Communities Ask Governor Evers to Veto Anti-Local Control Bill

Community groups across Wisconsin are asking Governor Evers to protect the bedrock of the state’s democracy – local control  – and veto Assembly Bill 957. The bill was presented to the Governor on March 26, 2024. Under Wisconsin’s Constitution, Evers has six days to approve or veto the bill.

“While this legislation specifically targets local control over livestock, it has widespread implications,” said Mary Dougherty, from Socially Responsible Agriculture Project. “Local control is the foundation of Wisconsin’s democracy. Our system is designed to place decision-making authority at the level of government closest to the people impacted by those decisions.”

Senator Romaine Quinn (R-25) is one of the bill’s lead authors. Quinn made it very clear during a March 5, 2024 Senate hearing that Wisconsin’s industrial agriculture lobby wants to preempt legal ordinances passed by local leaders working to protect the public health and property values.

Quinn’s bill strips power from local communities left defenseless against large livestock factories by weak state laws and enforcement. Local ordinances require livestock operations to address concerns about diminished property values, road damage from thousands of trucks hauling manure and air pollution.

Lobbyists from Wisconsin Farm Bureau and Venture Dairy Cooperative repeatedly asked senators to prohibit legal livestock ordinances passed in three Wisconsin counties and six towns. More towns in multiple counties are studying similar ordinances.

“We know these lobbyists well,” said Lisa Doerr, a farmer from Polk County, WI who helped develop town ordinances. “For years they’ve been telling us that local ordinances are illegal. This move to preempt local control proves what we knew, our ordinances are legal.”

At the same time these lobbyists are looking to stop local control in the legislature, their lawyers are challenging Wisconsin DNR’s authority to regulate livestock operations that spread millions of gallons of raw manure over thousands of acres of land.

“Quinn’s legislation is part of a multi-year strategy for livestock factories with one goal – no regulation!” said Dougherty. “We’ve seen Governor Evers’ ongoing support for local governments in Wisconsin — most recently with the shared revenue, water quality and fair maps legislation. Now people across Wisconsin are asking him to protect our local control.”

Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network is a statewide coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to preserving the health and economic vitality of rural communities. www.sustainruralwisconsin.org

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.