Hamilton Political Tidbits – October 17, 2014

In the 2010 midterm elections, a wave of Republicans surged into the 112th Congress, consolidating the GOP hold on the House of Representatives. Although the Republican onslaught is unlikely to be repeated, this year's midterm elections may shift the balance in the Senate, where the GOP is expecting to capture the majority.

Historically, midterm elections tend to reflect public attitudes toward the incumbent president. According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll conducted Sept. 3-7 by Hart Research Associates (D) and Public Opinion Strategies (R), more than half (54 percent) of those surveyed disapprove of the job President Obama is doing. "The combination of an unpopular president and a midterm election (indeed, a second midterm) can produce disastrous results for the president's party," wrote political pollster Stu Rothenberg in an article for Roll Call.

The Department of Administration (DOA) released its fiscal report for FY14, and reported that state expenditures are less than budgeted, and tax revenues are below budget projections.

The report detailed that while $14.8 billion was appropriated in the budget, actual expenditures came in at $68 million less than appropriated. Tax revenues for FY14 were also reported at $13.9 billion, compared to the projected $14.2 billion, or just one percent lower than the anticipated tax revenues for the first year of the 2013-2015 biennium.

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin on Tuesday, October 7, issued a split decision which resulted in a loss for Sohn Manufacturing in a worker's compensation case. The issue before the Court was whether the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) preempts the State of Wisconsin from imposing penalties for safety violations under Wisconsin laws.
 

In a 3-3 decision, Chief Justice Abrahamson, Justice Bradley, and Justice Crooks voted to affirm the Court of Appeals' decision in favor of the employee. Justices Roggensack, Ziegler and Gableman voted to reverse the Court of Appeals' decision. Justice Prosser did not participate, leading to the split decision.

Sohn v. Manufacturing v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, 2014 WI 112.

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This week, the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce held their annual State of Wisconsin Business Event at the Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin.

Keynote speakers included: Dr. Martin A. Regalia, Senior Vice President for Economic and Tax Policy and Chief Economist at the United States Chamber of Commerce; Stephen Moore, Chief Economist at The Heritage Foundation; and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. The event also featured a business panel with: Damond Boatwright, Regional President/CEO of Hospital Operatons, SSM Health Care of Wisconsin; Brad DeNoyer, Partner, Baker Tilly; and John Pfeifer, President, Mercury Marine.

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This week, the  Wall Street Journal issued a fun quiz for political nerds everywhere.

"We've blurred the faces, names and other tell-tale partisan signs from these 2014 campaign ads. Can you tell whether Democrats or Republicans are behind each of these campaign ads using just the imagery?"

The Legislative Council Study Committee on the Transfer of Structured Settlement Payments met last week to discuss the bill draft that would create a statute for the issue. Currently, Wisconsin is one of only two states that does not have state statute addressing the transfer of structured settlements. The committee's discussion of the bill draft included changes to the bill sections on definitions, disclosures, approval standards, procedures, and initial applicability.

View the meeting on WisconsinEye.

The next committee meeting will be held at 9 AM on Nov 6,. 2014, in Room 225 Northwest, State Capitol.

On Wednesday, October 1, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin heard oral argument in a case that involves an important issue to Wisconsin employers who hire employees on an at-will basis and seek to protect themselves with non-competition, confidentiality, and non-solicitation agreements (hereinafter, "Non-Competes" or "Agreements").

The opinion of a Milwaukee County Circuit Court that is under review invalidated a Wisconsin employer's Non-Competes with its at-will employees in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Circuit Court held if an employer seeks to update its Non-Competes with existing at-will employees, it cannot simply make the signing of such agreements a condition of the at-will employees' continued employment.

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