A public hearing on a proposed new specialty license plate grew contentious at the Capitol on Tuesday. The Choose Life plate would join an ever-growing list of plates for everything from the Brewers, Badgers and Packers to endangered resources.
But Representative Chris Danou (D-Trempeleau) said none of those plates are politically divisive. “No matter what side of the issue you’re on, you can’t argue that this isn’t a divisive political issue,” he told the bill’s author, Representative Andre Jacque (R-DePere).
Julaine Appling heads the group Choose Life Wisconsin, which claims any money raised through sale of the plates would go directly to pregnancy care centers around the state.
“The citizens who’ll be buying these aren’t looking at these as a political statement, they’re looking at it as an expression of their personal belief,” Appling said. The Assembly Transportation Committee heard testimony on several plate proposals including Trout Unlimited, ALS and an “In God We Trust” plate.