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2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
2023 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTIO N 131
February 26, 2024 - Introduced by Senators W ANGGAARD and L. JOHNSON,
cosponsored by Representatives HAYWOOD and DRAKE. Referred to Committee
on Senate Organization.
***AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
Relating to: honoring the service of former Wisconsin State Senator Lena C. Taylor.
Whereas, Lena C. Taylor, a distinguished public servant, was elected to the
Wisconsin Assembly in a special election in 2003 and the state senate in 2004, where
she served until 2024 before being appointed as a Wisconsin circuit court judge for
Milwaukee County; and
Whereas, Lena C. Taylor is a graduate of Rufus King High School and the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she became a member of the Alpha
Kappa Alpha sorority; and
Whereas, Senator Taylor earned her juris doctor from Southern Illinois
University School of Law in 1993; and
Whereas, Lena C. Taylor, after graduating from law school, worked as a public
defender representing low-income and underrepresented citizens in Milwaukee and
ultimately opened a general practice firm on the north side of Milwaukee, Taylor and
Associates Law Office, in 1996; and
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Whereas, in 2004, Lena C. Taylor succeeded Congresswoman Gwen Moore in
Wisconsin's 4th Senate District; and
Whereas, Senator Taylor served several terms on the Joint Committee on
Finance, including one term as cochair, becoming the first Black woman to hold the
position; and
Whereas, Senator Taylor also served as the chair of the Senate Committee on
Judiciary and Corrections in the 2007-08 legislative session, where she worked
tirelessly for state criminal justice reform; and
Whereas, Senator Taylor also served on other senate standing committees
during her time in the legislature, including Agriculture, Small Business, and
Tourism; Judiciary and Public Safety; Utilities and Housing; Insurance, Financial
Services, Government Oversight, and Courts; and Insurance, Licensing, and
Forestry; and
Whereas, Senator Taylor served on multiple joint legislative committees, such
as Joint Legislative Council, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties, the
Law Revision Committee, the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions, and the
Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations; and
Whereas, Senator Taylor was also a part of several study committees, serving
as the vice-chair of the Study Committee on Child Placement and Support and the
Study Committee on the Investment and Use of School Trust Funds and as a member
of the Study Committee on Increasing Offender Employment Opportunities; and
Whereas, Lena C. Taylor is known by her colleagues for working with both
Democrats and Republicans to pass important legislation to improve the lives of
members of her community and constituency; and
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Whereas, Senator Taylor has worked tirelessly to give a voice to the Black
community and is a member of many groups seeking to improve the lives of Black
Americans, such as the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women,
the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, and the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the members of the
Wisconsin State Legislature extend their gratitude to Judge Lena C. Taylor for her
work promoting the values of inclusivity, social justice, and civil rights that she
championed throughout her remarkable career and wish her continued success in
her new role as Wisconsin circuit court judge.
(END)
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