Finance Committee Continues Building State Budget; Tax Cuts, Education Funding Are Highlights
Date Fri, Jun. 4, 2021 - 1:48pm By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Legislature remains focused on assembling a state budget for the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium. In his executive budget proposal, Governor Tony Evers (D) included a two-year operating budget of more than $90 billion and a long list of changes to various state laws and programs. Immediately following the governor’s budget address in February, legislative leaders indicated they would […]
Republican Lawmakers Seek to End Federal Unemployment Supplements; Governor Likely to Veto
Date Fri, Jun. 4, 2021 - 1:38pm By Hamilton
A group of Republican state legislators are working on legislation to end Wisconsin’s participation in several federal programs that provide new or additional unemployment benefits, including the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program. The FPUC program provides recipients of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits with an additional $300 per week on top of the regular state […]
PFAS Update: Natural Resources Board Approves Hearing, Comment Period for PFAS Drinking Water Rule
Date Fri, Jun. 4, 2021 - 1:19pm By Hamilton
At its May 26 meeting, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board (NRB) authorized the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to hold a preliminary public hearing and comment period on the agency’s scope statement for board order DG-31-20. The scope statement is an early version of the agency’s proposal to amend chapter NR 809 of the Wisconsin […]
Vaccine Update: More Than 42 Percent Fully Vaccinated; Positive Case Rate Declining
Date Fri, Jun. 4, 2021 - 1:17pm By Hamilton
As of June 2, Wisconsin had administered almost 5.18 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, with more than 2.45 million Wisconsin residents or 42.1 percent of the state’s population fully vaccinated. About 83.3 percent of Wisconsinites aged 65 and older have received at least one dose. All U.S. adults are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine […]
Seventh Circuit Reverses Lead Paint Verdict, Limits the Scope of “Risk-Contribution Theory”
Date Tue, Jun. 1, 2021 - 1:48pm By Hamilton
From 2005 to 2011, Wisconsin had a six-year window where plaintiffs could sue manufacturers of white lead carbonate (a pigment formerly used in some paints) under a tort theory known as “risk-contribution.” Under this theory, plaintiffs can seek damages from a company that produced white lead carbonate used in paint even if the plaintiff cannot […]
Mueller v. Bull’s Eye Sports Shop (Spoliation of Evidence)
Date Tue, Jun. 1, 2021 - 1:46pm By Hamilton
In Mueller v. Bull’s Eye Sports Shop (2020AP978), the District IV Court of Appeals upheld the circuit court’s sanction for spoliation of evidence. Facts Tyler Mueller was injured while hunting when a gun he was carrying, owned by his brother Jordan Mueller, discharged accidentally. Tyler sued Bull’s Eye Sports Shop, which assembled the gun and […]
Thom v. 1st Auto & Casualty Insurance Company (Auto Insurance)
Date Tue, Jun. 1, 2021 - 1:45pm By Hamilton
In Thom v. 1st Auto & Casualty Insurance Company (2020AP285), the District IV Court of Appeals determined an insurer’s liability for a vehicle covered but not specifically described by a policy issued by that insurer. Facts Thom was severely injured when she was involved in a car accident with another vehicle driven by a thirteen-year-old […]
Rave v. SVA Healthcare Services (Class Certification)
Date Tue, Jun. 1, 2021 - 1:44pm By Hamilton
In Rave v. SVA Healthcare Services (2019AP2236), the District I Court of Appeals upheld the circuit court’s decision to certify a class in a lawsuit involving fees for medical records. Facts After being injured in a car crash, Rave retained a personal injury law firm and authorized his attorneys to obtain his health care records. […]
Finance Committee Overhauls State Budget, Removing Hundreds of Policies and Resetting Spending Levels
Date Fri, May. 21, 2021 - 11:03am By Hamilton
The Legislature has taken steps to overhaul Wisconsin’s 2021-23 state budget by removing hundreds of policy proposals and resetting spending levels to the 2019-21 baseline. On May 6, the Republican-led Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) met to vote on major aspects of the 2021-23 state budget put forward by Governor Tony Evers (D). Gov. Evers’ […]
Legislature Reinstates Work Search Requirement for Those Receiving Unemployment Benefits
Date Fri, May. 21, 2021 - 9:51am By Hamilton
A legislative committee has voted to end a temporary rule that suspended the work search requirement for people receiving unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. By a 6-4, party line vote on May 19, the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) ended the emergency rule promulgated by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). Without committee […]