever: Our school districts wanted three things: sustainable funding, an increase in per pupil funding, and more support for special education. And we delivered. Funding for public education will top $12 billion thanks to a $500 million INCREASE we added to the budget. Our schools are getting more actual dollars than ever before. Special Education will get a nearly $100 million boost.
- Mental Health: Doubled funding for mental health services in school which increases access to care for children and foster kids.
- Mental Health Care for Foster Kids: Allows foster parents to access mental health information so that they can make informed choices for the children in their care.
- Emergency Mental Health for Children; Makes sure kids can get mental health treatment when their parents or guardians can’t be found.
- Wisconsin Shares Reimbursement $16 million to ensure low income kids have access to higher quality care providers.
- Helping Homeless Teens: Allows 17-year-olds who are homeless and don’t have a parent or guardian to get shelter Nearly 2,300 Wisconsin kids don’t have access to stable housing. This new law removes a barrier for them to access shelters and transitional living programs.
- Dental Definition for Foster Kids Allows foster kids to access dental care universally across Wisconsin.
- Foster Care System Reform Reforms the court system and helps kids find permanent homes faster.
- Foster Home Licensing Removes red tape to help families continue helping our foster kids.
- School District Report Cards: Made sure parents know how their schools are performing.
- Holocaust Education: Almost two-thirds of young people in the United States don’t know that six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. Even worse, more than 10% believe Jewish people were responsible for the Holocaust. That’s why I authored a bipartisan bill to require Holocaust education in our schools.
- Habitual Criminal Gun Bill: Penalizes human holsters, straw purchasers, and habitual criminals helping to remove illegal guns from the street.
- Middle-class Tax Cut: After Governor Evers vetoed our middle-class tax cut, we didn’t give up. The budget contains more than $457 million in tax relief aimed at middle-class families.
- Cracked Down on Drunk Driving: After years of working on cracking down on drunk driving, Representative Jim Ott and I were able to pass important reforms into law that will make our roads safer. Anyone who kills someone while driving drunk in our state will now face a mandatory minimum of five years in prison. We also tripled the punishment for 5th and 6th time offenders to get these dangerous drivers off our roads.
- I-43 Reconstruction Back on Track: In the state budget, we enumerated I-43 North South from Glendale to Grafton. This important road project is critical to safety and commerce in our area.
- Cutting Taxes: By 2021, our budgets will have cut taxes by $13 billion.
- Helped Save the Bucks: Authored legislation to keep professional basketball in Milwaukee and protect taxpayers.
- Wisconsin GI Bill: Expanded educational opportunities for returning veterans to by allowing them to enroll in private colleges and universities.
- Removing Barriers for a Second Chance: Many people with criminal records are ineligible for occupational licenses. This means family-supporting careers are off limits to them. Allows ex-offenders to get a review and a chance at a certificate to get employed.
- Interagency Council on Homelessness Unites different agencies to collaboratively combat homelessness.
- Historic Tax Credit Removes the cap to stimulate rehabilitation and economic development for historical landmarks.
- Immediate Housing Act Reforms the waiting list for low income housing to prioritize chronically homeless individuals.
- WHEDA Reform: Along with technical changes, it will help more first-time home buyers afford their down payment.
I’m proud of my work on these crucial issues. I’m looking forward to returning to do even more!
RECOGNITION
- Shining Star of Education Reform; Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Government Advocates Award
- Greater Milwaukee Committee Leadership Award
- Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society Legislative Leadership Award
- Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Working for Wisconsin
- American Conservative Union Foundation Defender of Liberty Award
- Friend of Grocers – Wisconsin Grocers Association
- Friend of Heart Award – American Heart Association
- Building Wisconsin Award – Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Way Political Leader of the Year Award – WISN Radio
- Legislator of the Year – Mothers Against Drunk Driving
- Friend of Public Health – Wisconsin Public Health Association and the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards
- Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups Tommy G. Thompson Award for Service
- RightWisconsin Iron Lady Award & Margaret Thatcher Award
- Wisconsin Charter Champion Award
- National MS Hall of Fame Inductee
- American Cancer Society Legislative Champion
- Fair Air Coalition Friend of Education
- Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce Champion of Commerce
- Wisconsin Head Start Directors Association Award of Excellence
- National Association of Community Leadership Leadership Award
- United Way Gwen Jackson Leadership Award
- Francis Children’s Center Children Service Award.
Contribute
If you would like to mail in a contribution, please make checks payable and send to:
Friends of Alberta Darling
PO Box 2741
Madison, WI 53701