This week in The Hamilton Consulting Group’s Bills of Note series, we provide you with an update on the status of each bill in the tax increment financing (TIF) bill package. In addition, we included an overview of the bill to merge the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) and the Wisconsin Economic Development […]
JFC Takes Further Action on State Budget
Date Fri, May. 1, 2015 - 8:38am By Hamilton
The Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) met on April 17 and April 22 to continue voting on Governor Walker’s proposed 2015-2017 state budget. JFC passed a number of motions, which modified the governor’s proposed budget. This includes action on portions of agency budgets in the Department of Military Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of […]
Legislation Introduced to Change Interest Rates in Small Claims Court
Date Fri, Apr. 17, 2015 - 10:24am By Hamilton
Under current Wisconsin law, plaintiffs who win favorable verdicts are usually entitled to recover interest on the monetary judgments awarded to them. There are two types of interest. There is post-judgment interest, which is meant to compensate the plaintiff for loss of the use of the money while a defendant appeals an unfavorable judgment. Post-judgment […]
Election Update: The Supreme Court and a New Senator
Date Fri, Apr. 17, 2015 - 9:32am By Hamilton
On April 7th, 2015 Wisconsin voters went to the polls and voted in many local races, but those who follow Wisconsin politics watched the race for supreme court justice, the special election for the 20th Senate District and the open seat for Waukesha County Executive. Supreme Court Justice Justice Ann Walsh Bradley easily won re-election […]
JFC Takes First Executive Action on State Budget
Date Fri, Apr. 17, 2015 - 9:29am By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) held its first executive session this week on Governor Walker’s proposed 2015-2017 state budget. The committee took action in a number of areas, including the Secretary of State, the Public Service Commission (PSC), State Treasurer, Department of Revenue-Lottery Administration, Department of Administration – Division of Gaming, the Supreme Court, Circuit […]
Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin President Builds Case for Prevailing Wage Repeal
Date Fri, Apr. 17, 2015 - 9:16am By Hamilton
Wisconsin Independent Businesses President Impugns Credibility of Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance John Mielke, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin (ABC-WI), appeared recently on Wisconsin Public Television’s “Here and Now” to discuss repeal of Wisconsin’s 80 year old law requiring state mandated wages to be paid on public construction projects. ABC-WI is the Wisconsin chapter […]
Chief Justice Abrahamson Sues to Keep Her Position as Chief Administrator
Date Fri, Apr. 17, 2015 - 9:13am By Hamilton
On April 7, Wisconsin voters chose to amend Art. VII §4(2) of the Wisconsin Constitution to allow state supreme court justices to elect the chief justice among themselves. The elected chief justice would have a two-year term. The amendment passed with 53% of the vote. The next morning Chief Justice Abrahamson sued her fellow justices […]
Bills of Note: Signed, Sealed and Soon to be Delivered in an Uber
Date Fri, Apr. 17, 2015 - 9:11am By Hamilton
Over the last two weeks, there has been extensive bill movement as Governor Walker signed eleven bills into law on April 8th and this week, the State Assembly took up a long list of bills. This included legislation on the ban of microbeads and a bill that would allow for popular ridesharing companies such as […]
JFC Chairs Set Ground Rules and Remove Non-Fiscal Budget Items
Date Fri, Apr. 17, 2015 - 9:10am By Hamilton
Before Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) kicked off voting this week, JFC chairs, Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) issued a memo on the budget procedures for the budget vote process. The memo included a list of 14 non-fiscal policy items that the chairs have determined will not be addressed in […]
Tourism Day at the Capitol
Date Fri, Apr. 17, 2015 - 9:08am By Hamilton
On Wednesday April 15, the Wisconsin Association of Conventions and Visitors Bureaus (WACVB) held their annual legislative day where members of WACVB met with legislators. The event was hosted jointly by WACVB and the Association of Wisconsin Tourism Attractions (AWTA). State Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke addresses Tourism Day at the Capitol attendees. To start […]