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Recognized as a determined advocate for children, Senator Darling has worked to improve child care for families and providers, and to promote adoption and foster parenting, especially for children-at-risk. She is a longstanding committee member of the Bureau of Milwaukee County Child Welfare, charged with improving permanency for Milwaukee’s children. She has also actively supported and voted to provide full funding of the Birth-to-3 program which serves young children with developmental disabilities. The Wisconsin Legislature’s leader in protecting children against sex offenders, Senator Darling has authored landmark laws to keep children and families safe in their neighborhoods, including:
Senator Darling believes that parents and children benefit from having a variety of educational options available to them. She was instrumental in the creation of Wisconsin’s Open Enrollment program (statewide public school choice), has been a leader in establishing and strengthening charter and choice schools, and voted to provide for the continued operations of innovative virtual schools.
A former public school teacher, Darling is well known for her work in support of education. As a former member of the Education Committee, she believes Wisconsin must provide children with a superior learning environment, a strong curriculum, and increased opportunities. Understanding that a strong education system is the key to Wisconsin’s economic future, Darling has fought to continually provide increases in state aid for K-12 public education, and has worked to ensure that this aid is distributed equitably to local school districts. Darling opposed an effort to eliminate the primary aid hold harmless provision of the school aid formula, which brings with it the only state aid that several local districts receive. She stands firm against attempts to completely eliminate the Chapter 220 Inter-district Transfer Program to further protect local district budgets. Quality education depends on more than money. As Vice-Chair of Governor Thompson’s Council on Model Academic Standards, Darling served with a bipartisan coalition that wrote the curriculum guidelines that Wisconsin schools use today. She has supported efforts to implement a “pay for performance” system that rewards top educators, and has authored legislation to eliminate the residency requirement on Milwaukee Public School teachers. Senator Darling believes that parents and children benefit from having a variety of educational options available to them. She was instrumental in the creation of Wisconsin’s Open Enrollment program (statewide public school choice), has been a leader in establishing and strengthening charter and choice schools, and voted to provide for the continued operation of innovative virtual schools. All children need a safe environment to learn, and Darling leads the charge for safer schools in Wisconsin. As Chair of the Special Committee on School Discipline and Safety, nearly all of Darling’s recommendations are now law. She has also authored legislation to allow school districts to deny employment to convicted felons, and was the lead Senate author of a law that allows law enforcement to share information on juvenile sex offenders with school district officials. Senator Darling’s commitment to education extends beyond the K-12 years. She has supported increased funding for higher education grants, and is proposing legislation to make all student loan interest 100% tax deductible. Darling also wrote the law to create Wisconsin’s EdVest Program to help families save for the costs of higher education. She has served since 1999 as Chair of the State’s College Savings Program board.
Wisconsin residents cherish the natural beauty of the state they call home. Senator Darling recognizes the importance of protecting our natural resources, and ensuring clean air and water. Understanding that a clean environment and job growth go hand-in-hand, Darling voted to strengthen the “Brownfields” program to clean up environmental contamination and spur economic development. She also voted to strengthen protection of wetlands, and as an advocate for Wisconsin’s sporting heritage, voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to affirm sportsmen’s right to hunt and fish. Darling supported the recent reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program to protect vulnerable environmental treasures and expand recreational opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. In an effort to protect our water resources for generations to come, Darling voted in favor of the Great Lakes Water Compact, a multi-state agreement designed to protect the Great Lakes from being drained by other states in water diversions outside of the Great Lakes Basin. As a result of her strong environmental record, Darling was among those legislators recognized for their pro-conservation votes by the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters.
Senator Darling believes that government exists to serve the people, not the other way around. As such, she works to provide the residents of the 8th Senate District with exceptional constituent services, and supports efforts to increase the public’s trust in the democratic process and their elected leaders. Darling has led the call to eliminate a special perk for elected officials that allows them to accumulate unreported, unused sick leave, which can be later converted to pay for health care coverage. To ensure the integrity of every person’s vote and protect the democratic process from fraud, Darling has continually co-authored and voted to enact Voter ID legislation. Darling has been a supporter of campaign finance reform initiatives including the “Impartial Justice” bill to provide public financing for State Supreme Court elections, increased disclosure requirements for third party issue ads, and the successful effort to create greater oversight in the Government Accountability Board. To protect against potential abuse of power by the executive branch, Darling voted for legislative oversight of tribal gaming compacts, and supported legislation later approved by the voters in a statewide referendum to prohibit the “Frankenstein Veto”, so that governors are unable to use creative veto powers to fabricate laws not intended by the people’s representatives in the legislature.
