The Frank case is the progeny of the 2014 case where the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals declared 2011 Act 23, Wisconsin’s Voter ID law, constitutional. One set of plaintiffs from that case petitioned the federal district court to take up a series of issues that had not been resolved in the first case. Specifically, […]
Frank v. Walker: Case Questioning Parts of Wisconsin Voter ID Law Receives Hearings
Date Fri, Apr. 15, 2016 - 9:47am By Hamilton
Tom Nelson Announces Run for the 8th Congressional District
Date Fri, Apr. 15, 2016 - 9:45am By Hamilton
On April 7, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson declared his candidacy for the 8th Congressional District in northeast Wisconsin. The seat is open after Rep. Reid Ribble’s retirement announcement last fall. Nelson served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 2005 to 2011 and was the Assembly majority leader in the 2009-10 legislative session. In 2010, […]
Wisconsin Leaves a Mark on the National Elections
Date Fri, Apr. 15, 2016 - 9:44am By Hamilton
When the dust settled after last week’s elections Wisconsin proved to be more relevant than usual in shaping the direction of the Presidential primary elections. Turnout was higher than the state had seen in decades for an April election as around a million people cast their vote on each side of the presidential primary producing […]
New MU Law Poll: Cruz leads; Bradley gains on Kloppenburg; Walker’s approval rating improves
Date Thu, Mar. 31, 2016 - 11:47am By Hamilton
The nation’s politicos are buzzing after the Marquette Law School Poll found Ted Cruz is up with a ten-point lead over Donald Trump in the April 5 Wisconsin presidential primary. If Trump loses in Wisconsin, the GOP is one step closer to a brokered or contested convention. Among the Republican candidates, Trump has led in […]
Tobacco License Bill Signed by Governor
Date Thu, Mar. 31, 2016 - 10:33am By Hamilton
Assembly Bill 628/Senate Bill 528, authored by Rep. Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) makes changes to the circumstances and procedures under which the city of Milwaukee can suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a cigarette and tobacco products retailer license. The legislation passed the Senate and the Assembly via voice votes […]
Signed into Law: Frank Lloyd Wright Heritage Trail
Date Thu, Mar. 31, 2016 - 10:29am By Hamilton
On March 21, the governor signed Assembly Bill 512 into law as 2015 Wisconsin Act 270, creating a new “Frank Lloyd Wright Heritage Trail” through Wisconsin. The bipartisan bill passed the Assembly and Senate a few weeks before. Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville), Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine), and Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) introduced the legislation, […]
Justice Scalia’s Absence Felt on the Court – Public Sector Unions Escape Unscathed
Date Wed, Mar. 30, 2016 - 4:26pm By Hamilton
The Supreme Court reached a decision in the case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association On Tuesday. The first major case, presumably of many, to be affected by Justice Scalia’s abrupt death. The case involved 10 nonunion public school teachers who argued their free speech rights were violated by having to pay the equivalent of union […]
Signed into Law: Tourism Entity Clarified
Date Wed, Mar. 30, 2016 - 3:52pm By Hamilton
On March 30, Governor Walker signed Assembly Bill 714 into law as 2015 Wisconsin Act 301, clarifying the definition of a tourism entity that collects room tax. The bill recently passed the Assembly and Senate with no opposition. The legislation, authored by Rep. Mike Rohrkaste (R-Neenah) and Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton), makes technical changes to […]
Social and Financial Impact for Health Care Mandates Legislation Signed into law
Date Wed, Mar. 30, 2016 - 3:50pm By Hamilton
On March 30, Governor Walker signed Assembly Bill 543 into law as 2015 Wisconsin Act 288. Authored by Rep. John Jagler (R-Watertown) and Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield), Act 288 prevents the legislature from holding a hearing on or taking a vote on legislation that creates new health care insurance mandates until after it has received a […]
PSC Reform Bill Signed into Law
Date Wed, Mar. 30, 2016 - 3:45pm By Hamilton
On March 30, 2016, Governor Walker signed Assembly Bill 804, otherwise known as the Public Service Commission (PSC) Reform Bill, into law as 2015 Wisconsin Act 299. Rep. Mike Kuglitsch (R-New Berlin) and Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton) introduced Assembly Bill 804 and Senate Bill 654. The PSC developed the legislation through many discussions with PSC […]