As Prepared for Delivery – Speaker Vos, Speaker Pro Tem August, President Roth, Majority Leader Fitzgerald, Minority Leader Shilling, Minority Leader Barca, Supreme Court Justices, Constitutional Officers, tribal leaders, members of the Cabinet, members of the Legislature, distinguished guests, and most importantly, fellow citizens of the great State of Wisconsin, it is an honor to […]
Gov. Walker’s 2017 State Budget Address: Full Transcript
Date Wed, Feb. 8, 2017 - 5:07pm By Hamilton
Special Session Bill Package Circulates
Date Fri, Feb. 3, 2017 - 10:58am By Hamilton
In early January, Governor Walker issued Executive Order 230, calling the Wisconsin State Legislature into special session to combat opioid abuse. In addition to calling for a special session, the governor directed his state agencies to take various administrative actions. The announcement came after the release of a report from the Governor’s Task Force on Opioid Abuse. […]
New DOT Audit Released
Date Fri, Feb. 3, 2017 - 10:32am By Hamilton
The Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) released a new audit of the Department of Transportation (DOT) on Jan. 26, revealing increased expenditures, inaccurate cost estimates and deteriorating state roads. The audit comes amid this session’s contentious transportation budget debate. The audit examined 16 highway projects that were ongoing as of August 2016 and 19 completed projects. […]
Bills of Note: SB 3 and AB 24 – Project Labor Agreements Neutrality
Date Fri, Feb. 3, 2017 - 10:30am By Hamilton
Rep. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) and Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield) introduced bills in their respective chambers requiring government to be neutral regarding the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs). The Senate bill, SB 3, was recommended for passage on a partisan 3-2 vote by the Senate Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform on Feb. 2. We […]
Bills of Note: SB 10 – CBD Oil
Date Fri, Feb. 3, 2017 - 10:29am By Hamilton
Reprising a bill from last session, Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) and Rep. Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa) introduced a bill that would allow parents easier access to use non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD oil) as a treatment for a medical condition. The bill, SB 10, allows for possession of CBD oil with written certification from a Wisconsin-licensed doctor. The […]
Republicans to Hire Outside Counsel to Defend Redistricting Map
Date Fri, Feb. 3, 2017 - 10:24am By Hamilton
On Feb. 2, the leadership committees in both the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly approved the hiring of an outside law firm to file a friend-of-the-court brief in defense of their redistricting map. The redistricting plan, enacted as 2011 Wis. Act 43, was struck down by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. In their 159-page […]
LFB Estimates More Revenue
Date Fri, Feb. 3, 2017 - 10:20am By Hamilton
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) recently released their latest revenue estimates for the current fiscal year (FY 2016-17) and for the 2017- 19 biennium. In November, the Department of Administration (DOA) and the Department of Revenue (DOR) projected the state would end the current fiscal year with a $104 million balance. The most recent estimates […]
Gov. Walker Unveils Welfare Reform Plan
Date Fri, Feb. 3, 2017 - 10:18am By Hamilton
Last week, Gov. Scott Walker unveiled Wisconsin Works for Everyone, a new welfare reform plan that will be included in his 2017-2019 budget. Joined by former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, Walker said he would expand reforms Thompson started in his term in the 1990s. The plan consists of nine parts and is intended to incentivize […]
Get to Know a Freshman – Week 3
Date Fri, Feb. 3, 2017 - 10:16am By Hamilton
In the final segment of Get to Know a Freshman, Political Tidbits highlights three new Republican representatives and two new Democrats. The first and second segments of Get to Know a Freshman can be found on Hamilton Consulting Group’s Political Tidbits blog. Rep. David Crowley (D-Milwaukee) Rep. Crowley, representing District 17, was born in Milwaukee, […]
President Trump Nominates Judge Neil Gorsuch to Supreme Court
Date Fri, Feb. 3, 2017 - 10:08am By Hamilton
Neil Gorsuch, a 49-year-old appellate judge in Colorado, was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Trump on Tuesday. Born in Denver, Colorado, Judge Gorsuch attended Georgetown Preparatory School in Washington, D.C. while his mother led the Environmental Protection Agency under President Reagan. He completed his undergraduate degree at Columbia University and went on to […]