MADISON – Following news that the Wisconsin State Senate will hold a hearing on Senate Bill 1, legislation that would provide a flat income tax rate to all Wisconsin residents, Chris Reader, Executive Vice President of IRG Action, released the following statement: “Wisconsin families deserve a tax plan that not only puts more money back into their pockets, but also aims to transform our economy. “A flat tax brings us one step closer towards eliminating our state’s personal income tax and making Wisconsin competitive among our peers in the Midwest. That all starts with lawmakers supporting Senate Bill 1.”

MADISON – Today, the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities held an informational hearing on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus. This was the second in a series of informational hearings focused on campus free speech and diversity of thought. Representative Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) who serves as the ranking member on the committee issued the following statement in response: “Today’s hearing, which only included testifiers invited to participate by the Republican majority, focused largely on intellectual and political debates on college campuses that concerned the comfort of students in expressing closely held views that may be controversial rather than instances

MADISON, Wis. — Today, Speaker Vos announced the latest Republican attempt to take some sort of action on legalizing medical marijuana in Wisconsin. Unfortunately for the nearly two-thirds of Wisconsinites who support full legalization of recreational marijuana, this latest “plan” is likely headed nowhere. In fact, Republican politicians in Madison have torpedoed a dozen different proposals to legalize cannabis in the last two sessions of the Legislature alone. Here’s a look back on Wisconsin Republicans’ inability to legalize cannabis over the years: “It’s high time Republican politicians in Madison join the broad majority of Wisconsinites who support legalizing recreational marijuana,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications

Kenosha, Wis. – Today, Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld met with Kenosha county leadership, and learned about project plans for a new human services facility made possible through a $9.85 million Neighborhood Investment Fund grant from Governor Evers.  The Secretary met with County Executive Samantha Kirkman, Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian, City Administrator John Morrissey, Director of the Public Works & Development Services for Kenosha County, Shelly Billingsley, as well as local developers and stakeholders to learn about project plans for the new Kenosha County Human Services Building and discuss local economic development efforts. “The Human Services building project will

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) joined more than 70 members of Congress in sending a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to designate U.S. Legal Permanent Resident and Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza as “unlawfully and wrongfully detained” under the Levinson Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.) and to use the U.S. government’s resources to free him.  Kara-Murza was arrested by Russian authorities in April 2022 for criticizing the invasion of Ukraine and political repression in Russia and sentenced to 25 years in prison earlier this month.  His health has declined precipitously during his confinement

MILWAUKEE, WI – Milwaukee County has agreed to enter into a second, historic $56 million opioid litigation settlement, as a result of one of three pending federal cases brought by the County against opioid defendants. This settlement, combined with the first $72 million settlement agreed to in late 2021, equals a total recovery of $128 million for Milwaukee County.  After attorney fees, the net recovery to the County totals $101 million to date. This is the largest amount recovered by any local government in the history of Wisconsin and represents the largest recovery of any Wisconsin local government in active opioid litigation.

MADISON – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC or Commission) today awarded $493,616 in funding from the Universal Service Fund Nonprofit Access Grant Program to 12 recipients. The grants were awarded to nonprofit groups that will carry out programs or projects that will facilitate affordable access to telecommunications for low-income households, people with disabilities, or customers in areas of the state that have relatively high costs of services in obtaining affordable access to essential telecommunications services. “Nonprofit organizations serve their communities in meaningful ways, connecting Wisconsinites to critical services and resources—the Nonprofit Access Grant Program awards will sustain this work

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking public comments on two master plan variances. The proposed variances to the Willow Flowage Scenic Waters Area Master Plan and the Northern Highland – American Legion State Forest Master Plan would add additional ATV/UTV routes and trails within the areas. As described in Chapter NR 44 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, a master plan variance is a change in the use or management of an area that is consistent with the area’s land management classification and objectives. The variance to the Willow Flowage Scenic Waters Area Master Plan proposes an additional 2.5 miles of ATV/UTV routes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined her colleagues in introducing legislation to boost Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices and lower prescription drug costs for consumers. The Strengthening Medicare and Reducing Taxpayers (SMART) Prices Act, would give the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) additional authority to negotiate for Medicare Part D. “No American should go broke just to afford the medications they need to stay healthy. Our Inflation Reduction Act finally empowered Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices, but that was just the first step to tackling big drug companies’ high costs,” said Senator Baldwin. “We need to do more to

Today, State Representative Scott Allen (R-Waukesha), State Representative Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee), State Senator Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield), and State Senator Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) sent a letter to DPI Superintendent Jill Underly in response to her letter to the superintendent and school board of the School District of Waukesha. Superintendent Underly accused the school board and superintendent of doing harm to students and staff without providing any examples. Even worse, she never sought to speak with either Superintendent Sebert or the Waukesha School Board to understand the current controversy.   “If Superintendent Underly was truly concerned about students, then she could have picked

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) introduced the Taiwan Cybersecurity Resiliency Act, which would require the U.S. Department of Defense to expand cybersecurity cooperation with Taiwan to help them counter cyber threats from China. In 2019, Taiwan’s government estimated that it faced 20 to 40 million cyberattacks every month from China, some of which were later used against the United States. “The CCP has already launched an attack on Taiwan in cyberspace, from influence operations to directly targeting critical military and public infrastructure,” said Rep. Gallagher. “The effects of this cyber assault can

MADISON- Today, Speaker Robin Vos claimed that Republicans are working privately on a medical marijuana proposal. Vos has voiced support for medical marijuana in previous sessions, but has never brought a bill for even a public hearing in the Assembly, the body he is in charge of. Senate Democratic Leader Melissa Agard (D-Madison) released the following statement in response to Vos’ statements: “We’ve seen this story before – but actions speak louder than words. Session after session, the Speaker has come forward with empty promises but no tangible steps toward any form of legal cannabis Wisconsin. The people of Wisconsin, who overwhelmingly

Department of Revenue Secretary Peter Barca announced Cari Redington has been appointed to serve as Research and Policy Division Administrator. “Cari comes to us with impressive credentials, in both the private and public sectors. Our Research and Policy Division provides detailed analyses of fiscal and economic policies and develops statistical reports for our government and business stakeholders.  Cari’s business development and marketing experience will help us to further connect them with the information they need in a global economy.” Most recently, Redington served as Vernon County, Wisconsin’s first-ever county administrator, where she managed a staff of approximately 300 full-time employees.  While there,

Department of Revenue Secretary Peter Barca announced Valeah Foy has been appointed to serve as State and Local Finance Division Administrator. “Valeah successfully served as the department’s State and Local Finance Deputy Administrator since 2019,” said Secretary Barca.  “During that time, she led the division’s distribution of over $400 million in American Rescue Plan Act – State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to Wisconsin local communities. She also oversaw the implementation of a new external filing system serving more than 4,500 local government officials. Valeah understands the issues facing local government officials, and most importantly, their constituents.  She is, indeed,