The month after the end of the legislative floor session ends is a flurry of bill signings and last ditch efforts aimed at getting the Governor to veto particular bills. This year was no different except that the number of vetoes was significantly lower than previous years owing since both houses of the legislature and the Governor’s office are held by the same party.

The last major hurdle to a bill becoming law is signature by the Governor. Lobbying the Governor for a veto is the last opportunity those oppposed have to prevent it from becoming law. This past session, Gov. Walker issued only two partial vetoes, not counting the budget, to which a handful of changes were made.

In total, 286 new laws were passed during the 2011-12 legislative session. Hamilton Consulting encourages our clients look at their individual tracking reports to see the final status of bills of interest to them.

Hamilton Consulting briefly highlighted what we consider to be the most significant legislation passed this session in a previous blog post. Over the next few weeks we will be releasing a series of policy papers that go in-depth on a variety of topics addressed this session: civil justice reforms, regulatory issues, health care law, economic development, and Wisconsin’s upcoming elections & political environment.