The Assembly today approved a resolution to call the evergreen displayed each year in the rotunda the “Wisconsin State Christmas Tree.” The resolution, which just began circulating yesterday, comes after Gov. Tony Evers went back to calling it a “Holiday Tree” after former Gov. Scott Walker referred to it as

— A bill that would add 12 new circuit court branches passed the Assembly by voice vote today and is now on its way to the Senate.  AB 470 would add four new circuit court judges in August 2020, four in August 2021 and the final four in August 2022.

The Assembly today passed a measure that would bring Wisconsin’s hemp regulations in line with federal guidelines, boosting the state’s chances of gaining lead oversight of the nascent crop from federal regulators. “I know everybody is gonna push the green button because this is a great bill,” Rep. Tony Kurtz,

— The Assembly today passed a resolution to recognize the week of Thanksgiving as National Bible Week.  “For centuries the bible has been recognized as the greatest book ever written,” the resolution’s author Rep. Paul Tittle, R-Manitowoc, said on the floor. “Whether you’re Catholic, Jewish, baptist or you just like

GOP legislative leaders late Thursday quickly dismissed Tony Evers’ call for a special session on new gun restrictions and shrugged off criticism they were ignoring the will of voters by failing to even debate the two bills the guv urged them to take up. With largely just reporters watching, Senate

The Assembly late this evening passed a series of bills stemming from recommendations made by the Speaker’s Task Force on Suicide Prevention.  The hours-long scheduled debate focused mainly on gun violence bills brought forth by Gov. Tony Evers for a special session mandated for 2 p.m. today.  Dems blasted Republicans

Assembly GOP lawmakers failed to meet the two-thirds threshold to override three of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget vetoes. After more than two hours of heated debate the chamber voted along party lines. The trio of override votes received the support of all 62 Republican members present in the chamber, falling

The state Senate today voted to put a hard deadline on ending the five-county sales tax that helped build Milwaukee’s Miller Park, clearing the way for the bill to go to the guv’s desk. Under current law, the district that oversees the stadium would begin the process to end the

Guvs would no longer be able to use their partial-veto authority to increase state spending beyond what lawmakers had approved under a constitutional amendment approved by the state Senate 19-14 along party lines. Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, called it the latest “power grab” from Republicans as they seek

The state Senate signed off today on two bills that would stiffen the penalties for drunk driving, including one that would set a minimum mandatory sentence of five years for those convicted of an OWI homicide. The bill includes an exception to the five-year minimum if a court finds a

With Tony Evers watching from the wings, the state Senate today voted along party lines Tuesday to reject the nomination of Brad Pfaff as DATCP secretary. It is the first time in at least three decades that the chamber has shot down a guv’s pick to serve in his cabinet,

Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said today the Senate will move ahead with a planned vote on the nomination of Brad Pfaff to serve as DATCP secretary. The guv’s administration, ag groups and others made a furious push to at least delay a vote on the nomination after Fitzgerald’s office

The Assembly today passed by voice vote a measure that would allow minors to operate temporary stands without a permit or license.  The measure, which cleared the Senate on Tuesday, now heads to Gov. Tony Evers’ desk. Other bills the Assembly signed off on that now head to Evers desk

The Assembly today backed a resolution expressing support for basing F-35 fighter jets at the Air National Guard Base in Madison. This comes after some residents near Truax Field have raised concerns over noise from the new planes. The base is now home to F-16s and the debate over the

Rep. Jimmy Anderson joined his fellow Assembly Dems in voting against accommodations allowing him to call into committee meetings even after GOP leaders pulled from the package a contentious measure allowing unlimited veto override attempts. Before the proposals were split into two packages, Dems denounced them as a power grab

The Assembly today unanimously approved a bill that would designate a section of state highway 28 in Dodge and Washington counties as the “Wisconsin 9/11 Memorial Highway.”  The section of highway runs through the Village of Kewaskum and by a 9/11 memorial being built there.  After the bill cleared the

The Assembly today voted to approve a measure that would make it a felony to trespass or damage oil or gas pipelines.  AB 426 would expand existing state law that made it a felony to trespass on the property of an energy provider or cause damage with the intent to

The Senate approved via voice vote a resolution expressing support for basing F-35 fighter jets at the Air National Guard Base in Madison after some residents near the airport have raised concerns over noise from the new planes. Truax Field is now home to F-16s and the debate over the

The Senate unanimously signed off on creating a statutory procedure for handling, processing and storing rape test kits. It also unanimously backed a new process to notify victims how their kits are being handled. The bills come on the heels of a backlog of untested kits becoming an issue in