A Dane County judge has ruled that Wisconsin legislative committees cannot block administrative rules from taking effect by delaying their publication, reinforcing a recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that limited legislative oversight powers over agency rules. The case stems from the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling in Evers v. Marklein, which found that legislative committees cannot […]
Judge Rules Legislature Cannot Block Rules by Delaying Publication
Date Fri, May. 15, 2026 - 9:29am By Hamilton
Wisconsin Voters Cement Liberal Majority on State Supreme Court
Date Fri, Apr. 10, 2026 - 9:05am By Hamilton
Wisconsin voters delivered a decisive result in the state’s latest Supreme Court race, electing Judge Chris Taylor and expanding the liberal majority on the state’s highest court. Taylor defeated conservative Court of Appeals Judge Maria Lazar by roughly 20 percentage points, one of the largest margins in a Wisconsin Supreme Court contest in decades. The […]
JFC State Budget Updates: June 10th, 12th & 17th
Date Fri, Jun. 20, 2025 - 9:22am By Hamilton
6/10 Tuesday June 10th the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) met again for an executive session to consider motions for the following agencies. The committee includes 12 Republican members and 4 Democrat members; all 12-4 and 4-12 vote tallies were among party lines. With a two 13-3 votes each time one of the 4 democrats voted […]
Gov. Evers 2025-27 Executive Budget Highlights
Date Wed, Feb. 19, 2025 - 3:56pm By Hamilton
Gov. Evers gave his fourth biennial budget address on February 18, unveiling his 2025-27 executive budget. He proposes an operating budget of $ $118.9 billion over the next two fiscal years, adding a net 880.94 FTE positions. For comparison, the final 2023-25 state budget spent $97.4 billion with a net reduction of 175.51 FTE (GPR) […]
Justice Hagedorn Recuses Self from Act 10 Challenge Will Justice Protasiewicz Follow Suit?
Date Fri, Feb. 7, 2025 - 10:38am By Hamilton
Justice Brian Hagedorn recently recused himself from participating in a case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court reviewing collective bargaining reforms affecting public union employees. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is considering a motion to bypass an appellate court review of a Dane County judge striking down elements of law. Late last year, Dane County Circuit Court […]
Dane County Judge Stays Ruling Overturning Act 10 Pending Appeal
Date Fri, Jan. 24, 2025 - 10:47am By Hamilton
A Dane County judge has temporarily stayed his decision overturning portions of Act 10, Wisconsin’s 2011 law limiting public employee collective bargaining, to prevent potential chaos during the appeals process. While the judge found the law unconstitutional for treating different categories of employees unequally, he emphasized that enforcing his ruling before a final decision could […]
Wisconsin Supreme Court Holds Oral Arguments on “400-Year” Partial Veto
Date Tue, Oct. 22, 2024 - 2:23pm By Hamilton
October 9, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held oral arguments in a case challenging Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto that extended school revenue increases for 400 years. The lawsuit challenging the partial veto was brought by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), the state’s largest business lobbying association. In the 2023-25 state budget bill, the legislature included […]
Session in Review: Wisconsin Legislature 2023-24
Date Tue, Apr. 30, 2024 - 12:11pm By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Legislature stands adjourned for the 2023-24 session and is not expected to reconvene until January 2025. This session, Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed 272 bills into law and vetoed 73 others. He also issued partial vetoes to the state budget and three other spending-related laws. With adjournment, all bills introduced this session have […]
Broad Support for Regulating Nonrecourse Litigation Advances Heard by Assembly Consumer Protection Committee
Date Tue, Oct. 24, 2023 - 11:03am By Hamilton
On October 11, the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection held a public hearing on Assembly Bill 464, a proposal to regulate nonrecourse civil litigation advance payments in Wisconsin. The bill was authored by Rep. Tusler (R-Harrison) and Sen. Wimberger (R-Green Bay). A coalition of the state’s leading business associations testified and registered in support of […]
Protasiewicz Joins Wisconsin Supreme Court as New Majority Asserts Control; Redistricting Lawsuits Filed
Date Thu, Aug. 17, 2023 - 10:20am By Hamilton
Janet Protasiewicz was sworn in as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on August 1, replacing Justice Patience Roggensack, who did not seek reelection after serving two ten-year terms, including a stint as chief justice from 2015 to 2021. Justice Protasiewicz, previously a judge in Milwaukee County, defeated former Justice Dan Kelly in the […]