On Nov. 20, the Department of Administration (DOA) released a summary of the state agency budget requests and revenue estimate for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Typically, this revenue estimate has been used as the foundation for the development of the 2019-21 state budget. According to the report, the state ended FY 2017-18 with a […]
DOA Releases Revenue Estimates for the Upcoming Biennium
Date Tue, Dec. 4, 2018 - 4:12pm By Hamilton
Final 2018 Elections Preview
Date Fri, Nov. 2, 2018 - 12:03pm By Hamilton
U.S. Senate: Baldwin v. Vukmir While a number of states across the country are seeing record spending in U.S. Senate races that are coming down to the wire, activity and polling tells us that the race between U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and state Sen. Leah Vukmir will be one of the first ones called on […]
Final MU Poll Before Election Shows Close Gov, AG Races
Date Thu, Nov. 1, 2018 - 3:24pm By Hamilton
On Oct. 31, Marquette University Law School (MU) released its final poll before the 2018 midterm elections. Overall, numbers remained largely the same as in the previous poll. Voter opinions on the economy remain positive, and the majority of voters still think Wisconsin is headed in the right direction. Gov. Scott Walker and Tony Evers […]
CMS Approves BadgerCare Reform Demonstration Waiver
Date Thu, Nov. 1, 2018 - 2:55pm By Hamilton
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved Wisconsin’s Section 1115 BadgerCare Reform demonstration waiver. The waiver primarily makes changes to the BadgerCare childless adult (CLA) population in the state’s Medicaid program. The changes include: Work requirements. CLAs are required to participate in 80 hours per month of community engagement, including employment, […]
State Finishes FY 2018 With Positive Balance
Date Thu, Nov. 1, 2018 - 2:52pm By Hamilton
On Oct. 15, the Department of Administration (DOA) released the state fiscal report, detailing the final budget numbers for fiscal year 2018. The state ended the year with a balance of $588 million in general funds, which was $41 million more than budgeted. General purpose revenue (GPR) was up over 4 percent from the fiscal […]
Study Committee on Body Cameras Discusses First Draft of Bill
Date Thu, Nov. 1, 2018 - 2:46pm By Hamilton
The Study Committee on the Use of Police Body Cameras met for what was expected to be the last time on Oct. 18. However, because of concerns with the current bill draft, it was determined that the committee will need to meet one final time. The first part of the meeting was spent reviewing the […]
Study Committee on Bail & Conditions of Pretrial Release Discusses Risk Assessments Data, Draft Ideas
Date Thu, Nov. 1, 2018 - 2:43pm By Hamilton
The Study Committee on Bail & Conditions of Pretrial Release had their third meeting on Oct. 16. The committee heard from two presenters and began to develop ideas for potential draft legislation updating Wisconsin’s pretrial detention processes. First, the Wisconsin Department of Justice gave a presentation on using data, research, and information for informed pretrial […]
Study Committee on School Trust Funds Discusses Next Steps
Date Thu, Nov. 1, 2018 - 2:39pm By Hamilton
The Study Committee on Investment and Use of School Trust Funds met at the state capitol on Oct. 11 to hear from several presenters and to discuss next steps for the committee. The meeting began with presentations from the Idaho Endowment Fund Investment Board’s manager of investments, who discussed how Idaho updated its constitution to […]
Supreme Court Adopts Petition Amending Default Judgment Rule
Date Thu, Nov. 1, 2018 - 9:29am By Hamilton
Recently, the Supreme Court adopted a petition amending the default judgment rule (Wis. Stat. § 806.02) for parties failing to timely file answers to complaints. Under previous law, only plaintiffs could obtain default judgments against defendants who fail to comply with deadlines in Wis. Stat. § 802.06(1). Under the statute as amended by the Supreme […]