Hamilton Political Tidbits – March 31, 2023

Wisconsin’s spring election will take place next week, April 4. The race for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has broken the national spending record for a state judicial election. Former Justice Daniel Kelly, a judicial conservative, and Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz, a judicial liberal, are facing off to succeed Justice Patience Roggensack, a judicial conservative, on Wisconsin’s elected supreme court, where judicial conservatives currently enjoy a 4-3 majority.

Also on April 4, Republican Rep. Dan Knodl will face Democratic candidate Jodi Habush Sinykin in a special election for the 8th Senate District. The seat is currently vacant after Sen. Alberta Darling retired in December in the middle of her eighth term.

Voters will also consider two ballot measures next week. One is a proposed constitutional amendment to change the conditions of bail and pre-conviction release for people accused of a crime. The other asks voters whether able-bodied, childless adults should be required to look for work to receive taxpayer-funded welfare benefits. This latter referendum is strictly advisory, and its outcome will have no effect on state law.

The State Building Commission met March 23 to review Gov. Evers’ 2023-25 capital budget recommendations. At the beginning of the meeting, Republican members moved to forward the governor’s capital budget to the Joint Committee on Finance without any recommendations; this motion failed on a 4-4 vote. The commission then voted on Gov. Evers’ recommendations on an agency-by-agency basis. 

On March 23, the Joint Legislative Council met and voted to approve reports and draft legislation submitted by the seven study committees that were established last year.

In a January interview, Senate Majority Leader LeMahieu said that the Senate would work to hold confirmation hearings on department secretaries and other agency heads appointed by Gov. Evers. During Gov. Evers’ first term, the Senate chose not to take confirmation votes on about 185 of the governor’s appointments, including many cabinet positions.

Wisconsin health care costs are some of the highest in the nation, placing a growing burden on our local businesses’ ability to thrive. In fact, Wisconsin has the 10th highest health care costs in the country. Hospitals and other providers often claim the high prices are due to the high quality of care they are providing. Unfortunately, the same report shows Wisconsin has slipped to 15th for health care outcomes – down six spots from just four years ago.

The Wisconsin Civil Justice Council (WCJC) recently released its 2023 Guide to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Judicial Evaluation. This fifth edition of the Judicial Evaluation reviews the most important decisions issued by the Wisconsin Supreme Court that affect the Wisconsin business community. The 2023 Judicial Evaluation covers the 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 terms of the court. The Judicial Evaluation scores the justices on the percentage of reviewed cases in which their positions aligned with WCJC’s positions.

The Legislature recently voted to recognize March 2023 as American Red Cross Month in Wisconsin. The resolution, authored by Rep. Donna Rozar and Sen. Joan Ballweg, was adopted by the Assembly on March 14 and the Senate on March 22. A video of the Legislature's proceedings is available here.