While the polar vortex may have cooled things off outside the halls of the capitol, inside the capitol building things are heating up as the legislature returns from its holiday break, the Wisconsin Supreme Court continues to hear cases, and the executive branch makes moves to prepare for the coming election season.
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State Hosting Tax Reform Roundtables
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At the request of Gov.Walker, hitting the road recently are Lt. Gov. Kleefisch and Dept. of Revenue Sec. Chandler. They are traveling across the state to listen to the opinions of Wisconsinites on the state's tax burden and their ideas for reform.
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Economic Development Update
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The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) came before the legislature's Joint Finance Committee this week. The committee voted along party lines to allow the pseudo-agency to continue operating, but delayed decisions on what to do with surplus funds earmarked for economic development and WEDC's request to create a not-for-profit foundation funded by state businesses to support additional programs.
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DNR Continues Focus on Reform
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Dept. of Natural Resources Sec. Cathy Stepp laid out her plans for 2014 in the latest edition of AgriView News. While the article focuses on DNR's involvement with and oversight of the state's agricultural community, the general push for transparency between the agency and the public and the emphasis on streamlining regulations is indicative of the secretary's overall vision for the agency.
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ACA Enrollment in Wisconsin
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Recent communications between the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services and the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reveal 32,000 Wisconsinites have been identified as being eligible to receive BadgerCare after visiting the federal health exchange to obtain health care coverage.
This is a good chunk of the 83,000 childless adults DHS estimated would enroll in BadgerCare Plus between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2014. DHS also estimates that about 72,000 people with incomes above the federal poverty level, who had previously qualified for Wisconsin's BadgerCare program, will no longer qualify. These people will be able to buy coverage on the federal healthcare exchange with a federal subsidy.
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Legislature Back in Session
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After taking a break for the holiday season, the legislature is headed back to the floor. The Assembly will be back on the floor on January 14 and the Senate later this month.
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Sets Schedule for January
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It's That Time of Year
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Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution says, "[The President] shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient..." This cause, and Pres. Wilson's decision to give his updates in person, is what we can thank for the yearly event that is the State of the Union address. Pres. Obama will deliver the 2014 State of the Union Address on Tuesday, January 28, 2014. Wisconsin Governors have adopted the tradition of giving an annual address to a joint legislative session. Gov. Walker's 2014 State of the State Address will be held on Wednesday, January 22, 2014, at 7:00 P.M. Follow @HCG500 on Twitter the night of both speeches for live analysis
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Walker Outlines Priorities for Coming Year
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WisconsinEye Senior Producer Steve Walters, sat down with Gov. Walker for a year-end interview at the Executive Residence on December 19. The 15 minute interview covers a wide variety of topics, beginning with the governor's interest tax reform.
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Legislature Considering Sales Tax Holiday
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The future of the state's tax system is a hot topic this spring. While Lt. Gov. Kleefisch and Dept. of Revenue Sec. Chandler gather new ideas from the public with their series of tax roundtables, the legislature is considering proposals already on the table.
On January 7, 2014 the Assembly Committee on Small Business Development held a public hearing on Assembly Bill 108, which would create sales tax holidays in August and in November for a limited variety of goods.
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New Legislators Receive Committee Assignments
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The three legislators who were elected to the Assembly in special elections this fall have now received their committee assignments for the coming year.
Speaker Vos has assigned committees for the new legislators. They are as follows:
Rep. Kulp
Transportation
Labor
Workforce Development
Judiciary
Ways and Means
Rep. Rodriguez
Jobs, Economy, and Mining
Health
Education
Criminal Justice
Legislative Council
Rep. Skowronski
Health
Natural Resources
Urban and Local Affairs
Veterans
Ways and Means
In a press release announcing the assignments Speaker Vos, who makes the final assignment decision said, "Each new member has unique strengths and constituencies. I know they will each draw from those strengths and broad bases of knowledge to positively contribute to each one of these committees."
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Weak Recovery & Health Care Costs Top List of Business Leaders' Concerns for 2014
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Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance Warns Consumers About Federal Exchange Glitches
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Wisconsinites who have purchased health insurance on the federal exchange need to look out for two issues plaguing consumers. First, for some plans, the exchange is not displaying the correct information about deductibles. Other consumers are finding they are not actually enrolled because their information was never sent from the exchange to the insurance company the consumer purportedly bought insurance from..
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2013: A Good Year for Wisconsin Agriculture
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Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection Sec. Ben Brancel sat down with WisconsinEye's Steve Walters to discuss the Wisconsin's Ag industry, and was happy to report 2013 was good year for the $59 billion industry. Read More...
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Wisconsin Represented in the United States Cabinet
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Nine Wisconsin citizens have served in the United States Cabinet over the nation's history, including three former governors. The most recent Wisconsinite to serve in the Cabinet was former Governor Tommy Thompson, as Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005, who most famously in this position included dealing with public health issues following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Five Wisconsin citizens served as Postmaster General, which until 1971 was considered a position of the President's Cabinet.
Wisconsinites have also served as Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of the Interior.
You can read full biographies of these esteemed Wisconsin citizens in a new report from the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau.
This post was authored by Rebecca Ballweg, an intern at the Hamilton Consulting Group.
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Hamilton Consulting: Your Government Relations Easy Button
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As the 2013-14 Legislative Session progresses, the Hamilton team is working to make sure our clients have the tools necessary to accomplish their government relations goals. We encourage our clients to remember to make use of all the many services we provide:
- Political Tidbits - Political Tidbits is our FREE email newsletter on political and policy developments in Wisconsin, including links to relevant news articles, policy papers, and other informative documents. We are constantly updating our mailing list and we could use your help! Please let us know if your email address is changing so you will continue to receive our newsletter. Also, feel free to forward this newsletter to others who may be interested in subscribing.
- News Clips - President Harry Truman once wrote that you can't get all the facts from just one newspaper, and without the facts, "you cannot make proper judgments about what is going on." The right column of Political Tidbits contains a selection of the most important news stories, but did you know you can always get the latest news sorted by subject on the Hamilton Consulting website?
- Tracking Reports - Tracking Reports provide timely, in-depth coverage of your legislative initiatives. If your organization did not have a tracking report last session and you are interested in having one during the coming session, please contact one of our team members.
- Political Fundraising Calendar - Hamilton's political fundraising calendar allows you to see all of the upcoming fundraising events and import them to your own calendar.
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The Hamilton Consulting Group Political Tidbits is a free newsletter on Wisconsin political and policy developments. Please forward it to others who may wish to receive this service.
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