GOP leaders announce Thompson Center at UW-Madison

Wisconsin Republicans today announced plans for a center at UW-Madison named after former Gov. Tommy Thompson, whose tenure was highlighted at an all-day symposium at the Capitol. They said the center would foster research into public policy and bring speakers

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Senate, Assembly GOP at odds over UW tuition

GOP tensions over the state budget continued to spill into the open today as JFC Co-chair John Nygren accused Senate Republicans of allowing a handful of members to “railroad” the process. Fellow Co-chair Alberta Darling acknowledged her Senate GOP colleagues

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Walker urges lawmakers to approve self-insurance plan

Gov. Scott Walker is urging the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee to approve his self-insurance plan to overhaul how the state provides health benefits to its employees. JFC members have expressed reservations over Walker’s plan to move state employees to a

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Assembly GOP details transportation plan

Assembly Republicans today pitched eliminating credits for married couples and renters and stopping local governments from enacting new wheel taxes as part of a far-reaching plan that would raise revenue for transportation while putting Wisconsin on the path to a

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Neitzel: Self-insurance would save more than $100 million

Though lawmakers have already indicated they plan to spike the proposal, Department of Administration Secretary Scott Neitzel today touted up to $103 million he said the state would save by moving to self-insurance. He also warned the state is likely to see a 10.4 percent increase in how much it

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Chiropractic groups at odds over measure to allow advice on OTC drugs

A behind-the-scenes battle has erupted at the Capitol over whether lawmakers should add a provision to the state budget that would expand what chiropractors can tell patients about over-the-counter drugs. Doctors, pharmacists and other health care groups want to kill a proposal from the Wisconsin Chiropractic Association, which says state

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GOP leaders announce Thompson Center at UW-Madison

Wisconsin Republicans today announced plans for a center at UW-Madison named after former Gov. Tommy Thompson, whose tenure was highlighted at an all-day symposium at the Capitol. They said the center would foster research into public policy and bring speakers to System campuses from diverse viewpoints. Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester,

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Senate, Assembly GOP at odds over UW tuition

GOP tensions over the state budget continued to spill into the open today as JFC Co-chair John Nygren accused Senate Republicans of allowing a handful of members to “railroad” the process. Fellow Co-chair Alberta Darling acknowledged her Senate GOP colleagues are not on the same page yet on the guv’s

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AFP digital ad backs Walker plan to nix state property tax

Americans for Prosperity’s new digital ad says “some legislators won’t budge” on Gov. Scott Walker’s call to eliminate the state property tax. “They should stand with Governor Walker and put more money back in your pocket,” the narrator says. In the ad, the narrator says Wisconsin has one of the

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Elections Commission raises concerns over budget cuts

Two members of the Elections Commission are urging the Joint Finance Committee to maintain funding for 22 agency positions that have been covered with federal aid, rather than keeping 16 as Gov. Scott Walker wants. Chair Mark Thomsen, a Dem appointee, and Steve King, a GOP appointee, wrote in today’s

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LFB: State won’t see revenue bump beyond prior projections

JFC Co-chair John Nygren says the latest Legislative Fiscal Bureau projections showing flat revenues from earlier estimates is good news. The LFB today informed the Joint Finance co-chairs the state likely wouldn’t see additional revenues in the next few years beyond the growth the agency had projected in January. But

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Fitzgerald doesn’t ‘see the momentum’ for Assembly GOP transpo plan

The tension between Republicans on transportation funding hit a new level today, with Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald saying he doesn’t “see the momentum” for the new Assembly Republican plan. Assembly Republicans, meanwhile, said the Senate should lay out its own proposal so lawmakers and the guv could “negotiate a

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DOR prepares analysis of Kooyenga transpo and tax plan

A Wisconsin driver who owns a typical sedan would pay $39 more in taxes on their fuel purchases annually, while the owner of an SUV would pay $54 more a year, under Rep. Dale Kooyenga’s transportation and tax plan. In addition, a married couple with one child and an income

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Nygren says LFB projections showing flat revenues is good news

Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, says the latest Fiscal Bureau projections showing flat revenues from earlier estimates is good news. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau today informed the Joint Finance co-chairs the state likely wouldn’t see additional revenues in the next few years beyond the growth LFB had projected in January. But

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Dems push motions knocking Schimel on rape kits, swag

The committee shot down Dem amendments seeking to force AG Brad Schimel to spend more money to process sexual assault kits and to reduce the agency budget following a report by a liberal group on how much the Department of Justice spent on “swag.” Dems have been taking shots at

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LFB releases analysis of Kooyenga transpo and tax plan

Some Wisconsinites would end up paying more in income taxes under Kooyenga’s plan compared to current law, according to a new analysis by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Those paying more would fluctuate over the next dozen years as the state moved toward a 3.95 percent flat tax and eliminated some

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JFC co-chairs applaud Kooyenga for offering transpo plan

The JFC co-chairs also applauded Rep. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield, for putting forward a transportation plan, and Nygren said he was disappointed in the guv’s response. Over the weekend, Walker knocked the proposal as a gas tax hike. It would lower the excise tax, add the state sales tax to fuel

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JFC plans to reject self-insurance contracts, DOA defends plan

Gov. Scott Walker and DOA Secretary Scott Neitzel today knocked the Joint Finance Committee’s plans to reject the administration’s moves to self-insure state workers. Walker tweeted about the JFC co-chairs’ comments that they expect the committee will reject the contracts his administration reached as part of the self-insurance plan. “Wrong

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Walker urges lawmakers to approve self-insurance plan

Gov. Scott Walker is urging the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee to approve his self-insurance plan to overhaul how the state provides health benefits to its employees. JFC members have expressed reservations over Walker’s plan to move state employees to a self-insured model and consolidate the number of companies the state

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Assembly GOP details transportation plan

Assembly Republicans today pitched eliminating credits for married couples and renters and stopping local governments from enacting new wheel taxes as part of a far-reaching plan that would raise revenue for transportation while putting Wisconsin on the path to a flat income tax. The plan included a hodgepodge of proposals

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