Small, rural schools would get a $6.5 million bump in state aid, while low-spending districts would be able to collect more in property taxes under legislation the Senate approved 31-1 Tuesday. The bill, which now heads to the guv, was approved after Republicans rejected a Dem attempt to amend the

The Senate voted along party lines 18-14 to increase the penalties for those who commit fraud in obtaining unemployment benefits. Under current law, the penalties max out at $500 and 90 days in jail. Under the bill, which now goes to the guv, there would be four tiers of penalties.

The Senate voted 18-14 along party lines Tuesday to ease permitting requirements for some urban and rural wetlands, sending the bill to the guv. Dems, all of whom opposed the bill, slammed the legislation as a sop to developers that will come back to bite the state down the line

The Senate unanimously approved legislation that would limit the number of sexually violent offenders placed into distant rural communities. The bill, which cleared the Assembly in January, now heads to the guv. The legislation would require counties, through the formation of a temporary committee, to locate a single placement option

The state Senate voted 18-14 along party lines to ban the state from offering its employees health plans that cover abortion except in cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother. The Senate voted on the bill without debate, and the legislation now heads to the guv’s desk.

The Senate voted 23-9 Tuesday to approve the guv’s plan to create a reinsurance program for those Wisconsinites who purchase their health care through the federal individual marketplace. The vote clears the way for the bill to head to the Assembly, which also planned to take it up as part

The state’s historic rehabilitation credit would be boosted to $3.5 million per project starting July 1, instead of $500,000, under legislation the Senate approved Tuesday 29-3. The state program, which is a supplement to the federal credit, can equal up to 20 percent of expenses to rehabilitate certified historic structures.

The state would have to obtain a conviction before police could keep and then sell property taken from those accused of a crime under legislation the Senate approved 22-10. The bill, which now goes to the Assembly, also would require a court to find the property seized is proportional to

The state Senate today signed off along party lines on all but one of the guv’s welfare bills, clearing the way for the nine pieces of legislation to head to his desk. The package, backed by Republicans, includes: *SSAB 1, which would up the work requirement for FoodShare to 30

State agencies would have to provide lawmakers a detailed accounting of their spending every two years under legislation the Senate approved today via voice vote. That report would include the minimum level of funding required for each appropriation to achieve its objectives that does not exceed the prior fiscal year’s

Both houses of the Legislature will be in session today with loaded calendars as lawmakers begin the final sprint before adjourning for the year. That includes both houses taking up Gov. Scott Walker’s $200 million reinsurance plan. The Senate’s calendar also includes measures that would: *roll back permitting requirements for

The Assembly today signed off on a bill to roll back permitting requirements for certain urban and rural wetlands on a 58-39 vote. The chamber also approved a new substitute amendment on a voice vote aligning it with the Senate version of the bill that cleared a committee last week.

The Assembly approved a bill that would up the penalties for having sex with an animal, sending it to the Senate. The bill would make sex with an animal a class H felony. Currently, it’s a misdemeanor. It passed the chamber on a voice vote.

A bill that would provide merit scholarships to students at UW schools cleared the Assembly shortly after the chamber moved back into regular session. The bill, by Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, and Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, would require the UW Board of Regents to distribute $5,000 scholarships to Wisconsin

The Assembly today signed off on a bill 58-34 that would make sweeping changes to landlord-tenant laws over a series of Dem objections the legislation sought to appeal to wealthy developers over low-income renters. The bill would increase limits on fees that landlords can charge tenants for credit checks and limit

A bipartisan bill that would let kids run their own lemonade stands without a license cleared the Assembly today on a voice vote. Under the bill, from Rep. Joel Kleefisch and Sen. LaTonya Johnson, minors would be able to operate temporary stands on private property that bring in less than

The GOP-controlled state Senate today rejected along the party lines 18-13 the nominations of Brian Bell and Mike Haas as administrators of the Ethics and Elections commissions. Dems knocked the move as an attempt by Republicans to enact a vendetta against Bell and Haas over past John Doe probes that

Both houses of Wisconsin’s Legislature are scheduled to be on the floor today, with the Senate planning to take up a series of confirmation votes including the heads of the Ethics and Elections commissions. In addition to voting on the nominations of Brian Bell and Michael Haas, senators will also