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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Senate confirms Frostman to lead DWD, Altoro at WHEDA

The state Senate today unanimously confirmed Gov. Tony Evers’ picks to lead the Department of Workforce Development and to head the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. Caleb Frostman at DWD and Joaquin Altoro at WHEDA cleared the chamber unanimously.

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Assembly passes adoption package

A split Assembly today signed off on a set of bills that would overhaul aspects of the state’s adoption system. The eight-bill package stemmed from an adoption task force commissioned last year and chaired by freshman Rep. Barbara Dittrich, who

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Assembly passes child support and placement package

The Assembly today approved a nine-bill package designed to update placement and support obligations for children whose parents are divorced or separated. The package, which passed via voice vote, includes proposals that would: *create a process for temporary delegating custodial

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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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Senate approves homeless bill, Dems call for more action

The Senate unanimously approved a $1 million boost to grants supporting emergency homeless shelters as Dems pressed their GOP colleagues to do more. AB 119 is part of a package to address homelessness that cleared the Assembly overwhelmingly last year. But much of the eight-bill package has been hung up

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Assembly passes proposal to allow direct primary care agreements

The Assembly today passed bill that would allow Wisconsinites to contract directly with primary care physicians. But an amendment that removed protections against discrimination drew criticism on the Assembly floor. Rep. Joe Sanfelippo introduced the change today that eliminated lines of the bill which banned a health care provider from

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Senate confirms Frostman to lead DWD, Altoro at WHEDA

The state Senate today unanimously confirmed Gov. Tony Evers’ picks to lead the Department of Workforce Development and to head the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. Caleb Frostman at DWD and Joaquin Altoro at WHEDA cleared the chamber unanimously. There was no debate on Frostman, a former Dem senator

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Assembly signs off on construction project employee raises

The Assembly unanimously approved a series of bills that would raise wages for collective bargaining employee contracts for construction projects. The move came after the Joint Committee on Employment Relations approved the contracts last month. AB 706, 708,709, 710 and 711 would ratify employee contract agreements between UW-Madison, the UW

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Assembly passes adoption package

A split Assembly today signed off on a set of bills that would overhaul aspects of the state’s adoption system. The eight-bill package stemmed from an adoption task force commissioned last year and chaired by freshman Rep. Barbara Dittrich, who said she learned through the process that there was no

Read More »

Assembly passes child support and placement package

The Assembly today approved a nine-bill package designed to update placement and support obligations for children whose parents are divorced or separated. The package, which passed via voice vote, includes proposals that would: *create a process for temporary delegating custodial duties during a parent’s military service. *allow a court to

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Assembly fails to override Evers’ nurse training veto

Three Dems sided with Gov. Tony Evers to deny GOP lawmakers a veto on a bill that would have reduced the number of training hours required for nursing assistants. Republicans needed at least three Dems to flip their votes to override the veto and Dem Reps. Don Vruwink, of Milton,

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