The state would break Milwaukee Public Schools into multiple districts while lifting any income limits on its voucher programs under bills the Senate approved Tuesday and sent to Gov. Tony Evers. The sweeping package of bills would touch everything from the number of districts in the state’s largest city —

Two days after Speaker Robin Vos said the bill was unlikely to move because a site hadn’t been chosen for the facility, the Assembly unanimously approved funding a replacement for the state’s troubled youth prison in north-central Wisconsin. In doing so, Vos sought to credit GOP guv candidate Rebecca Kleefisch

The Assembly approved in a voice vote the amended version of a bill that would allow people to charge for the use of electric vehicle charging stations. Rep. Deb. Andraca, D-Whitefish Bay, criticized the bill for what she called a “power grab” by public utilities. The Senate bill would bar

Medical professionals who advise their patients to try alternative treatments for things like COVID-19 couldn’t be disciplined for their guidance under legislation the Assembly approved. Backers included the legislation in a “medical freedom” package they introduced earlier this year, complaining that the government has prevented medical professionals and pharmacists from

The Senate approved a series of bills that would revamp the unemployment program and add new restrictions to Medical Assistance that backers say would help move people off government safety net programs and into the workforce. That includes enforcing drug testing requirements to qualify for food stamps and cutting off

The Senate voted to create a mandatory minimum sentence for three or more convictions of retail theft. Under AB 829, the minimum sentence for a third conviction would be 180 days if the convictions were within a five-year period. The convictions would have to be for acts committed on separate

Wisconsin prison guards would get a raise paid for with federal funds under legislation that cleared the Senate Tuesday. Dems have knocked the bill for not putting state money into the raises, which would be temporary. And Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed past efforts by GOP lawmakers to dictate how

The Assembly approved AB 970, which would eliminate income caps for the state’s three school choice programs. The move would cost property taxpayers $577.3 million in extra expenses, assuming 67,689 newly eligible students would enter the system, according to a fiscal report produced by the Department of Public Instruction. Along

Dem Rep. Sondy Pope blasted Republicans for passing a bill that would disband Milwaukee Public Schools for what she called a racist attempt to grow the voucher program by splitting up the state’s largest school district. The Assembly today in a voice vote approved AB 966. The bill would break

Dems balked as Assembly Republicans today approved a bill that would create a “parental bill of rights” aimed at giving parents more say over what happens in classrooms. The Assembly voted 60-34 along party lines to approve AB 963, which includes language giving parents the right to determine a child’s

The Senate voted unanimously to authorize $41.8 million in general fund supported borrowing to build a new juvenile detention facility in Milwaukee County to house the most serious offenders in the system. But Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said it’s unlikely SB 520 will see a floor vote in his

The Legislature voted Tuesday along party lines to ban the UW or tech college systems from requiring students to “affirm, adopt, or adhere to” tenets of critical race theory. The bill is a watered-down version of what was first introduced. SB 409 originally sought to ban teaching things such as

The Senate approved a constitutional amendment to bar the use of private money to cover public costs to administer an election. It also signed off on a bill that would allow clerks to begin processing absentee ballots the day before election day. The bills were among the dozen election-related bills

Assembly Republicans today approved a bill that would create a “parental bill of rights” aimed at giving parents more say over what happens in classrooms. The Assembly in a 60-34 party line vote approved AB 963, which includes language giving parents the right to determine a child’s religion, type of

The Assembly approved a series of bills Republicans say would help increase the size of the state’s workforce by moving more people off of government programs while increasing talent attraction and training efforts. Republicans are seeking to change requirements to qualify for government assistance programs, fund efforts to attract more