After spending summer away from the state house, legislators are back in Madison for the fall floor period. The Senate was back in session on September 17th, and the Assembly will be back in October. Both houses have ambitious plans for passing legislation now that the state budget is no longer dominating the legislature’s attention. […]
Senate Passes Bi-Partisan Lemon Law Reform Bill
Date Wed, Sep. 18, 2013 - 8:23am By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Senate voted 32-1 to enact changes to Wisconsin’s Lemon Law. AB 200 makes several significant changes to Wisconsin’s law, as outlined in this memo from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and other supporters, but paramount is the elimination of the punitive double damages mandate. Wisconsin is universally known among automobile, motorcycle, truck, and […]
Does Your Local School Make the Grade?
Date Tue, Sep. 17, 2013 - 3:44pm By Hamilton
As part of the new state accountability system, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has produced report cards for every district and school in Wisconsin. These Report Cards provide data on multiple indicators for four Priority Areas: Student Achievement – performance on the WKCE and WAA-SwD in reading and mathematics Student Growth – improvement over […]
DOJ Releases Report on Human Trafficking in Wisconsin
Date Tue, Sep. 17, 2013 - 1:53pm By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation has released its report, “A Baseline Assessment of Human Trafficking in the State of Wisconsin,” assessing — through a voluntary survey of law enforcement, prosecutors, victim witness coordinators and governmental social service providers — the extent of human trafficking across Wisconsin. Some of the […]
Departure of Legislators Means a Leadership Shake-up
Date Tue, Sep. 17, 2013 - 9:27am By Hamilton
Two Republican Assembly members have announced they are leaving the legislature for the private sector, which means both their seats and the leadership positions are up for grabs. Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford) resigned his elected office to become administrator of the Public Service Commission’s Water Compliance and Consumer Affairs Division on September 3. […]
Walker Discusses Legislative Priorities & Politics with WisconsinEye
Date Tue, Sep. 17, 2013 - 7:41am By Hamilton
On August 30, 2013, WisconsinEye Senior Producer Steve Walters conducted an interview with Gov. Scott Walker that covered a wide range of topics. The interview began with a discussion of crime in the southeast portion of the state and also legislative proposals for stricter gun and drunk driving laws. On the civil side of […]
Data Indicates State Fiscal Picture Improving
Date Mon, Sep. 16, 2013 - 8:46pm By Hamilton
A number of recent reports show that Wisconsin is in better fiscal shape than it has been in the recent past. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s latest coincident economic index ranks Wisconsin among the best states in the nation for the second consecutive month and the Wisconsin Dept. of Revenue announced that General Purpose […]
Special Elections Scheduled for 69th Assembly District
Date Mon, Sep. 16, 2013 - 8:42pm By Hamilton
Gov. Walker recenlty announced a special election for the 69th State Assembly District. The following is a timeline for the special election: September 4, 2013 – Circulation of Nomination Papers Begins September 24, 2013 – Circulation of Nomination Papers Ends October 22, 2013 – Primary Election (If Necessary) November 19, 2013 – Special Election Day […]
Watching the Watchers – Government Accountability Board to Undergo Audit
Date Mon, Sep. 16, 2013 - 8:40pm By Hamilton
At its most recent meeting, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted 10-0 to approve an audit that will broadly review a number of aspects of the Government Accountability Board (GAB) as requested in the 2013-15 Biennial Budget. The Joint Audit Committee voted to audit the GAB at its most recent hearing. The committee also discussed the […]
Audit Scrutinizes Supervised Release Program
Date Mon, Sep. 16, 2013 - 8:37pm By Hamilton
The latest audit from the non-partisan Legislative Audit Bureau examined the state’s supervised release program, which allows sexually violent individuals who have been civilly committed to live in the community under the custody of the Department of Health Services. The LAB audit found DHS was spending more money administering the program than the Department of […]