At an elementary school in Neenah on Sept. 21, Gov. Scott Walker officially signed the $76 billion 2017-19 state budget. Prior to signing the budget bill, Walker released a list of his 99 partial vetoes of the budget. A week prior on Sept. 13, the Assembly passed the budget. Initially there was some uncertainty as […]
State Appeals Court Upholds Right-To-Work
Date Thu, Sep. 28, 2017 - 4:05pm By Hamilton
Last week, the state 3rd District Court of Appeals upheld Wisconsin’s right-to-work law. In the decision, the Court of Appeals said the unions challenging the law did not meet the burden of proving right-to-work is an unconstitutional taking of property. On April 15, 2016, Dane County Circuit Court Judge William Faust granted the unions’ request […]
Bills of Note: Device Use While Driving
Date Thu, Sep. 28, 2017 - 4:00pm By Hamilton
Last week, the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety held a public hearing on a bill that would prohibit using electronic devices while driving. The bill expands existing state law prohibiting texting and emailing while driving to include entering, transmitting, or accessing data via an “interactive electronic device.” These infractions would be categorized […]
Walker Appoints New DNR Secretary
Date Thu, Sep. 28, 2017 - 3:42pm By Hamilton
Gov. Scott Walker announced Monday that former Republican state Rep. Dan Meyer is taking over as Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Meyer represented the 34th District (Rhinelander) in the Assembly from 2001-2013. Prior to serving in the legislature, Meyer was mayor of Eagle River and executive director of Eagle River Chamber of […]
Bills of Note: Nonferrous Mining
Date Fri, Sep. 15, 2017 - 9:08am By Hamilton
At the end of August, Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) and Rep. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) introduced a bill that would make changes to Wisconsin’s regulations on nonferrous metallic mineral mining. Among other provisions, the bill would: repeal the prohibition on sulfide ore permits, change the location at which groundwater standards may apply at nonferrous metallic mining […]
Legislature Moves Closer to Budget Passage
Date Fri, Sep. 15, 2017 - 8:52am By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee completed their budget work on Sept. 6. All the budget motions passed by JFC were incorporated into a Substitute Amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 64, which replaces the entire original budget bill (Assembly Bill 64). The Assembly passed the budget on Sept. 13, sending it over to the Senate. At the […]
Committee Recap: September 4-15
Date Fri, Sep. 15, 2017 - 8:47am By Hamilton
As the legislature moves forward with the budget and Foxconn, committee action is also picking up. Over the past two weeks, committees have held hearings and executive sessions on a wide variety of bills. Below is a recap of interesting bills that have recently moved in committees: The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety […]
Legislature Passes Foxconn Bill
Date Fri, Sep. 15, 2017 - 8:43am By Hamilton
Before completing its work on the state budget, on Sept. 5, the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) first took up the Foxconn bill that the Assembly had passed in August. JFC added a GOP Senate amendment that, among other provisions, would allow for the direct review of circuit court decisions relating to the manufacturing zone by the Wisconsin […]
State Sen. Leah Vukmir Jumps in Race for U.S. Senate
Date Thu, Sep. 14, 2017 - 4:36pm By Hamilton
As expected, Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield) announced she is running for U.S. Senate in 2018 against Democrat Tammy Baldwin, the incumbent U.S. Senator. Vukmir, who has been in the state legislature for 14 years, will first have to win the Republican primary. Vukmir has strong conservative credentials and has been working on increasing her statewide […]
Minority Leader Barca to Step Down at End of Month
Date Thu, Sep. 14, 2017 - 4:33pm By Hamilton
As leader of the Democrats in the state Assembly, Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) has had to push back removal attempts after each of the last two elections in which Assembly Democrats lost seats. While none of those potential coups were enough to remove Barca from leadership, it appears his vote in favor of the Foxconn […]