Wisconsin Democrats chart a new path for the legislature, focused on families’ budgets and a stronger workforce

With new legislative maps, all eyes are on helping families and employers in order to give the state a more competitive economy. 

New, fairly-drawn legislative maps in this fall’s election will give Wisconsin voters an opportunity for a different kind of Legislature—one that could address many family-friendly issues that have been neglected under Republican control.

Many of Wisconsin’s leading Democratic voices have no shortage of ideas for how to help working families (and their wallets) through legislative action. Here’s a few of them: 

Medicaid expansion

For the last decade, Wisconsin Republicans have been blocking Medicaid expansion, known in Wisconsin as BadgerCare. Blocking the expansion means the state has been missing out on billions of dollars that could have been used to provide more stable health insurance to tens of thousands more working families that have no access to affordable coverage through their employer.

To date, Wisconsin remains one of only 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid under a provision made available through the Affordable Care Act. 

Former State Senator Janet Bewley (D-Bayfield) said expansion looks far more likely thanks to the state’s new legislative maps. 

“People are going to realize what Wisconsin has gone without for so long,” she said when UpNorthNews caught up with her at the DNC convention. 

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) also said expanding Medicaid is a priority and expressed optimism under new legislative maps. 

“I think there might be some people who are in competitive districts, who are on the Republican side, who are looking at the benefit of more people having access to coverage.” 

Paid leave

Adopting a paid family leave program is a way for our economy to be competitive with other states and address labor shortages, something Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski has been advocating for. 

The United States is “the only developed nation that does not have a paid family leave policy and states are understanding that they’ve got to do it now,” Godlewski said. 

“We have to have family-friendly policies” in order to keep Wisconsinites in Wisconsin, she added, noting neighboring states like Illinois and Minnesota already have paid leave policies.

When Minnesota’s law comes into full effect in 2026, nearly every employee will still receive a certain percentage of their wages if they need to take time off to care for medical, parental, or caregiving issues with a family member.

“How are we getting people to want to stay in Wisconsin?… You can’t just take off of work to take care of a sick child or sick parent and not get paid.”

Funding child care

“We hear regularly from providers and from parents that they are having a really difficult time,” said Rep. Neubauer.  

Wisconsin’s Republican-led Joint Finance Committee has blocked $15 million in funding for Child Care Counts, a program that provides ongoing monthly payments to child care providers so that they may retain and hire staff at above-poverty wages. A recent marketplace study found that the number of affordable child care spots in Wisconsin dropped by 25% in the last year as providers close because they cannot afford to pay higher wages without losing parents who cannot afford higher payments. 

With providers and parents feeling squeezed, Neubauer said parents are now having to decide “should I go back to work or should I pay for child care?” And as more parents decide to leave the workforce, it exacerbates the state’s ongoing labor shortage.

If child care costs in Wisconsin continue to rise and more providers close their doors, Neubauer said that the state could see a child care cliff next year. “But Republicans have really been unwilling to engage with us on this issue.” 

For Neubauer, it’s about making sure young people “have every opportunity to thrive in the state of Wisconsin.”