Well, look at that—both chambers of Wisconsin’s purple-hued Legislature just managed to agree on something more useful than another Packers resolution. This week, the Senate and Assembly sent Assembly Bill 269, the portable-benefits bill for Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash drivers, straight to Gov. Tony Evers’s desk with bipartisan majorities (the Assembly cleared it 56-36, four Democrats included). Kudos to Senator Julian Bradley and Representative Alex Dallman for getting this to Evers’s desk.
What the bill actually does (no, Twitter hot-takes don’t count):
Keeps drivers independent. No forced W-2 shackles, no compulsory union card. Just the freedom 100,000-plus Wisconsinites say they want.
Creates real, portable benefits. Companies can drop up to 4% of a driver’s quarterly earnings into a secure portal the driver controls—IRA, health premium, maternity leave cushion, you name it.
Adds zero new taxes, zero new bureaucrats. Because the only thing Madison needs less of is another agency perfecting the art of paperwork.
Governor Evers, here’s why your veto pen should stay capped:
Workers asked for this. Yes, actual drivers—not just Silicon Valley PR teams—testified they want flexibility and self-directed benefits. Signing the bill shows you heard them, not just the lobbyists with corner offices.
It’s bipartisan. When four Assembly Democrats break ranks in an election year, that’s not red-meat politics—that’s a flashing neon “SIGN ME” light.
It aligns with your own talking points. You campaign on “empowering working families” and “modernizing our economy.” Portable benefits for gig workers is the living, breathing definition of both. Why punt the touchdown?
No fiscal boomerang. Not a dime of state revenue is rerouted, and no rainy-day fund is raided. Vetoing would actually create pressure for a costlier government fix down the road. That’s the opposite of “prudent budgeting.”
Optics, optics, optics. Approving a bill that helps a single mom dashing tacos in Waukesha and a retiree ferrying airport rides in Dane County screams “common-sense governor.” Swiping left under union pressure screams “partisan reflex.” Your call.
Bottom line: Wisconsin just handed you a rare bipartisan win that lifts workers without lifting taxes. Put down the veto stamp, pick up the signing pen, and prove that the Dairy State still knows how to churn out smart, modern policy.
Your move, Governor. The drivers—and the voters—are watching.