Bipartisan legislation to create a new “Frank Lloyd Wright Heritage Trail” through Wisconsin will be on the floor of the Assembly next week, where it is expected to pass. Assembly Bill 512/Senate Bill 384, introduced by Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville), Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine), and Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), will direct the Department of […]
Legislation Would Support New Frank Lloyd Wright Heritage Trail
Date Fri, Feb. 5, 2016 - 11:40am By Hamilton
Legislation to Allow Out-of-State Companies to Purchase Water & Sewer Utilities Advances
Date Fri, Feb. 5, 2016 - 11:24am By Hamilton
A bill (AB 554/SB 432) that creates a process for out-of-state utility companies to purchase or lease sewer utilities in Wisconsin is advancing through the legislature. Representative Tyler August (R-Lake Geneva) and Senator Frank Lasee (R-De Pere) introduced the legislation in December. The Assembly passed AB 554 on a voice vote in January. Last week, […]
Passed in the Senate: Limits on Liability Imputed to an Adult Sponsor of a Minor Driver
Date Fri, Jan. 22, 2016 - 10:46am By Hamilton
Sen. Kapenga (R-Delafield) and Rep. Kuglitsch (R-New Berlin) have championed legislation to limit the liability that may be imputed to an innocent parent or other adult who sponsors a person under the age of 18 in obtaining a motor vehicle operator’s license. Under current Wisconsin law, Wisconsin is one of only eight states in which […]
Senate Votes to Eliminate State Treasurer
Date Fri, Jan. 22, 2016 - 10:18am By Hamilton
On January 21, the Senate voted on a party-line vote to eliminate the Office of the State Treasurer from the state constitution. In an executive session in September, the Senate Committee on Labor and Government Reform passed Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 5, which would eliminate the state treasurer position from the Wisconsin Constitution. The resolution […]
Structured Settlements Bill Signed Into Law
Date Fri, Nov. 13, 2015 - 10:43am By Hamilton
Governor Scott Walker signed Assembly Bill 129 into law this week, creating a new set of statues to govern the transfer of structured settlement payments. With the bill’s signing, Wisconsin joined 48 other states that previously had structured settlement transfer provisions already in place. In response to structured settlement rules at the federal level codified […]
Senate Passes Campaign Finance Reforms Bill with Significant Changes to Coordination Restrictions
Date Fri, Nov. 13, 2015 - 10:31am By Hamilton
New campaign finance reforms continue to make their way through the legislative process. The reforms completely rewrite Chapter 11 in Wisconsin statutes and make significant changes. The Senate passed the bill 17-15 with an amendment, which made the following changes to the bill: Lowers the monetary threshold triggering registration for political action committees (PACs) and […]
Legislature Moves Bill to Change “Dog Bite” Statute
Date Thu, Oct. 29, 2015 - 3:29pm By Hamilton
Senator Frank Lasee (R-De Pere) introduced Senate Bill 286 on October 2. This bill proposes to change Wisconsin’s long standing, and flawed, “dog bite” statute. Under current law, Wis. Stat. § 174.02(1)(b) mandates double damages for dogs that cause injury to people, domestic animals, or property if they have previously done so. Current law does not take […]
TIF Bills Pass Committees
Date Thu, Oct. 29, 2015 - 3:14pm By Hamilton
The Assembly Ways and Means committee has passed legislation for numerous bills that are part of the tax increment financing (TIF) bill package. The package comes from recommendations from 2014 Legislative Council Study Committee on the Review of TIF. During the committee, Assembly Bill 136 had a delayed committee vote due to amendments that were […]
Governor Walker Signs John Doe Legislation
Date Thu, Oct. 29, 2015 - 3:12pm By Hamilton
Governor Scott Walker has signed legislation limiting the types of crimes allowed to be investigated using John Doe proceedings and making changes to several of the procedures and processes of John Doe investigations. The bill was approved by the legislature on party line votes in both the Senate and Assembly. Wisconsin is the only state with […]
Nygren HOPE Agenda Moves Forward
Date Thu, Oct. 29, 2015 - 3:10pm By Hamilton
The Assembly Committee on Health unanimously approved all four of Representative John Nygren’s (R-Marinette) HOPE Agenda bills during an executive session last week. Additionally, the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services unanimously approved Senate Bills 268, 271, and 272. The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety also passed the bill on law enforcement […]