Assembly Dems elect Hintz minority leader

Fresh off his election as Assembly minority leader, Rep. Gordon Hintz challenged his fellow Dems Tuesday to “recommit to the effort necessary to change the direction of Wisconsin.” Hintz, D-Oshkosh, was elected to the post after Dems pushed out Rep.

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Senate passes $76 billion biennial budget 19-14

The state Senate put the final touches Friday on a nearly $76 billion state budget that would pump an additional $649 million into K-12 education over the next two years after a handful of holdout GOP senators received assurances from

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DOJ spent more than $61K on promotional items since 2015

In addition to the challenge coins promoting the agency’s “Kicking Ass Every Day” motto, Attorney General Brad Schimel’s Department of Justice has also bought candy blood clots, pistol cases and custom fortune cookies including the message “The time is right

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McCabe to formally launch guv bid Sept. 12

Mike McCabe, the former executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, is set to formally launch his campaign for guv Sept. 12 with an event at the north-central Wisconsin farm where he grew up. McCabe’s backers have been passing out

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DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp leaving for EPA role

Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp is stepping down to take a job at the U.S. EPA, Gov. Scott Walker announced today. Stepp will be the deputy administrator for Region 7, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska along

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Assembly Dems elect Hintz minority leader

Fresh off his election as Assembly minority leader, Rep. Gordon Hintz challenged his fellow Dems Tuesday to “recommit to the effort necessary to change the direction of Wisconsin.” Hintz, D-Oshkosh, was elected to the post after Dems pushed out Rep. Peter Barca, who will step down on Sept. 30. Hintz

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Walker signs Foxconn bill, vetoes several provisions

Gov. Scott Walker vetoed the Joint Finance Committee’s power to review the release of $252.4 million in general obligation bonds for I-94 north-south as part of the $3 billion Foxconn bill he signed Monday. Under the bill, the state has to receive federal money before the bonds could be released.

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Senate passes $76 billion biennial budget 19-14

The state Senate put the final touches Friday on a nearly $76 billion state budget that would pump an additional $649 million into K-12 education over the next two years after a handful of holdout GOP senators received assurances from the guv’s office on a package of vetoes. The budget,

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Fitzgerald: ‘We got the votes’ to pass the budget

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald tells WisPolitics.com that he’s “got the votes” to pass the biennial budget. The Senate is back in session after a three-hour recess, as GOP leaders negotiated with Senate hold-outs to try to get enough votes for the budget. Fitzgerald said in a brief interview that

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Three Senate Republicans want budget changes to win their support

Three Senate Republicans are demanding a series of changes to the budget to win over their votes, including raising the income limit for the statewide school choice program and banning UW from spending money on diversity, sensitivity and cultural fluency training. The three — Sens. Chris Kapenga, of Delafield; Steve

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Senate approves Foxconn bill 20-13, with Cowles voting against it

The state Senate Tuesday approved 20-13 an amended $3 billion incentive package for the Taiwanese tech company Foxconn, with GOP Sen. Robert Cowles opposing it and Dem Bob Wirch voting for the proposal. Democrats called it a corporate giveaway to a foreign company, slamming projections that the state wouldn’t break

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Groups at odds over budget provision on short-term home rentals

A group that represents the tech company Airbnb says it’s opposing a budget provision that would add requirements to homeowners who want to rent out their property on the platform. The Travel Technology Association wrote to lawmakers Monday warning of the “unintended consequences” of a tax provision that the Joint

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UpFront

‘UpFront’: Zamarripa says Ryan may offer hope for ‘dreamers’

Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, may offer hope for the protection of young immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children, said state Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa. The Milwaukee Dem, who represents a majority Latino district, said the Trump administration’s move to rescind DACA — the Deferred Action for

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JFC approves amended budget, sends to full Legislature

Republicans put the final touches on their version of the state budget late Tuesday, as the Joint Finance Committee added provisions that would repeal the AMT, create new tax breaks for broadcasters and nix a series of tax cuts Gov. Scott Walker originally proposed. The amended budget cleared the committee

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DOJ spent more than $61K on promotional items since 2015

In addition to the challenge coins promoting the agency’s “Kicking Ass Every Day” motto, Attorney General Brad Schimel’s Department of Justice has also bought candy blood clots, pistol cases and custom fortune cookies including the message “The time is right to make new friends.” In all over the last two-and-a-half

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JFC approves transportation package, amended Foxconn bill

The Joint Finance Committee Tuesday approved a GOP transportation package that calls for cutting 200 DOT jobs and pre-empting some local regulations of quarries used for road and construction projects. The committee also approved an amended version of the $3 billion Foxconn bill 12-4 along party lines that would require

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State initially offered Foxconn $1.1 billion in subsidies

Wisconsin more than doubled its incentive package for Foxconn after initially offering the Taiwanese manufacturer $1.1 billion to bring jobs to the state, according to records obtained by WisPolitics.com and confirmed by the guv’s office. Along with pushing the state’s share of the incentive package to $2.85 billion, Wisconsin went

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McCabe to formally launch guv bid Sept. 12

Mike McCabe, the former executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, is set to formally launch his campaign for guv Sept. 12 with an event at the north-central Wisconsin farm where he grew up. McCabe’s backers have been passing out “save the date” flyers for the Sept. 12 launch along

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DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp leaving for EPA role

Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp is stepping down to take a job at the U.S. EPA, Gov. Scott Walker announced today. Stepp will be the deputy administrator for Region 7, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska along with nine tribal nations. Her last day at the DNR

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JFC approves K-12 education plan, $1 billion state building budget

The Joint Finance Committee voted 12-4 along party lines to change Gov. Scott Walker’s K-12 education plan by adding a boost for low-spending school districts and increasing the income cutoff for students in the statewide voucher program. Dems slammed the proposal late Monday afternoon, saying the additional $639 million provided

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UpFront

‘UpFront’: Evers says Foxconn a ‘Hail Mary,’ not a fair deal

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tony Evers said on “UpFront with Mike Gousha” he would renegotiate the Foxconn deal if he’s elected governor in 2018. Evers, the state’s DPI superintendent since 2009, said he would renegotiate whichever parts of the deal could be renegotiated. “I don’t think it’s a fair deal for

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