 The Hamilton Consulting Group is a government relations firm located in Madison, Wisconsin.
Our lobbyists have worked in the Legislature, state agencies, and the Governor's Office, as well as in-house with leading state business associations, law firms and companies. We have degrees in law, government & international relations, political science, and engineering that are matched with over 100 years of how-to experience.
New Developments
The full Legislature
reconvened last month with Gov. Jim Doyle giving his last State
of the State address. In his speech, he proposed a loan program
to help manufacturers reduce energy costs. He also continued to
push one his remaining top priorities – climate change
legislation. Hearings on the 174-page global warming bill
(Senate Bill 450/Assembly 649) began last month and will
continue through February.
The Wisconsin Senate passed legislation targeting “issue ads,” while the
U.S. Supreme Court in the same week struck down federal legislation that
restricted spending by corporations and unions for election related
advertising.
The economy continues to send mixed signals. While the U.S. economy grew 5.7
percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, the Wisconsin Dept. of Workforce
Development announced that Wisconsin’s unemployment rate increased to 8.3
percent, up 0.4 percentage points from November 2009, and up 2.5 percentage
points from the same time last year.
Meanwhile, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau
issued a report announcing that the state’s closing gross general fund
balance will be $55.7 million – roughly $220 million below the balance
projected when the 2009-11 budget was enacted. Democrats touted the report
saying that it shows that the state’s economy is rebounding. Republicans
countered that the report shows that state tax revenues have remained flat,
which could lead to more budget problems down the road.
The next few months will be extremely busy in Madison. The legislative
session ends in April, at which point legislators will head home to prepare
for elections in the fall. | 
