Senate Republicans have rejected two amendments from Democrats so far as debate on the biennial budget continues. JFC Co-chair Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, kicked off the debate by saying it was “one of the best budgets” she’s worked on, ticking off a range of provisions that include: the $639 million

Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, said today taxpayers are “being held hostage” by Republicans’ delay in passing a budget. The Senate gaveled in today to vote on the budget, though Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said he still didn’t have the required 17 GOP votes to pass the

The state Senate gaveled in briefly this morning for its session on the biennial budget and is now in recess until 11:30 a.m. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said this week he didn’t have the required 17 votes from his party to pass the budget. He told reporters today he

Before the final gavel, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos paid compliments to outgoing Minority Leader Peter Barca, calling him “someone who has worked to make this institution better.” “You did your side proud,” said Vos, R-Rochester. “They will never know all of the things you got for them.” Barca, D-Kenosha, responded that

The Assembly this afternoon approved the amended Foxconn bill on a 64-31 vote, sending it to Gov. Scott Walker’s desk. Four Dems broke ranks to support the $3 billion incentive package for the Taiwanese tech company, while two Republicans voted against it. The Senate passed it on Tuesday after adopting

The Assembly gaveled in this morning to vote on a series of joint resolutions before taking up the Foxconn bill. The Senate passed an amended $3 billion incentive package for the Taiwanese tech company on Tuesday, which included changes relating to the appeals process for any court decisions on Foxconn

The Assembly tonight passed the state budget 57-39, with five Republicans joining all Dems in opposing it. It now heads to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future as Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he doesn’t have the 17 votes he needs to pass it and three Senate

The state Assembly has moved onto debating the biennial budget’s passage after approving what GOP authors called a “technical” amendment. Democrats, whose 19 amendments to the budget were rejected, complained they weren’t being given enough time to review the GOP amendment. “You aren’t interested in lawmaking,” said Rep. Katrina Shankland,

Assembly Democrats say the biennial budget would re-segregate Racine-area schools by letting villages in the area vote to create their own school districts. But Republicans say the district has failed students with “embarrassing” test scores and graduation rates, adding that major changes are needed at the district. “What’s hurting [students]

Assembly Republicans are continuing to reject a series of Dem amendments to the biennial budget, with 10 rejected as of 2:20 p.m. today. But they also are criticizing Democrats for their strategy to offer amendments that individually touch on a wide range of topics. One amendment, for example, would have

The Assembly kicked off its debate on the biennial budget this afternoon, with Republicans shooting down Dem amendments on their proposed repeal of the prevailing wage. Democrats said the repeal, which would apply to state construction projects, would lower wages for Wisconsin workers and encourage out-of-state contractors to flood into

The Senate is now debating the overall Foxconn incentive package after rejecting a series of Dem amendments and approving two authored by Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau. One, which passed earlier today, would state WEDC “shall establish job creation thresholds” while tying capital expenditure tax benefits to those benchmarks. The

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald introduced an amendment to the Foxconn bill that would maintain the appeals court’s role in any lawsuits filed over decisions related to the economic development zone where the project is located. But the amendment would still speed up the process compared to typical appeals. The

The state Senate approved an amendment that would tweak language in the Foxconn bill to state WEDC “shall establish job creation thresholds” and claiming capital expenditure tax benefits shall be tied to those benchmarks. Dems questioned the impact of the amendment, saying it did not include any mechanisms to ensure

Senate Dems today announced three amendments to the $3 billion Foxconn incentive package that they said would prioritize hiring Wisconsin workers, make the tax credits nonrefundable and nix all exemptions for the Taiwanese manufacturer from Wisconsin’s environmental regulations. Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling said the three amendments are geared toward ensuring

Local officials appearing at today’s hearing expressed support for the Foxconn bill, but asked for a few changes to address local impacts. Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian asked for several changes to language regarding TIFs to allow for investment in the water utility and to allow police and fire personnel hired