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The following excerpts are copyright @ 2019 The Almanac of American Politics. This feature was provided by and is included in The Almanac of American Politics 2020 edition, released August 2019. To learn more about this publication or purchase a
A federal three-judge panel has rejected a request from GOP lawmakers to reimburse some of the tab they charged to taxpayers for outside counsel to defend the Assembly map Republicans drew in 2011. Thursday’s decision leaves taxpayers on the hook
Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm won bipartisan backing from a Senate committee Wednesday despite concerns from Sen. Andre Jacque about “conflicts of interest” within the agency. Jacque, R-DePere, again said he was concerned about Palm’s decision to hire Nicole Safar,
All three PSC commissioners gave preliminary OK Tuesday for a high-voltage transmission line from near Dubuque to Middleton for wind-generated electricity. A coalition of clean energy advocates — including the Clean Grid Alliance, RENEW Wisconsin, Fresh Energy, the Minnesota Center
Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said one of her biggest worries heading into the 2020 elections will be organized efforts to confuse or mislead voters. “We just need to be really cognizant of where we are getting our information
Gov. Tony Evers joined Dem lawmakers and AG Josh Kaul to introduce a bill to expand background checks covering a vast majority of firearms purchases in the state. But Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, said in a statement that
A trio of Republican lawmakers pushed a GOP backed-bill Wednesday that would expand access to contraception by allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control pills. Reps. Joel Kitchens of Sturgeon Bay and Mary Felzkowski of Irma and Sen. Kathy Bernier of
A divided Wisconsin Elections Commission has settled on a scaled-back proposal to provide temporary replacement computers to clerks to tighten security of the state’s voter database ahead of the 2020 elections. Ahead of Tuesday’s special meeting, WEC staff raised concerns
Gov. Tony Evers has dramatically cut the use of state planes compared to Scott Walker and instead is much more likely to use a car to get outside of Madison, according to records obtained by WisPolitics.com. Still, Walker’s plane use
Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, hinted at a run for Milwaukee mayor in a weekend television interview. “I’ve got on my Converse. Normally you wear tennis shoes when you are ready to run,” she said Sunday on “UpFront,” produced in partnership
A Senate panel has unanimously backed the confirmation of Craig Thompson to lead DOT despite Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, urging Republicans on the panel to either oppose Thompson’s nomination or delay the vote. Before Thursday’s vote, committee Chair Jerry Petrowski,
Wisconsin’s civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases would be eliminated and clergy would be required to report allegations of sexual or physical assault against a child, under legislation from Dem lawmakers. Flanked by survivors of sexual assault
Gov. Tony Evers’ administration is embracing a scaled-back plan for the interchange of U.S. highways 12/18 and I-39/90 — a cost-cutting move his DOT secretary was highly critical of just a year ago. Then with the Transportation Development Association, Craig
Gov. Tony Evers is calling for the state to tighten gun control laws and knocked Republican lawmakers in the wake of mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso over the weekend that claimed 31 lives. Fielding questions from reporters after
Wisconsin Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm tells “UpFront” the department strongly cautions against the use of any vaping products. On Friday, DHS said it is now investigating 11 hospitalizations for lung damage that are linked to use of vaping products.
GOP legislative leaders are asking the state Supreme Court to force Dem AG Josh Kaul to abide by their interpretation of new restrictions they placed on his power during December’s lame-duck session. In a motion filed late yesterday, the GOP
Speaker Robin Vos has rejected a request from paralyzed Dem Rep. Jimmy Anderson to phone into Assembly committee hearings, writing in a letter he can’t change chamber rules via “fiat.” The GOP leader said Thursday he continues to oppose giving
Welcome to our weekly DC Wrap, where we write about Wisconsin’s congressional delegation. Sign up here to receive the newsletter directly. Quotes of the week “Given this flow, no one should be surprised that (the U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn four of Gov. Tony Evers’ partial vetoes in the budget, accusing him of using his veto pen to “turn lawmaking into a competing game
AG Josh Kaul has signed on to a letter pushing for Congress to combat the “public health threat” posed by chemical contamination of drinking water. As part of a bipartisan coalition of 22 state attorneys general, Kaul is urging lawmakers
The following excerpts are copyright @ 2019 The Almanac of American Politics. This feature was provided by and is included in The Almanac of American Politics 2020 edition, released August 2019. To learn more about this publication or purchase a copy, visit www.almanacofamericanpolitics.com. STATE OVERVIEW Heading into the 2016 presidential
A federal three-judge panel has rejected a request from GOP lawmakers to reimburse some of the tab they charged to taxpayers for outside counsel to defend the Assembly map Republicans drew in 2011. Thursday’s decision leaves taxpayers on the hook for all of the nearly $1.7 million private attorneys have
Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm won bipartisan backing from a Senate committee Wednesday despite concerns from Sen. Andre Jacque about “conflicts of interest” within the agency. Jacque, R-DePere, again said he was concerned about Palm’s decision to hire Nicole Safar, who formerly worked for Planned Parenthood, to fill the agency’s
All three PSC commissioners gave preliminary OK Tuesday for a high-voltage transmission line from near Dubuque to Middleton for wind-generated electricity. A coalition of clean energy advocates — including the Clean Grid Alliance, RENEW Wisconsin, Fresh Energy, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and the Center for Rural Affairs —
Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said one of her biggest worries heading into the 2020 elections will be organized efforts to confuse or mislead voters. “We just need to be really cognizant of where we are getting our information from, and making sure we’re getting it from a legitimate
Gov. Tony Evers joined Dem lawmakers and AG Josh Kaul to introduce a bill to expand background checks covering a vast majority of firearms purchases in the state. But Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, said in a statement that is was “disingenuous” to suggest universal background checks “would have
A trio of Republican lawmakers pushed a GOP backed-bill Wednesday that would expand access to contraception by allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control pills. Reps. Joel Kitchens of Sturgeon Bay and Mary Felzkowski of Irma and Sen. Kathy Bernier of Chippewa Falls touted the bill’s dual benefits: cutting the high
A divided Wisconsin Elections Commission has settled on a scaled-back proposal to provide temporary replacement computers to clerks to tighten security of the state’s voter database ahead of the 2020 elections. Ahead of Tuesday’s special meeting, WEC staff raised concerns about clerks accessing the database on machines running on critically
Gov. Tony Evers has dramatically cut the use of state planes compared to Scott Walker and instead is much more likely to use a car to get outside of Madison, according to records obtained by WisPolitics.com. Still, Walker’s plane use — which became an issue that dogged him in last
Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, hinted at a run for Milwaukee mayor in a weekend television interview. “I’ve got on my Converse. Normally you wear tennis shoes when you are ready to run,” she said Sunday on “UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com. Tom Barrett, Milwaukee’s mayor since 2004, is up
A Senate panel has unanimously backed the confirmation of Craig Thompson to lead DOT despite Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, urging Republicans on the panel to either oppose Thompson’s nomination or delay the vote. Before Thursday’s vote, committee Chair Jerry Petrowski, R-Marathon, praised Thompson as “a class act” that “will do
Wisconsin’s civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases would be eliminated and clergy would be required to report allegations of sexual or physical assault against a child, under legislation from Dem lawmakers. Flanked by survivors of sexual assault by clergy, Sen. Lena Taylor of Milwaukee and Reps. Chris
Gov. Tony Evers’ administration is embracing a scaled-back plan for the interchange of U.S. highways 12/18 and I-39/90 — a cost-cutting move his DOT secretary was highly critical of just a year ago. Then with the Transportation Development Association, Craig Thompson said the plan raised safety concerns and it would
Gov. Tony Evers is calling for the state to tighten gun control laws and knocked Republican lawmakers in the wake of mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso over the weekend that claimed 31 lives. Fielding questions from reporters after a news conference in Wauwatosa Monday, Evers gave his full-throated
Wisconsin Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm tells “UpFront” the department strongly cautions against the use of any vaping products. On Friday, DHS said it is now investigating 11 hospitalizations for lung damage that are linked to use of vaping products. “Adolescents need to be really cautious about these products,” Palm
GOP legislative leaders are asking the state Supreme Court to force Dem AG Josh Kaul to abide by their interpretation of new restrictions they placed on his power during December’s lame-duck session. In a motion filed late yesterday, the GOP leaders say Kaul has informed them he doesn’t need to
Speaker Robin Vos has rejected a request from paralyzed Dem Rep. Jimmy Anderson to phone into Assembly committee hearings, writing in a letter he can’t change chamber rules via “fiat.” The GOP leader said Thursday he continues to oppose giving members a call-in option. Vos also knocked Anderson for taking
Welcome to our weekly DC Wrap, where we write about Wisconsin’s congressional delegation. Sign up here to receive the newsletter directly. Quotes of the week “Given this flow, no one should be surprised that (the U.S. Customs and Border Protection) stations are well beyond their capacity. They are simply not
The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn four of Gov. Tony Evers’ partial vetoes in the budget, accusing him of using his veto pen to “turn lawmaking into a competing game of Scrabble.” The suit, filed on behalf of three taxpayers,
AG Josh Kaul has signed on to a letter pushing for Congress to combat the “public health threat” posed by chemical contamination of drinking water. As part of a bipartisan coalition of 22 state attorneys general, Kaul is urging lawmakers in Washington to pass legislation to address toxic per- and