Legislative Issues

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2023-2024 WPHA-WALHDAB Legislative Priorities

WPHA-WALHDAB Budget Priorities

The Wisconsin Public Health Association (WPHA) is the state’s largest professional membership organization for public health workers, and includes those working in both governmental and nongovernmental sectors. The Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards (WALHDAB) is the professional organization representing leaders and workers in local governmental public health.

WPHA and WALHDAB understand that strong public policy in support of public health is essential to the health, wellbeing, and productivity of Wisconsin residents. But there is significant room for improvement in those policies, given that, Wisconsin’s 2021 Health Report Card gives the state a “C” for health outcomes overall, and grades ranging from “C” to “F” for health disparities (see link).

When Wisconsinites are not healthy, they are not productive, their families and communities become less secure, and healthcare costs go up for everyone. But investing in strong policies that support public health is an investment in prevention. And, as the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

The Institute of Medicine defines Public Health as “What we do, collectively, to assure the conditions in which people can be healthy.” These conditions go far beyond access to quality healthcare, or on the degree to which individuals engage in their own healthy behaviors. In fact, healthcare and healthy behaviors account for less than half of what drives health for people, for communities, and for Wisconsin as a whole.

A strong, well-funded, well-staffed, resilient public health workforce is also essential. WPHA and WALHDAB intend to take a lead role in promoting policies in these areas, including policies that:

Preserve public health statutory responsibility and authority
Address gaps in health statewide and in local communities, emphasizing root-cause prevention of those health gaps
Support public health workers in Wisconsin through policies that advance recruitment, retention, and protections from harassment
Support best practices in public health

In addition, WPHA and WALHDAB will be strong supporters of our partners who are taking the lead in other policy areas that are crucial to the health of individuals, families, communities, and our state as a whole. These include, for example, policies that:

Expand Community Preventive Services
Improve our Criminal Justice System & Keep our Communities Safer
Improve Environmental Health
Strengthen Income Stability & Employment
Increase Access to Affordable and Safe Housing
Support Healthy Babies and Children
Expand Civic Engagement

WPHA / WALHDAB 2023-2024 POLICY PRIORITIES

Click here for the PDF version.

Policy Priorities – “Lead Role” Policies

Build and retain public health infrastructure through increased and more flexible public health funding
Preserve public health statutory responsibility for communicable disease control and other essential public health functions (i.e., uphold critical public health laws/regulations, and reverse damaging rollbacks of public health authority)
Directly address gaps in health at both statewide and local community levels, emphasize root-cause prevention of those health gaps, and infuse health in all policies.
Better recruit and retain public health workers in Wisconsin, and create and improve protections for public health workers.
Support “Best Practice” Public Health Policies (including but not limited to immunization policies)

Resource: Public Health Authority FAQ
Preserving public health statutory responsibility for communicable disease control and other essential public health functions is one of our lead priorities for the current session. Click here.

Policy Priorities – Examples (among others) of Policy Areas We Support

Community Preventive Services

Secure Medicaid Expansion and prevention reimbursement
Advocate for Community Health Workers
Support Access to Comprehensive Reproductive Healthcare & Health Services
Support efforts to regulate Tobacco & Vapor Products
Reducing Opioids, Alcohol and Substance Misuse

Reforming our Criminal Justice System & Keeping our Communities Safe

Increase treatment alternatives and diversion program (TAD) funding for mental health and substance use issues
Increase funding allocated to counties for juvenile justice services
Violence Prevention: Suicide, Mental Health & Gun Violence Prevention

Improving Environmental Health

Water Quality (PFAS, etc)
Climate Change
Lead and other toxins

Strengthening Income Stability & Employment

Support and expand Paid Family Leave
Increase Earned Income Tax Credit
Establish tax credit for family caregivers
Raise Minimum Wage
Increase workforce training/transitional jobs

Increasing Access to Affordable and Safe Housing

Expand low-income housing tax credits for developers and rental assistance vouchers for renters
Fund abatement for lead paint, soil and pipes

Supporting Families and Healthy Birth Outcomes

Fully fund universal school meals for all
Make childcare affordable
Literacy
Transportation

Civic Engagement

Increase opportunities for voting rights, voter engagement, and fair maps

WPHA & WALHDAB will monitor and support additional efforts as time and resources allow. This legislative agenda is meant to guide WPHA & WALHDAB’s state advocacy work. WPHA & WALHDAB Lobbyists and staff, with direction and oversight of the respective Board of Directors and the WPHA/WALHDAB Joint Policy and Advocacy Committee, may have to reprioritize, add, or delete items depending upon new initiatives, threats, and legislative activities. Please contact the WPHA-WALHDAB Office with any comments or questions! More information and resources to come to support these priorities.

The Policy & Advocacy Committee recognizes that these are all substantial issues and that staggering the approach to these is necessary. For instance, budget-related items will be a priority when the state is in the budget-developing process. The PA Committee also notes the importance of being sensitive to emerging legislative issues and changes in the political landscape.

A unified message is critical to our success. We need public health advocates to reach out (letters, phone calls, district meetings, passing resolutions) and make their voices heard on the important role local public health plays in the control and prevention of diseases in our state!

Have an issue you would like the Policy & Advocacy Committee to address? Please click here to submit your Member Input form. The Policy & Advocacy Committee meets on a monthly basis-check out the meeting minutes by clicking here.

Click here for 2021-2022 Legislative priority information.