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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
— 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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
