Milwaukee County rejects funds for employees to travel for out-of-state abortions. Here's what to know about the proposal

Milwaukee County supervisors on Tuesday shot down a proposal to cover the travel expenses of county employees for out of state abortion services.

The Committee on Personnel voted 3-1 to reject the resolution to allocate $30,000, with Supervisors Patti Logsdon, Steven Shea and Anthony Staskunas voting in favor of its rejection and Supervisor Willie Johnson Jr. against.

The resolution, which was co-sponsored by Supervisors Ryan Clancy and Juan Miguel Martinez, was in response to the ban on abortions since the overturning of landmark Roe v. Wade last June. Its proposal to serve roughly 4,100 county employees sparked concern among supervisors and legal counsel in the lead up to Tuesday's discussions.

Fears of jeopardizing increased funding for Milwaukee County

Tuesday's debate came as Milwaukee County and other local governments are pressing their case with the state Legislature to increase the amount of revenue flowing to localities, a long-stagnant stream of resources.

"We're looking for more shared revenue from the Legislature," Shea told committee members ahead of the vote, incorrectly suggesting the proposed funding would pay for abortions as opposed to being limited to covering travel expenses. "If we pass this, they're gonna 'Say well, if they can pay for abortions, they don't need any more money.'"

"I think what we should do is wait and see what direction the Wisconsin Supreme Court takes on the larger issue," he said, referring to a legal challenge currently in the courts over an 1849 law that bans almost all abortions now in effect because of the overturning of Roe.

Logsdon warned the committee that it is a nonpartisan body and asked that the discussion not become a partisan issue. She went on to say that the use of funds would not be a good use of county dollars.

"I do not feel that — thinking about our taxpayers money and how we spend them — that this would be a very good way to spend the monies of our taxpayers. So, I just cannot vote for something like this," she said.

Johnson also acknowledged the greater impact shared revenue could have on a much larger group of Milwaukee County residents.

"It is not time to go forward with respect to this matter," he said.

For Clancy, such a localized effort would not be enough to provoke Republican state legislators.

"I think the Republicans have no shortage of ways to express their displeasure, their open contempt and their hatred for Milwaukee and Milwaukee County," Clancy responded. "I think it is extremely unlikely that this one specific thing would elevate it to the top of the list of hundreds of ways, which are clear in recent legislation, that they are trying to put a boot on our neck."

During the April general elections, Milwaukee County residents voted on a nonbinding, advisory abortion referendum, with roughly 77% of the 223,849 voters voting in favor of repealing the law and allow legal access to abortion care.

"Even before Roe fell clearly there was an issue of access to safe and legal abortions," Clancy told the supervisors. "This would be one way that we could take specific direct action to make that easier for our employees and I think it's a fight worth having."

Would such a fund violate state law? The county's corporation counsel offered caution

Chief Corporation Counsel Margaret Daun explained the nuanced differences about what the funds could be used for.

"What this is is a proposal to reimburse up to a stated budgetary amount travel out of state for a large category of medical procedures — some elective, some would argue not when the life of the woman is at risk," Daun said, referring to Logsdon's characterization of abortion being an elective procedure.

State statute says that no state agency or local governmental unit may authorize payment of funds that wholly or partially involves pregnancy programs, projects or services that promotes in favor of abortion services.

The Corporation Counsel's Office has yet to issue its formal opinion on the matter but Daun noted that complexity of the law's language.

"There is legal risk if this resolution is adopted and implemented — legal risk that it could be found illegal by a court of competent jurisdiction in the state of Wisconsin," she said. "The reason there is risk is very simple. It's because the statutory language here permits an interpretation that would prohibit the very thing that resolution proposes to do. The language also permits an interpretation, where what the resolution proposes would be legal."

"Hence why I can't give you certainty where there is not," she said.

Dane County has faced no legal pushback for its travel fund

An almost identical program has been adopted by Dane County and has yet to be challenged.

Dane County Supervisor Mike Bare urged the committee to vote in favor of the bill, which would match similar efforts by private market employers who began offering benefits to employees that include travel time off and healthcare stipends to cover the cost of reproductive health care that's no longer available in Wisconsin.

"Our Corporation Counsel was was clear that this amendment was legal, even helped draft the language that I introduced," said Bare, who is also a Democratic member of the state Assembly.

But for Daun, a lack of a challenge in Dane County does not mean that Milwaukee County would be in the clear legally.

"Lack of a challenge in the courts does not permit an inference that the program is legal in all instances. It simply means that no one has challenged it," she said.

Does Tuesday's vote end the debate?

No. The proposal could resurface May 18 at the county's Finance Committee, which could vote to advance the proposal to the full County Board. The full board could also take up the measure without a positive recommendation from committees. Clancy said Tuesday he would move to put it to a vote of the full board.

Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or vswales@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Vanessa_Swales.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County rejects travel funds for employees' abortions