Tuesday, January 11 at 10:00am
AND
Wednesday, January 12 at 9:30am
at the Wisconsin State Capitol
***Plan to Attend!***
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This week is shaping up to be a busy week at the capitol! The Senate Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform has rescheduled their meeting that was originally to be held in December. It will now be held on Tuesday, January 11 at 10:00am in the North Hearing Room on the 2nd floor of the north wing.

Wednesday's hearing will be with the Senate Committee on Health. This long- awaited and highly anticipated hearing will include several bills related to protecting vaccine choice, including the most comprehensive bill to date (SB336/AB309). This hearing will be held in room 201 SE beginning at 9:30am on Wednesday, January 12.

Please come and make your voice heard!

Summary of Bills to be Heard on Tuesday

Senate Bill 547 allows individuals who do not wish to receive a COVID-19 vaccine to receive unemployment benefits should they choose to quit their job or be terminated due to their employer mandating that they receive a COVID-19 vaccine or provide proof of having received one.

Senate Bill 662 allows employees to provide proof of natural immunity to COVID-19 as an alternative to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine or to being regularly tested for COVID-19 as a condition of continued employment. An amendment has been offered to the Assembly companion bill (AB675) that would further strengthen this bill. You may wish to include a request for the senate to adopt this amendment in your testimony.

Senate Bill 721 allows individuals injured by a COVID-19 vaccine that was required by their employer as a condition of employment to be eligible for worker's compensation.

The committee members include:

• Senator Nass (chair): sen.nass@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senator Wanggaard (vice-chair): Sen.Wanggaard@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senator Stafsholt: Sen.Stafsholt@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senator Wirch: Sen.Wirch@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senator Johnson: Sen.Johnson@legis.wisconsin.gov
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Summary of Bills to be Heard on Wednesday
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Senate Bill 383/Assembly Bill 299 prohibits proof of vaccination for COVID-19 as a condition of receiving business and government services. The full assembly has already voted on and passed the assembly version of this bill (AB299).

Senate Bill 336 prohibits discrimination based on vaccination status in all areas of work and society (including for employment, health insurance, visiting businesses, receiving services, etc). This is the most comprehensive bill that has been introduced in our state to date and is the one that Vaccine Choice Wisconsin most strongly supports.

Senate Bill 337 prohibits businesses from discriminating against customers due to vaccination record.

Senate Bill 342 prohibits the state or any government entity from discrimination based on whether the person has received a COVID-19 vaccine.

The committee members include:

• Senator Testin (chair): Sen.Testin@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senator Kooyenga (vice-chair): Sen.Kooyenga@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senator Bradley: Sen.Bradley@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senator Erpenbach: Sen.Erpenbach@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senator Carpenter: Sen.Carpenter@legis.wisconsin.gov
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Please plan to attend both of these public hearings in person if you are able. You can simply register in favor of these bills, or you can also choose to speak. It is helpful to submit your public comment ahead of time or bring hard copies to submit on the day of the hearing in case your speaking time is limited due to large attendance. This guarantees that your full public comment is submitted into the record.

If you are unable to attend, please submit written public comment to the members of the committee prior to the start of the public hearings.

Your testimony does not need to be long. It can be as short as two to three sentences, or you can make it longer to include facts and background information if you wish. Personal stories always have the most impact on our state legislators, so if you have a personal story, please share this with them.

We are extremely grateful that Senator Nass and Senator Testin are holding hearings on these bills, so please do not waste the opportunity to make your voice heard.

Please help spread the word and bring your friends. Let's make it a big turnout next week!