LRB’s Summary of the 2011–2012 Wisconsin Legislative Session

The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau has released its research bulletin providing an overview of the acts and joint resolutions of the 2011–2012 Wisconsin Legislative Session. Legislation is organized by topic with acts described under the appropriate subject heading or headings. Significant acts and joint resolutions are highlighted by shading. 

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Recall Update

With less than a week to go before the June 5 recall elections, tensions are running high across the Badger State. Hamilton Consulting’s detailed analysis of the recall primary results lays out each race and the implications of different outcomes, so in case you missed it be sure to check it out. Since the primary, […]

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Concealed Carry and Firearms Laws in Wisconsin

The Legislative Reference Bureau has released a brief detailing Wisconsin’s recently enacted concealed carry law and other various firearms laws. The brief details: the history of Wisconsin’s concealed carry law; concealed carry licensing; limitations on concealed carry; and other firearms laws. 

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Legislative Summer Study Committees Announced

The Wisconsin Joint Legislative Council has released the list of study committees that will meet this summer to examine major issues and problems identified by the Legislature. The study committees are made up of Legislators and citizens who are interested in or knowledgeable about the study topic. This summer’s committees are as follows: Special Committee […]

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Recall Elections Key to Control of the State Senate

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 […]

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Retirements and Redistricting Shape the Fall Elections

Although the recall elections have accelerated the process and drawn the attention of election-watchers away from the general elections, the biennial fight for control of the Wisconsin legislature has quietly begun. Candidates for office this fall can now officially circulate nomination petitions. This year, Wisconsin has moved its partisan primary election date up one month […]

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Walker Issues Few Vetoes

The month after the end of the legislative floor session ends is a flurry of bill signings and last ditch efforts aimed at getting the Governor to veto particular bills. This year was no different except that the number of vetoes was significantly lower than previous years owing since both houses of the legislature and […]

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Recall Update

The signature verification saga continues to unfold in the recall efforts against Governor Walker, Lt. Gov. Kleefisch, and four Republican Senators. Gov. Scott Walker announced he will not challenge any of the one million signatures filed by opponents seeking to recall him, siting lack of review time. Walker had 10 days under state law to […]

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Recall Update

It is all but certain Gov. Scott Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and four Wisconsin State Senators will face recall elections in 2012. Certification of the signatures is an ongoing process playing out in the courts and online, where you can watch Government Accountability Board employees work to verify signatures. Governor & Lieutenant Governor Recall […]

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A Year in Review: 2011

  To say that 2011 was a historical and eventful year politically in Wisconsin is an understatement. Below is a summary of some of the major events that took place in Madison in 2011.   Gov. Walker’s Budget Repair Bill (Act 10): Very few will soon forget the public employee union changes contained in Gov. […]

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