Senate approves levy limit bills

The state Senate signed off on an exception to state-imposed levy limits on local governments and another bill that would make it easier for municipalities to seek more property tax revenue through referendums. Currently, some municipalities collect fees from neighboring

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Senate confirms DNR, Children and Families secretaries

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

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Assembly unanimously passes pharmacy benefit manager bill

— The Assembly today unanimously backed a bill that would create new regulations for middlemen between drug manufacturers and pharmacies that negotiate prices with both.  Pharmacy benefit managers are currently regulated by federal law, but the Office of Commissioner of

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Assembly passes sexual assault kit bill

A divided Assembly voted along party lines to move forward with a bill that would put guidelines in place for the collection, testing and storage of sexual assault kits.  But Dems accused Assembly GOP lawmakers of playing politics with a

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Assembly unanimously passes series of food product labeling bills

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.”

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Budget veto override attempt fails in the Assembly along party lines

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

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Assembly sends GOP tax, debt package to Evers’ desk

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

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Senate approves levy limit bills

The state Senate signed off on an exception to state-imposed levy limits on local governments and another bill that would make it easier for municipalities to seek more property tax revenue through referendums. Currently, some municipalities collect fees from neighboring communities to provide ambulance services. Those fees now count toward

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Republicans reject Dem effort to extend bar hours during DNC

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

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Senate confirms DNR, Children and Families secretaries

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

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Assembly passes largely bipartisan water quality bill package

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

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Assembly unanimously passes pharmacy benefit manager bill

— The Assembly today unanimously backed a bill that would create new regulations for middlemen between drug manufacturers and pharmacies that negotiate prices with both.  Pharmacy benefit managers are currently regulated by federal law, but the Office of Commissioner of Insurance has no authority over them. AB 114 would put

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Assembly sends OWI bill, four others to Evers’ desk

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

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Assembly passes sexual assault kit bill

A divided Assembly voted along party lines to move forward with a bill that would put guidelines in place for the collection, testing and storage of sexual assault kits.  But Dems accused Assembly GOP lawmakers of playing politics with a similar bipartisan proposal by adding “poison pill” provisions such as

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Assembly passes free expression bill, Dems deem it unnecessary

The Assembly today passed a bill that would establish mandatory punishments for UW System students who “materially or substantially disrupt the free expression of others.” But Dems quickly decried the bill as unnecessary, saying it would have a chilling effect on free speech guaranteed under the First Amendment. Rep. Jimmy

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Assembly approves mental health pilot program, among other bills

Assembly lawmakers today passed a bill that would establish a mental health pilot program for schools in Outagamie County. Dems criticized AB 644, saying a pilot program doesn’t go far enough to cover youth mental health concerns in the state. They introduced a bill that would’ve expanded the program statewide

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