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Disabled Wisconsin lawmaker asks to participate remotely

Jimmy Anderson
Posted at 3:35 PM, May 04, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-04 16:35:14-04

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A disabled Democratic lawmaker in Wisconsin is asking Assembly Republicans to allow him to participate in floor sessions remotely, much like the accommodations sometimes used during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rep. Jimmy Anderson, who is quadriplegic, threatened to take legal action if his request isn’t granted. Anderson says in a letter to Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz that his disability prevents him from being physically present for every vote. Vos didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The letter comes more than a year after Assembly Republicans, at Anderson’s urging, changed rules to allow those with disabilities to phone into committee meetings, but stopped short of fulfilling other requests.

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