Interpreter Licensure :: Wisconsin Association of the Deaf

Interpreter Licensure

Write to your Assembly Representative! Search for the Representative of your district right here at this website: www.legis.wisconsin.gov. Simply enter your address and you will find who your Senator and Representatives are. Note who your Representative is, and contact them today to support SB-389!!

To view a list of representatives and the districts they represent, click here!

The Statewide Task Force on Interpreter Licensure is hard at work in informing people about the status of the Interpreter Licensure Bill (SB-389)! Write, email or call your Assembly Representative today! Join us at one of our letter writing parties that will be hosted throughout the state of Wisconsin. Find more information through WADNet or on Facebook and Twitter!

Update from Joel Mankowski:

WISTERPALERT # 24 – March 3, 2010

Today, the Assembly Committee on Heath and Health Care Reform called the meeting in order after 10:30AM in the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Hall on the fourth floor of the North wing. After three bills were discussed, they called us to testify for or against SB 389 at approximately 2:30 PM and lasted until 4:30 PM. Our first testimony was made by Senators Kedzie and Lazich who strongly recommended the committee to consider passage of the bill within the Assembly Floor session. Then an official from the Department of Regulations and Licensing (DRL) stated that they would be happy to work with us to make sure they can understand how the system works and figure how much it would cost the state.

We had only two opponents but 16 of us were in favor of SB-389. Of course, we received some “unfriendly” questions from the Committee but we somehow managed to answer with details such as the difference between certification and licensure, DRL and DPI licenses, qualifications, rural setting concerns, and service availability in northern Wisconsin.

The Committee Executive Session, which will decide the fate of the bill, will be scheduled soon. It will be announced this week or next week. If the Committee recommends the passage of the bill to the Floor session, that would be great. It would be the last battle before the Governor who has the power to sign or veto the bill. I will keep all of you posted when I get new information from the Legislature.

I personally want to thank those wonderful people who bravely testified on behalf of the deaf & hard of hearing and interpreting communities including WisRID. Here is the list of testified people who favored SB-389 as is below:

Joe Riggio
Christopher Woodfill
Jenny Buechner
Dan Houlihan
Jason Altmann
Faye Jordan-Peters
Colleen Keating
Leslie DeMeyer
Theresa Schmechel
Amber Mullett
Steve Smart
Roger Claussen
Leonard Peacock
John Fletcher
David Letkiewicz

Please raise your “applauded” hands for their courage to speak out for us!

Also, we have good news for you. We have three new lobbying organizations who support SB-389 yesterday. Below is the list of new organizations supporting SB-389:

Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups Inc
Community Advocates, Inc.
Wisconsin Speech- Language Pathology and Audiology Professional Association

So far we have five confirmed supporting lobbying organizations.

We would like to thank Joe Riggio and Jason Atlmann who worked hard to get more organizations to support us. Bravo!

However we still need more support, including additional organizations, to keep on fighting for the passage of SB-389.

Let’s hope for the better future!

Support SB-389 as is!!!

Go Forwardly!
Joel Mankowski
STFIL Chair