JFC Members Finalized
Date Fri, Dec. 14, 2018 - 11:06am By Hamilton
The 2019-20 session is beginning soon, and the first several months of the session will focus on developing the 2019-21 state budget. Key to the budget process is the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC), which modifies and takes the first votes on the budget bill before it goes to the full legislature. Below is the […]
Legislature Passes Extraordinary Session Bill Package
Date Wed, Dec. 5, 2018 - 9:25am By Hamilton
The Senate convened first and began by taking up a list of appointees from Gov. Scott Walker. The Senate confirmed the appointees en masse, 18-15 along party lines. Of note, Ellen Nowak was confirmed as Public Service Commissioner, and Georgia Maxwell was confirmed as Labor and Industry Review Commissioner. The legislature also approved three bills. […]
2018 Study Committees Winding Down
Date Tue, Dec. 4, 2018 - 4:51pm By Hamilton
As the 2019-20 session is approaching, the legislature’s 2018 interim study committees have begun winding down. At least two committees have completed their work and recommendations, and several others are holding their final meetings in the coming weeks. Below is an update on committees of note. Study Committee on Alcohol Beverages Enforcement The committee […]
Senate & Assembly Caucuses Select Leadership
Date Tue, Dec. 4, 2018 - 4:18pm By Hamilton
The Senate and Assembly caucuses on both sides of the aisle have elected their leadership for the 2019-20 legislative sessions. Republicans and Democrats in both chambers of the legislature have elected largely the same leadership teams for their respective caucuses. Senate Republicans re-elected Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), President Roger Roth (R-Appleton), President Pro Tempore […]
Study Committee on Body Cameras Discusses First Draft of Bill
Date Thu, Nov. 1, 2018 - 2:46pm By Hamilton
The Study Committee on the Use of Police Body Cameras met for what was expected to be the last time on Oct. 18. However, because of concerns with the current bill draft, it was determined that the committee will need to meet one final time. The first part of the meeting was spent reviewing the […]
Study Committee on Bail & Conditions of Pretrial Release Discusses Risk Assessments Data, Draft Ideas
Date Thu, Nov. 1, 2018 - 2:43pm By Hamilton
The Study Committee on Bail & Conditions of Pretrial Release had their third meeting on Oct. 16. The committee heard from two presenters and began to develop ideas for potential draft legislation updating Wisconsin’s pretrial detention processes. First, the Wisconsin Department of Justice gave a presentation on using data, research, and information for informed pretrial […]
Study Committee on School Trust Funds Discusses Next Steps
Date Thu, Nov. 1, 2018 - 2:39pm By Hamilton
The Study Committee on Investment and Use of School Trust Funds met at the state capitol on Oct. 11 to hear from several presenters and to discuss next steps for the committee. The meeting began with presentations from the Idaho Endowment Fund Investment Board’s manager of investments, who discussed how Idaho updated its constitution to […]
Alcohol Study Committee Meets, Considers Drafts
Date Fri, Oct. 5, 2018 - 10:31am By Hamilton
Last week, the Study Committee on Alcohol Beverages Enforcement met for the third time. The Committee heard from Department of Revenue (DOR) Secretary Rick Chandler on agency enforcement and Donovan Borvan a former executive director of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission then discussed various drafts being considered by the study committee. Chandler told the committee […]
Legislature to Meet in Extraordinary Session on Kimberly-Clark
Date Thu, Oct. 4, 2018 - 3:52pm By Hamilton
This week, legislative leadership called for an extraordinary session of the legislature to take up an incentive package to keep open a Kimberly-Clark manufacturing plant in northeast Wisconsin. A Senate committee will hold a public hearing on the bill on Nov. 12, and the full Senate could vote on the bill later that month – […]
Plaintiffs Refile in Gill v. Whitford Redistricting Case
Date Mon, Oct. 1, 2018 - 2:33pm By Hamilton
Democratic plaintiffs in Gill v. Whitford, the legal challenge to Wisconsin Republicans’ 2010 redistricting map, have refiled their case in district court. A three-judge panel (Chief U.S. District Judge James Peterson, appointed by President Barack Obama; 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Kenneth Ripple, appointed by President Ronald Reagan; and U.S. District Judge William […]