The Assembly today signed off on the Senate’s version of a series of bills to prohibit local governments from enacting their own laws related to employment, implement a $100-per-child rebate and overhaul court procedures.
The bills previously cleared the Assembly when the chamber was on the floor last month, although the Senate earlier this week approved them with tweaks. They now head to Gov. Scott Walker’s desk after members passed them this afternoon.
Among the bills the chamber signed off on are:
*AB 748, which would pre-empt local employment laws. The Senate on Tuesday removed a provision that would have made clear the legislation did not apply to Foxconn, language the Assembly previously approved to aimed to assuage concerns from some that provisions in the bill could potentially have unintended consequences on the company’s future plant in Mount Pleasant.
The Assembly signed off on the bill on a voice vote, after overriding two Dem amendments, including one that would let municipalities include local hiring preferences in job agreements.
*SB 798, which would create a $100 per-child credit and a scaled back sales tax holiday. The Assembly originally called for a sales tax holiday that would apply to most purchases of $100 or less. But the Senate balked at the more than $50 million price tag. The updated version instead would save taxpayers about $12 million the first weekend of August and exempt certain areas from the sales tax.
It passed 59-31, with Milwaukee Dem Reps. Jason Fields and Leon Young joining Republicans in supporting it.
*And AB 773, on so-called tort reform, which cleared the chamber on a voice vote. The version the Assembly approved today removes language to change standards on legal processes and discovery over provisions regarding the retention of records. The change won the support of Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, and others on the Senate floor.