Sporting Heritage Committee Chair Denies Remote Participation Again

MADISON – Today, Representative Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) was prevented from attending a public hearing in the Assembly Committee on Sporting Heritage again due to the lack of a remote participation option.

“It was extremely concerning that the chair of the committee continued to prevent remote participation after repeated requests,” said Representative Hesselbein. “The chair put out a public notice barely 24 hours before the commencement of the public hearing, and then denied another opportunity to provide the public and legislators with an option to participate in the process safely.”

The committee was scheduled at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Prior to the meeting, Representative Milroy’s office informed Hesselbein that the chair, Representative Pronschinske, denied another request to participate safely with a virtual or remote option.

“The real issue is the public and their elected representatives are being barred from the democratic process,” Hesselbein stated. “The only way members were allowed to participate was either showing up in-person in a room where masks are not worn by many individuals or submit questions in writing. This is unacceptable.”

The chair of the committee and many individuals in the room did not wear masks. While the chair mentioned that written questions could be submitted to the clerk, there was no way for legislators or the public to view the committee proceedings since the hearing was not scheduled on WisconsinEye.org.