Hamilton Political Tidbits – March 18, 2024

Articles in this edition of Political Tidbits:

• Governor Signs 24 New Laws, Vetoes GOP Tax Cut Bills
• Senate Floor Session: March 12, 2024

Other updates in this edition:

• Bits & Pieces
• 2024 Election Updates
• ICYMI: Hamilton Political Tidbits - February 26, 2024
• News Clips

If you have any questions, please contact a member of the Hamilton Consulting team.

Bits & Pieces

End of Session

The Assembly voted to adjourn for the 2023-24 session at the conclusion of its last scheduled floor day, February 22. The Senate held what we anticipate will be its final day of floor votes on March 12. The Legislature is not expected to reconvene until January 2025.

Notable Bills

Although the Legislature appears to have completed its business for the year, about 150 bills that passed both houses have not yet been formally presented to Gov. Evers for his review. Any bills that are not presented to the governor by April 4 will be automatically forwarded on that date. Here is the status of some notable pieces of legislation:

• Governor Expected to Sign: EV Charging Infrastructure Grants (SBs 791 and 792)
• Governor Expected to Veto: PFAS Remediation and Grant Programs (SB 312)
• Passed Both Houses: Law Enforcement Video Redaction Costs (SB 789)
• Did Not Pass Senate: “Right of First Refusal” for Transmission Projects (AB 470)
• Vetoed: Republican Income Tax Cut Package (ABs 1020, 1021, 1022)

Evers Names PSC Appointee; DOC’s Carr Has Retired

Last week, Gov. Evers announced his appointment of Marcus Hawkins to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC), effective April 8. Hawkins was appointed to replace former Commissioner Tyler Huebner, whose appointment was rejected by the Wisconsin Senate in January.

Once Hawkins takes office, the three-member utility commission will be back to full strength, with recently confirmed Chairperson Summer Strand and recently appointed Commissioner Kristy Nieto.

Currently, Hawkins is the executive director of the Organization of MISO States, an association of state and local utility regulators in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region. Hawkins attended UW-Madison and had previously worked at the PSC as a senior engineer.

Also since the last edition of Tidbits, Gov. Evers announced the retirement of Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr, who was one of Gov. Evers’ original cabinet appointees in 2019.

2024 Election Updates

New Maps Bringing Big Changes

As we reported previously, Gov. Evers signed into law his own redistricting proposal (Act 94) after the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature adopted it. Late last year, the liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the previous state legislative maps were unconstitutional. Under the governor’s maps, more than 40 incumbent legislators, mostly Republicans, are paired with one another, meaning they now find themselves residing within the same legislative district. 

Some incumbents will move because of the redrawn district lines, some will square off in primary elections, and some will not seek reelection. News about incumbent legislators’ plans continues to trickle out in the media. Republicans appear poised to return in 2025 with much slimmer majorities than they currently hold, and control of the Assembly could be in play if Democrats have a good election cycle. The official maps prepared by legislative service staff are available here; WisPolitics also offers a comparison of the old and new districts.

Petition to Recall Speaker Vos Filed; Challenges to Signatures Underway

March 11, a recall petition was filed against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester). Though nearly 11,000 signatures were filed, state elections officials are questioning whether enough valid signatures were filed to trigger a recall election. The recall petition appears to be 900 signatures short of the number needed to force a recall election in the Speaker’s district. However, it’s not clear under the law which boundary lines should be used for the recall (the map that current legislators were elected under, or the new map drafted by Gov. Evers).

We anticipate the Wisconsin Supreme Court will ultimately decide whether enough signatures were filed and whether the old map or the new map would be the basis for a recall election. Recall petitioners have argued Speaker Vos didn’t do enough to challenge the 2020 presidential election results in Wisconsin and didn’t work to impeach the state elections administrator. News coverage is available here, here, and here.

Supreme Court Takes Up Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes Again

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has accepted a petition to bypass the court of appeals and review the supreme court’s previous decision on the legality of local election officials offering unattended drop boxes for the return of absentee ballots. This case will be heard on an expedited basis, with initial and response briefs due in April and oral argument scheduled for May 13. In 2022, with a 4-3 majority of judicial conservatives, the supreme court upheld a lower court ruling that the use of unstaffed absentee ballot drop boxes is not authorized under state law. News coverage here and here.

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