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

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

The Assembly approved largely along party lines a series of bills from the GOP “Tougher on Crime” package meant to increase penalties for repeat offenders. But Dems quickly criticized the package as going in the opposite direction of a national trend of criminal justice reform. “Today this is the last

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

The Assembly passed a joint resolution that would proclaim tomorrow, the 47th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, to be “Protect Life Day.” But many Dems dismissed the resolution as “political game-playing.” “This is what’s going on across this country in the hopes of building

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

The Senate signed off on two of the seven bills from a package created out of the Speaker’s Task Force on Suicide Prevention. It also approved one of eight bills from the Speaker’s Task Force on Adoption. All three now head to the guv’s desk. The suicide bills include: *AB

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

A bill that would create a wide-ranging ban the use of firefighting foams containing a chemical that contaminates groundwater is on its way to the governor’s desk after passing both legislative houses today. The proposal would ban the use of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, except in emergency

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

The state Senate voted to place new limits on the use of firefighting foam that contains PFAs over the objections of Dems who said the bill didn’t go far enough. SB 310 cleared on a voice vote. But Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, said it doesn’t address clean-up costs for