Gov. Scott Walker’s 2013 State of the State Address, “Bold Vision and Bright Hope for the Future,” outlined the governor’s policy priorities for the coming year. Walker focused on the five points he had previously highlighted in his call for agency budget requests: create jobs, develop the workforce, transform education, reform government, and invest in […]
Gov. Walker’s 2013 State of the State: Bold Vision and Bright Hope for the Future
Date Wed, Jan. 16, 2013 - 6:25pm By Hamilton
101st Legislative Session Begins
Date Thu, Jan. 10, 2013 - 5:12pm By Hamilton
The 101st session of the Wisconsin Legislature came to order on January 7, 2013 at the State Capitol to inaugurate newly elected members. The leaders of all four legislative caucuses, Speaker Robin Vos, Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, and Minority Leader Chris Larson made comments expressing their goals for the […]
Leadership & Committee Assignments
Date Wed, Jan. 9, 2013 - 6:36pm By Hamilton
A new legislative session means new leadership and new committees. Each party’s leadership makes the final determination on which members will serve on what committees. Legislators make their preferred committee choices known to their leadership team, but their desires may not match the needs of the caucus; so assignments come after much behind-the-scenes horse trading […]
Profile of the 2013 Wisconsin Legislature
Date Wed, Jan. 9, 2013 - 5:34pm By Hamilton
The Legislative Reference Bureau has prepared and interesting summary of the characteristics of the Wisconsin Legislature. It includes information about party affiliation, marital status, legislative experience, occupation, gender, age, educational background, and military service for this and the past 6 legislatures. The Senate Profile The senate has 33 members, including 18 Republicans and 15 Democrats. […]
New Faces in the Wisconsin Legislature
Date Wed, Jan. 9, 2013 - 4:27pm By Hamilton
A number of new members are joining the Wisconsin Legislature this session. In the Assembly, the number of new members is so large (25) that a majority of the members are in their first or second terms. This is only the second time this has occurred since 1973. Senate Paul […]
Committees Shaping Up
Date Wed, Dec. 19, 2012 - 3:40pm By Hamilton
Wisconsin’s 101st legislative session doesn’t begin until January 7, but committee assignments provide a glimpse at what legislators may view as priorities. Republicans secured the majority in the November elections, so they will chair and have a majority of members on each committee. Each party’s leadership makes the final determination on which members will serve […]
Lame Duck Senate Moving Forward on Mining
Date Fri, Dec. 7, 2012 - 9:57am By Hamilton
When outlining priorities for the coming legislative session, Gov. Walker and Republican leaders in the state legislature have indicated modifying Wisconsin’s mining law will be one of the first orders of business. Although the legislative session does not begin until January, the post-recall, Democrat-controlled Senate has been working on a mining bill since September, and […]
State Legislature Election Preview
Date Thu, Nov. 1, 2012 - 11:37am By Hamilton
Find out what races we will have our eyes on as the results come in, and what each race means for control of that house. State Assembly There is no question that the large majority Assembly Republicans built in 2010 will, for the most part, be intact after the 2012 elections. Going in to Tuesday’s […]
The Fight for the State Senate
Date Fri, Oct. 12, 2012 - 10:44am By Hamilton
Immediately after the 2010 elections, many observers viewed the State Senate as the Republican stronghold least likely to change hands in the years to come. Yes, the Assembly Republicans had a very large partisan seat advantage, but Senate Republicans would be on the offensive and sitting in districts with wider voter margins in their favor […]
Musical Chairs
Date Wed, Oct. 10, 2012 - 5:33pm By Hamilton
A couple of recent changes in the make-up of the executive branch are worth mentioning. Also of note is a brush-up between the Treasurer and a handful of legislators. Corrections Wisconsin Department of Corrections Sec. Gary Hamblin is stepping down on October 26th to attend to health issues. Gov. Walker released the following statement on […]