Assembly Bill 543 and Senate Bill 413, authored by Rep. John Jagler (R-Watertown) and Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield), would prevent 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 report from the Commissioner of Insurance. Under current law, […]
Social and Financial Impact for Health Care Mandates Legislation Passes Assembly
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 7:47pm By Hamilton
Room Tax Technical Clarification Bill Advances
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 7:39pm By Hamilton
Assembly Bill 714/Senate Bill 578 authored by Rep. Mike Rohrkaste (R-Neenah) and Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton) clarifies the definition of tourism entities that collect room tax. The legislation adjusts the creation date of an existing tourism entity to help those created after 1992 but before January 1, 2016. It changes a provision that requires all […]
Prohibition of Regulating Auxiliary Containers Passes Assembly
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2016 - 7:35pm By Hamilton
Legislation that would prohibit a city, village, town, or county from regulating auxiliary containers (a bag, cup, bottle, etc.) made of cloth, paper, plastic cardboard, corrugated material, aluminum, glass, postconsumer recycled material, or similar substances, has passed the Assembly. In effect, this legislation would prohibit political subdivisions from regulating auxiliary containers, but would not prohibit […]
Legislation Would Support New Frank Lloyd Wright Heritage Trail
Date Fri, Feb. 5, 2016 - 11:40am By Hamilton
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 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 […]