Hamilton Political Tidbits – October 22, 2021

Republican leaders in the Wisconsin Legislature announced their proposals for new state legislative and congressional districts. Redistricting, a process of redrawing legislative district lines to account for population changes, takes place by law every 10 years following the U.S. Census. The proposed new maps largely retain district boundaries as they are now, with adjustments made based on where population levels have grown or declined.

Next year, Wisconsin will host at least two key congressional races affecting the political balance of power in Washington, D.C, where the Democratic Party holds a narrow majority in the U.S. House (220-212) and the Democratic and Republican caucuses are tied 50-50 in the U.S. Senate. With partisan control of the U.S. Congress on the line in 2022, both races are expected to attract significant resources and attention from state and national groups on both sides.

The Wisconsin Senate convened on October 20 to vote on a variety of measures, including several bills related to restrictions on and information requirements about abortion procedures. The Senate also passed relatively routine bills. The Assembly plans to convene for floor votes on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, October 26 and 27. Tuesday’s docket includes a package of bills related to workforce housing, while Wednesday’s docket includes a series of abortion-related bills, including several approved by the Senate on October 20.

The Wisconsin Department of Administration announced October 18 that the state ended its 2021 fiscal year with a balance of $2.58 billion, a record surplus and more than double the $1.17 billion balance Wisconsin had at the end of the previous fiscal year. Wisconsin’s fiscal year ends on June 30. The budget numbers were part of the agency’s Annual Fiscal Report on state finances.

On October 15, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra signed an order to renew the federal public health emergency due to COVID-19. The extension will last for 90 days. This is the seventh time that the COVID-19 health emergency has been extended since it began January 31, 2020 under previous HHS Secretary Alex Azar. Under the public health emergency, a variety of special regulatory, administrative, and funding policies will remain in place.

Most of the 13,000 individuals currently living at Fort McCoy will not stay in Wisconsin. Federal officials have announced that about 400 refugees from Afghanistan will be resettled in Wisconsin, and not all of them will necessarily come from Fort McCoy. According to the office that manages refugee programs at DCF, the individuals will likely be placed in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, or Wausau, because of the established resettlement agencies and other local resources available in those cities.

WMC has announced the 2021 winner of its sixth annual Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin competition. The results of the contest were announced on October 14 during WMC’s annual Business Day conference. This year, the winning product was the 140 Ton Navy Crane made by Broadwind Heavy Fabrications and Konecranes in Manitowoc.