UPDATE: Governor Walker signed these bills into law as 2015 Wisconsin Acts 254, 255, 256, and 257 on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. This week, the Assembly passed the following legislation part of the tax increment financing (TIF) bill package. The bills are a product of the 2014 Legislative Council study committee on TIF. The Senate passed […]
Legislation to Eliminate Twelve-Hour Hold for Strip Searches Passes
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 8:07pm By Hamilton
UPDATE: Governor Scott Walker signed this bill into law as 2015 Wisconsin Act 206 on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. On February 18, the Assembly concurred on legislation to remove the twelve-hour hold provision for strip searches. The legislation, Senate Bill 248, would remove the requirement that jail administrators hold detainees for 12 hours before being […]
Minor Driver’s Sponsorship Liability Bills Pass Legislature
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 7:51pm By Hamilton
UPDATE: Governor Scott Walker signed this bill into law as 2015 Wisconsin Act 202 on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Sen. Kapenga (R-Delafield) and Rep. Kuglitsch (R-New Berlin) championed legislation (Assembly Bill 540/Senate Bill 408) to limit the liability that may be imputed to an innocent parent or other adult who sponsors a person under the […]
Social and Financial Impact for Health Care Mandates Legislation Passes Assembly
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 7:47pm By Hamilton
Assembly Bill 543 and Senate Bill 413, authored by Rep. John Jagler (R-Watertown) and Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield), would prevent the legislature from holding a hearing on or taking a vote on legislation that creates new health care insurance mandates until after it has received a report from the Commissioner of Insurance. Under current law, […]
Bradley and Kloppenburg Advance to General Election
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 7:44pm By Hamilton
Rebecca Bradley and JoAnn Kloppenburg advanced to the Wisconsin Supreme Court general election on April 5. Bradley edged Kloppenburg, 45% to 43%, to take first place in the primary. Joe Donald came in a distant third place with only 12% of the vote. Bradley was appointed to the state’s highest court in October of last […]
Room Tax Technical Clarification Bill Advances
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 7:39pm By Hamilton
Assembly Bill 714/Senate Bill 578 authored by Rep. Mike Rohrkaste (R-Neenah) and Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton) clarifies the definition of tourism entities that collect room tax. The legislation adjusts the creation date of an existing tourism entity to help those created after 1992 but before January 1, 2016. It changes a provision that requires all […]
Prohibition of Regulating Auxiliary Containers Passes Assembly
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 7:35pm By Hamilton
Legislation that would prohibit a city, village, town, or county from regulating auxiliary containers (a bag, cup, bottle, etc.) made of cloth, paper, plastic cardboard, corrugated material, aluminum, glass, postconsumer recycled material, or similar substances, has passed the Assembly. In effect, this legislation would prohibit political subdivisions from regulating auxiliary containers, but would not prohibit […]
Nuclear Moratorium Bill Heads to Governor
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 7:30pm By Hamilton
Assembly Bill 384, introduced by Rep. Ken Petersen (R-Waupaca) and Senate Bill 288, introduced by Sen. Frank Lasee (R-De Pere) would end the moratorium on nuclear power plants in the state of Wisconsin. The moratorium, 1983 Wisconsin Act 401, was put in place following the Three Mile Island plant accident in 1979. The Assembly Committee […]
Sen. Lasee to Run for 8th Congressional District
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 6:24pm By Hamilton
Sen. Frank Lasee (R-De Pere) has announced his plans to run for the 8th Congressional District in Northeast Wisconsin left open by U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble’s retirement. Lasee served in the Wisconsin Assembly from 1994 to 2006 and was elected to the State Senate in 2010. In his campaign announcement, Lasee stated his focus is […]
Gov. Walker Reinforces SCOTUS Stay of Clean Power Plan through Executive Order
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 6:20pm By Hamilton
On February 9, 2016 the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan (CPP) until the litigation surrounding it is resolved. Justices Kennedy, Alito, Thomas, Scalia and Chief Justice Roberts voted in favor of the stay. Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan voted to deny the application. This […]