Wisconsin Election Preview: State Senate

With the election only a week away, Wisconsin polling between Trump and Biden remains consistent as insiders await Wednesday’s Marquette poll to see if any final momentum swings can be detected.  Trump is making multiple stops in the state over the final weeks while Biden has mostly sent surrogates since his September visits to Kenosha […]

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Update on Wisconsin’s Coronavirus Relief Fund Plan

This week, Governor Evers updated the public regarding state’s plan to invest federal funds to address the response and recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, Wisconsin was directly allocated $1.99 billion dollars from the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), which was made available to Wisconsin through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security […]

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COVID-19 Orders and Current Challenges

The election is less than 8 days away and COVID-19 remains as the top issue both in the state and nation. Here in Wisconsin, there has been a significant uptick of cases. Gov. Evers has issued emergency orders to address the pandemic and faces numerous legal challenges. This legal push and pull on COVID-19 policies […]

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OCI Releases Task Force Report on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices

On Oct. 21, the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI), with Deputy Commissioner and Task Force Chair Nathan Houdek’s signature, released the Governor’s Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices final 2020 report. The report is the product of the task force’s work to identify strategies to improve prescription drug affordability and accessibility for […]

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DWD Announces Worker Training Grants

The Department of Workforce Development’s Office of Skills Development (OSD) will begin accepting applications for a worker training grant opportunity next week.  The “Industry Sectors Worker Training Grant” is a redesigned opportunity in the Wisconsin Fast Forward program. According to OSD the “grant program is designed to help fund the development of innovative and collaborative […]

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PFAS Update: DNR Stakeholder Meeting and WisPac Releases Draft Plan

Stakeholder Group for PFAS Rules On Friday, October 9, the Department of Natural Resources held another Stakeholder Group for PFAS Rules. The meeting focused on the background regarding the economic impact analysis (EIA), the EIA conceptual framework for Water Quality Standards rule and wastewater and drinking water sampling efforts. From a high-level perspective, the DNR […]

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Lawsuit Filed to Stop Release of Businesses Connected to COVID-19 Cases; Temporary Restraining Order Issued

On Oct. 1, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) filed suit in Waukesha County seeking an injunction to prevent the Evers’ administration from releasing names of businesses who have had at least two employees test positive for Covid-19 – regardless of where the employees contracted the virus. Later that day, a Waukesha County circuit judge issued […]

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Wisconsin UI Program Continues to Confront Delays; DWD Secretary Resigns

  Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance Program (UI) continues to be front and center as COVID-19 impacts layoffs in Wisconsin. Initial reports of call center failures were confirmed last week by an audit done by the Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB). The audit briefing sheet shared that the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), the cabinet agency that administers […]

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Current Fiscal Year Savings Targets Announced

On July 22, Gov. Evers announced a directive for state agencies to identify $250 million in additional savings for the current fiscal year (FY 20-21). This is the second round of cuts by the administration to manage state expenditures, as state revenues are down due to pandemic. In April, the governor ordered a five percent cut to state agency […]

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PSCW Extends Shut-off Moratorium to November until Annual Winter Moratorium Takes Effect

On September 17, the Public Service Commission (PSC) voted 2-1 to again extend the utility shut-off moratorium until November 1, 2020. Starting on November 1, 2020, the annual winter moratorium for gas and electric customers will go into effect. The annual winter moratorium runs until April 15, 2021.   Since the annual winter moratorium does […]

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