Wisconsin needs health care reform that gives people more control of their coverage, their dollars and their medical decisions. The focus of Senator Darling’s health care agenda is to reduce the cost of medical care, increase access to affordable coverage, and improve the quality of health care services. Darling has continually voted to provide necessary funding for programs that serve vulnerable populations, including Medicaid, BadgerCare and the SeniorCare prescription drug assistance program. She also successfully fought to increase funding for breast cancer and cervical screening services under the Wisconsin Well Woman Program. Recognizing the need for affordable health care, Darling fought to create the 2006 Senate Select Committee on Health Care Reform, of which she was named co-chair. Her work led to the development of “Smart Medicine," a series of reforms designed to achieve ambitious goals, including:
Wisconsin needs an economic climate that will assist local businesses in expanding their operations and creating more high-paying jobs, and attract out-of-state companies to relocate in Wisconsin. Senator Darling has a strong record on supporting legislation designed to promote job creation and economic development. Darling coauthored and voted for several laws aimed at accomplishing these goals, including:
A strong economy depends on a skilled workforce, and Darling is at the forefront of efforts to help increase the skill level and earning potential for Wisconsin workers. She is the author of the “Education Tax Credit” bill to provide a 50% tax credit of tuition costs paid by businesses for an employee to attend a Wisconsin college, university or technical school. Also, as part of her “Stay in Wisconsin” plan, Darling proposes to make all student loan interest 100% tax deductible to limit the “brain drain” by retaining the best and brightest college graduates to work and raise a family in Wisconsin. Darling is a co-author of the “Invest Wisconsin 2.0” initiative, a package of additional strategies to strengthen our economy and create high-quality jobs by making Wisconsin a more business-friendly state to the benefit of employers and workers alike.
Senator Darling understands that in order to promote a strong Wisconsin economy, we must reduce the tax burden on families and businesses and keep government spending within the taxpayers’ ability to pay. Darling has a consistent record of cutting taxes, and has authored spending cap legislation on state government. When Darling served as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Finance, Darling succeeded in passing a 2003-05 state budget that cut spending on state government operations and sliced the structural deficit by half. That budget was the culmination of a 27.5% reduction in state government operations spending over the previous three years. Darling has voted for successful efforts to eliminate the tax on social security income, and to make health insurance premium payments tax deductible. She also supported income tax cuts, a property tax freeze, and the elimination of state taxes on retirement income. Believing tax increases to be an obstacle to economic growth, Darling voted against proposed tax increases on gasoline, health care services and home sales. With rising gasoline prices impacting family budgets and the state economy, Darling is working to reduce those costs. She is a co-author of legislation to repeal the state’s minimum mark-up law that artificially inflates the price of gas. She has also called for the repeal of the federal ethanol mandate and the elimination of the summertime requirement on pricier expensive reformulated gas, which provides no proven environmental benefit. In the previous session, Darling voted to cut the gas tax and to end the automatic annual increase in the gas tax. She has also opposed efforts to enact an ethanol mandate in Wisconsin. In pushing for tax cuts while resisting attempts at tax hikes, Wisconsin has fallen out of the top ten most highly-taxed states for the first time in decades.
Senator Darling understands that building strong communities requires ensuring that our neighborhoods are safe. She is particularly dedicated to the safety of children, acting as Wisconsin’s leader in passing tough, effective laws to protect children from sexual predators. The landmark laws authored by Darling in keeping children and families safe in their neighborhoods include:
In an effort to bring justice to crime victims and enhance community safety, Darling voted in favor of Wisconsin’s “Truth in Sentencing” law to bring certainty to criminal sentencing. She has also authored legislation to allow schools to refuse employment to convicted felons, and voted to provide funding to eliminate the case backlog at Wisconsin’s crime labs. Darling is a supporter of bills to increase penalties for drunk drivers, and believes that making a third OWI offense a felony must be a priority for lawmakers. She is working with a bipartisan group of legislators to draft legislation that would mandate vehicle impoundment and license revocation for third time OWI offenders, and prevent individuals from getting behind the wheel by sending them directly to jail following sentencing.
Whether assisting the frail elderly with their health care needs, or fighting to relieve their tax burden, Alberta Darling has been a strong advocate for Wisconsin’s senior citizens. Darling has fought to keep seniors’ tax burdens from outpacing their income. She worked to eliminate the state income tax on social security benefits, which has taken effect for the 2008 tax year. Darling also supported a tax exemption for retirement income, including pensions and individual retirement accounts. She has consistently voted for proposals to freeze property taxes so that seniors can continue to afford to live in their homes. Meeting the health care needs of Wisconsin seniors has always been a priority for Senator Darling. Darling voted for the creation of the SeniorCare prescription drug assistance program, and most recently voted to further reduce costs for participants. Darling has continually supported funding increases in the Medicaid program to provide health care benefits to needy seniors. As part of her “Smart Medicine” plan for health care reform, Darling advocated for the statewide expansion of the Family Care program to meet seniors’ needs for long-term care. In 2008, Darling unveiled her “Stay in Wisconsin” plan, a series of initiatives designed to make it easier for seniors to remain in our state. The “retirement package” portion of Stay in Wisconsin would make various tax changes for seniors to make Wisconsin a more attractive place to retire, including:
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