Representative Terese Berceau, legislator from the 76th District.

What is the most important thing we can do in Wisconsin to protect consumers?
Many consumers are either unaware of their rights as consumers, or don’t know who to report to when they know they have been wronged. The investigations that Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection do in response to consumer complaints are excellent, however, most folks just don’t know about them or other governmental or non-profit organizations that may help them. On the other hand, many consumers who have been wronged do not to report the violation for various reasons. This is where agitation comes in. It is absolutely necessary that when consumers experience or hear of deceptive and unfair business practices, they have the courage and the responsibility as citizens to report them, when necessary, to protest and demonstrate against them, and to petition their state and federal governments for improvements in consumer protection law.

Why should citizens care about consumer protection?
Back in the old days when people made their own clothes, grew their own food, built their own homes, and generally fashioned every object they used in their lives—or knew the individual who did so on a personal basis—there was little need for consumer protection. However, now all of us rely upon invisible and distant entities to build most of what we use on a daily basis. The intimate link between consumer and producer that used to exist, is long severed. We have to rely upon trust, when trust is not earned. As consumers, we are largely ignorant of how the objects we use were designed, constructed, and what they are composed of. Strong consumer protection laws are the best ways to ensure that our health is safe, and our money is not wasted.

You’ve been a long time champion on consumer issues in Wisconsin. Where did that interest come from?
I am basically motivated by any sense of injustice, no matter what the issue. If I feel people are being taken advantage of, or discriminated against by any policy or practice, especially by powerful special interests, I am motivated to fight.

What piece of legislation are you most proud of?
I am proud of all of the legislation I have authored. I am proud to be the only legislator to say we should raise the beer tax to pay for alcohol treatment programs. I am proud to have authored my cell phone consumer protection bill, the work I am doing on bills to protect consumers who have mold issues in their homes, credit card deceptive advertising legislation, bills on outsourcing of jobs from Wisconsin and restrictions on privatizing government services, and bills on sexual assault and alcohol, amongst others. But I am most proud of a bill which I authored that became law, requiring judges to take into account evidence of domestic abuse when deciding custody and placement of children.

How can citizens best be involved in the legislative process?
It is most important to expend your efforts on writing and calling the legislators who are doing something you do not agree with. While I appreciate hearing from my constituents and supporters, we are usually in agreement. I and other Democrats in the minority need your help and energy applied to those making proposals we do not want to see become law. If you are part of an organization that is interested in an issue, it is key to find people in the organization who live in the districts of the “opposition,” since legislators are more likely to pay attention to the views of those whom they represent.