— The Assembly passed in a 60-36 vote a bill that would qualify more students for school vouchers.   The bill, now in the Senate, would change the income cap from 220 percent of the federal poverty level to 300 percent for families who want to enroll in the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program. That means the most that a family of four could earn would increase from $57,640 to $78,600 or $85,600 for a married couple.   Rep. Barbara Dittrich, R-Oconomowoc, said families are looking for more school options now than ever before because the pandemic has highlighted existing issues

The Assembly has passed a bill requiring the playing or singing of the national anthem at sporting events where at least some taxpayer money was used to finance the event facility. Under the bill, which moved to the Senate after a 74-22 vote for passage, no sporting event may be held in a venue constructed at least in part with public money unless the event is preceded by the playing or singing of the national anthem. Rep. Don Vruwink, D-Milton, said the bill would force those places to play the national anthem too frequently, which could erode the significance of

The Assembly today passed nearly along party lines a joint resolution calling for a convention of the states for amendments to the U.S. Constitution to institute congressional term limits and a balanced budget. A similar resolution last session passed the Assembly nearly along party lines but died in the Senate without a vote. State Rep. Don Vruwink, D-Milton, on the floor today said he had concerns such a move could create a runaway convention, essentially rewriting the entire constitution, since the Constitution has never been amended this way in the history of the United States and there are no stipulations

The Senate signed off on barring local clerks from filling in missing information absentee ballot envelopes and explicitly banning ballot harvesting as part of an ongoing effort by Republicans to overhaul state election laws. Republicans hailed the bills as needed steps to ensure confidence in the state’s election procedures, while Dems decided the bills as an effort to perpetuate the “Big Lie” from former President Trump that the 2020 election was stolen. SB 203 cleared 21-12 along party lines, while SB 212 to ban clerks adding missing information was approved 20-13 with Sen. Roger Roth, R-Appleton, joining Dems in voting

Assembly lawmakers passed along party lines a resolution calling on Gov. Tony Evers to send aid and resources to the U.S.-Mexico border. The vote comes after Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, and Speaker Pro Tempore Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, visited the border and then called on Evers to send National Guard troops there to help combat an influx of migrants across the Rio Grande. “I don’t know how else to address this since we’re seeing such a lack of action at the national level,” Steineke said on the floor. “This is a national security threat. These are not just people

The Senate voted to rework the makeup of police and fire commissions in the state’s two largest cities and changed reporting requirements for use-of-force incidents as part of a package to overhaul law enforcement policies in Wisconsin. The bill reworking police and fire commission policies was first introduced in 2017. The other bills were in response to the death of George Floyd last year in Minneapolis. SB 117 would require the commissions in Milwaukee and Madison to include at least one member picked from a list recommended by each union representing firefighters and police officers. It also calls for requiring