Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald today said he is postponing the March 24 floor period “out of an abundance of caution” for senators and their families during the coronavirus pandemic. The Juneau Republican said he and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, plan to call an extraordinary session of the Legislature

The state Assembly early Friday approved legislation that would create additional steps to address PFAS contamination. But the legislation didn’t go as far as two bills that overwhelmingly cleared an Assembly committee earlier this week. Rep. John Nygren, whose district has been found to have high PFAS groundwater contamination, called

The state Assembly on Thursday approved a pared-back bill to extend closing time for bars by two hours until 4 a.m. during the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee this July. The bill’s author Rep. Rob Swearingen, R-Rhinelander, said the changes were an attempt to win over some Senate Republicans who

The state Assembly signed off on a package of bills designed to help Wisconsin’s farmers through tax breaks and other measures. The effort began in earnest after Gov. Tony Evers called in his State of the State last month for a series of measures to help the ag industry and

The Assembly today passed a proposal to raise the legal age to buy nicotine and tobacco products from 18 to 21. The bill’s author Rep. John Spiros, R-Marshfield, said the bill was required for law enforcement officers to comply with a recent national law which did essentially the same thing.

The Assembly passed a series of bills that would restrict labeling on meat and dairy products. The bills, AB 515, 516 and 518, would ban producers of plant-based and lab-grown food products from using terminology in their marketing that alludes to actual meat or dairy products like “cheese” or “bacon.”

An override attempt of one of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget vetoes today failed in the Assembly along party lines with members of both parties accusing the other side of playing politics with students’ education. The provision within the budget Evers vetoed would’ve required the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to put

The state Assembly signed off on a $392.4 million package on Thursday that would cut income taxes, expand a property tax break for businesses and reduce state debt. In doing so, Republicans challenged Gov. Tony Evers to sign the package after he pledged during the 2018 campaign to reduce taxes

The Senate today passed a $392 million GOP package that would reduce income taxes and legislation that would exempt direct primary care agreements from state insurance laws after the chamber’s Dems blocked both bills yesterday. The tax cut bill passed along party lines after the body’s Republican majority moved quickly

The Senate sent a bill to Gov. Tony Evers’ desk that would approve 12 new circuit court branches over a three-year period.  The bill, which has already cleared the Assembly, would add four judges each in 2021, 2022 and 2023.  When fully implemented, the cost would be $3.3 million annually

Senate Dems used a procedural move to block legislation that would exempt direct primary care agreements from state insurance laws. Dem complained that an Assembly amendment added to the bill opens the door to discriminating against LGBTQ patients and offered an amendment to strip out the change. But Republicans tabled

Senate Dems used a procedural move late this afternoon to put off a final vote on a $392 million GOP package that would reduce income taxes, expand a property tax break for businesses and pay down debt. Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, kicked off the debate saying he spoke with

Dems sought unsuccessfully today to get the Senate to sign off on extending bar hours to 4 a.m. during the party’s national convention in Milwaukee this summer. An Assembly committee signed off on the proposal last week. But Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, indicated earlier today that momentum for

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Natural Resources Secretary Preston Cole and Children and Families Secretary Emilie Amundson The vote on Cole was unanimous, while Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, was the only member to oppose Amundson. Taylor said she has long believed the agency has problems and doesn’t believe Amundson has

The Assembly passed a joint resolution calling for the second constitutional convention of the states in U.S. history to approve a balanced budget and place term limits on members of Congress Dems slammed the resolution as a dangerous path that could quickly turn into a “runaway convention,” where state delegates

Assembly lawmakers passed a largely bipartisan group of bills from the Speaker’s Task Force on Water Quality. But task force members from both parties agreed the package was the beginning, and not the end, of the Assembly’s work on water quality. Rep. Katrina Shankland, a Dem from Stevens Point who

A bill that would raise mandatory minimum prison sentences for fifth- and sixth-offense drunk driving offenses is on its way to the governor’s desk.   Under current law, a person convicted for a fifth or sixth time of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated must be fined at least $600 and