MADISON, Wis. (AP) ~ Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday signed into law a bipartisan bill that increases funding for homeless shelters by $1 million over the next two years.
The Legislature passed the bill last week. It is the only one of eight bills in a homelessness package that has cleared both the state Senate and Assembly. The Assembly has passed the other seven, but they’ve stalled in the Senate under concerns from some senators about their price tag.
All eight bills would spend a combined $3.7 million a year to combat the growing problem of homelessness in Wisconsin.
Republican Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, who sponsored the bill Evers signed and has championed the effort to fight homelessness, called for more to be done.
“This is not a blue or red issue, it’s a human issue that has received broad bipartisan support,” he said in a statement. He pledged to continue working with the Senate to get the remaining bills passed.
The proposals would enact recommendations from a state panel that examined homelessness in Wisconsin, a first-of-its kind group in the state. In addition to the grants for shelters, the money would also be targeted at efforts to prevent homelessness and get people into more permanent housing.
