State Rep. Chris Taylor
Press Release

Rep. Taylor statement on child support and placement bill

Today, the Assembly Family Law Committee announced it will pull Assembly Bill 540 from tomorrow’s public hearing agenda.

By - Jan 14th, 2014 02:20 pm

MADISON – Today, the Assembly Family Law Committee announced it will pull Assembly Bill 540 from tomorrow’s public hearing agenda. This bill has drawn media attention over the involvement of former Columbus Mayor, Michael Eisenga, a multi-millionaire who attempted to reduce his $15,000 per month child-support payment. State Representative Chris Taylor (D-Madison), the ranking Democrat on the Family Law Committee and prior practicing family law attorney, issued the following statement:

“I am grateful for the media coverage which brought attention to the involvement of a millionaire Republican donor in crafting a bill that would reduce his child support obligation to his three children.  When numerous judges rejected this millionaire’s request to reduce his child support obligation, it appears he called in political favors and sought specific legislative changes that would individually benefit him.

“Not only are the policies contained in this bill questionable, but the process by which portions of this bill were crafted is questionable. The process under which this bill was written prioritizes cronyism and political favoritism over policies that benefit children and allow them to live at the standard of living their parents enjoy.

“This process should not be dismissed as ‘business as usual’ in the State Capitol. This bill fits a clear Republican pattern that includes secrecy oaths, giveaways to the wealthy and other shady practices that result in John Doe investigations.

“This disturbing pattern of cronyism begs the question; if the media had not exposed this extremely flawed process, would Mr. Eisenga have been allowed to essentially re-write the law for his own personal benefit?   While I am grateful this bill was pulled, as policy makers, the best interest of children should always be our paramount concerns, not the desire of a wealthy millionaire to reduce his child support obligation.”

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.

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