Facing a bipartisan backlash, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has apologized for calling three GOP senators “terrorists,” saying it “goes against the guidelines I’ve sent for our chamber, and myself.” Still, the Rochester Republican on Monday continued to criticize the actions
Four GOP senators who are likely to be targeted in their re-election bids have an average of $104,000 each in their bank accounts as they gear up for 2018. But their warchests range from Sen. Terry Moulton’s some $34,000 in
Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald believes five of his GOP members coming out against a proposal to raise fees on heavy trucks means it’s “probably dead” in the Senate, a spokeswoman said today. But Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, the GOP Joint Finance
GOP legislative leaders reported progress on hammering out a budget deal today but will meet again tomorrow as they work through major items like K-12 education, taxes and transportation. Participants’ spokespeople provided no specifics, though, and a notice for a
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
The attorneys hired by GOP leaders to represent the Legislature in the redistricting lawsuit have charged $41,470 for their legal work so far, according to documents released to WisPolitics.com through an open records request. Still, the lead firm on the case, which
The co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee today floated the possibility of breaking transportation off from the budget as their caucuses remain at odds over how to fund road work for the next two years. But the guv and Senate
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
Gov. Scott Walker will have his annual reception for GOP county chairs to open this weekend’s state convention. He also has double duty with his son, Alex Walker, graduating from UW-Madison on Saturday. Because of graduation, Walker will speak earlier
Since becoming state GOP chair in 2011, Brad Courtney has seen Scott Walker become the first governor in U.S. history to fend off a recall, Republicans expand their majorities in both houses of the Legislature and his party’s nominee win
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
Fitzgerald today expressed disappointment that Canadian officials haven’t “demonstrated the sense of urgency” Wisconsin officials have shown over a dairy trade dispute. State officials have pushed the Trump administration to call for a change in Canada’s trade policies, saying a
Jennifer Shilling today slammed Scott Fitzgerald’s criticism of Sentry hiring their former Dem colleague Julie Lassa as a lobbyist, saying the Juneau Republican “can’t demonstrate some political class and just be magnanimous about this announcement.” Fitzgerald, the Senate majority leader,
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, today ripped Sentry’s decision to hire former Dem Sen. Julie Lassa to lobby for the insurance firm, calling it tone deaf. He expressed hope the company will realize “it was a bad move and
An amendment the Senate added to a rural broadband bill that would ban providers from collecting their customers’ information without permission appears to be in trouble in the Assembly. Chair Mike Kuglitsch, R-New Berlin, said his Energy and Utilities Committee
A Senate committee today on a 3-2 party-line vote OK’d resolutions requesting a constitutional convention on a balanced budget amendment. The GOP members of the Committee on Financial Services, Constitution and Federalism also tweaked a bill that would govern how
Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said today his Senate GOP caucus doesn’t have the votes right now to pass a gas tax hike and downplayed the suggestion lawmakers could override a pledged veto by Gov. Scott Walker. Speaker Robin Vos, however,
A Senate committee voted 3-2 along party lines on a bill today that would roll back Department of Natural Resources oversight of high-capacity wells. The vote was done by paper ballot, rather than by holding an in-person executive session, meaning
Backers and opponents of a bill that would remove DNR oversight of the replacement, reconstruction and transfer of high-capacity wells lined up at a packed public hearing today. Meanwhile, bill authors Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and GOP Rep. Gary
Gov. Scott Walker said today he’s glad House Republicans are looking to repeal the Affordable Care Act since “Obamacare is collapsing.” But he did not fully back the House GOP plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. The bill, released
Facing a bipartisan backlash, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has apologized for calling three GOP senators “terrorists,” saying it “goes against the guidelines I’ve sent for our chamber, and myself.” Still, the Rochester Republican on Monday continued to criticize the actions of “a few Senators, who cannot work with their colleagues
Four GOP senators who are likely to be targeted in their re-election bids have an average of $104,000 each in their bank accounts as they gear up for 2018. But their warchests range from Sen. Terry Moulton’s some $34,000 in cash on hand to Sen. Howard Marklein’s nearly $187,000, according
Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald believes five of his GOP members coming out against a proposal to raise fees on heavy trucks means it’s “probably dead” in the Senate, a spokeswoman said today. But Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, the GOP Joint Finance Committee member who proposed the idea, said she appreciated the
GOP legislative leaders reported progress on hammering out a budget deal today but will meet again tomorrow as they work through major items like K-12 education, taxes and transportation. Participants’ spokespeople provided no specifics, though, and a notice for a possible Joint Finance Committee meeting on Thursday hasn’t been sent
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,
The attorneys hired by GOP leaders to represent the Legislature in the redistricting lawsuit have charged $41,470 for their legal work so far, according to documents released to WisPolitics.com through an open records request. Still, the lead firm on the case, which could make up to $175,000 for its efforts, had yet
The co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee today floated the possibility of breaking transportation off from the budget as their caucuses remain at odds over how to fund road work for the next two years. But the guv and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald oppose the idea, their offices said.
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
Gov. Scott Walker will have his annual reception for GOP county chairs to open this weekend’s state convention. He also has double duty with his son, Alex Walker, graduating from UW-Madison on Saturday. Because of graduation, Walker will speak earlier in the Saturday lineup than he normally would, a party
Since becoming state GOP chair in 2011, Brad Courtney has seen Scott Walker become the first governor in U.S. history to fend off a recall, Republicans expand their majorities in both houses of the Legislature and his party’s nominee win Wisconsin’s electoral votes for the first time since 1984. But
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
Fitzgerald today expressed disappointment that Canadian officials haven’t “demonstrated the sense of urgency” Wisconsin officials have shown over a dairy trade dispute. State officials have pushed the Trump administration to call for a change in Canada’s trade policies, saying a recent policy decision led a company to cut the contracts
Jennifer Shilling today slammed Scott Fitzgerald’s criticism of Sentry hiring their former Dem colleague Julie Lassa as a lobbyist, saying the Juneau Republican “can’t demonstrate some political class and just be magnanimous about this announcement.” Fitzgerald, the Senate majority leader, told WisPolitics.com yesterday he hoped Sentry would reverse its decision
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, today ripped Sentry’s decision to hire former Dem Sen. Julie Lassa to lobby for the insurance firm, calling it tone deaf. He expressed hope the company will realize “it was a bad move and reverse their decision.” “It might be the single dumbest hire
An amendment the Senate added to a rural broadband bill that would ban providers from collecting their customers’ information without permission appears to be in trouble in the Assembly. Chair Mike Kuglitsch, R-New Berlin, said his Energy and Utilities Committee will exec the Assembly version of the broadband bill next
A Senate committee today on a 3-2 party-line vote OK’d resolutions requesting a constitutional convention on a balanced budget amendment. The GOP members of the Committee on Financial Services, Constitution and Federalism also tweaked a bill that would govern how a Wisconsin delegation would operate for the proposed convention. One
Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said today his Senate GOP caucus doesn’t have the votes right now to pass a gas tax hike and downplayed the suggestion lawmakers could override a pledged veto by Gov. Scott Walker. Speaker Robin Vos, however, said all options remain on the table for his caucus
A Senate committee voted 3-2 along party lines on a bill today that would roll back Department of Natural Resources oversight of high-capacity wells. The vote was done by paper ballot, rather than by holding an in-person executive session, meaning no discussion was held prior to the vote. The bill
Backers and opponents of a bill that would remove DNR oversight of the replacement, reconstruction and transfer of high-capacity wells lined up at a packed public hearing today. Meanwhile, bill authors Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and GOP Rep. Gary Tauchen maintained the legislation would bring certainty to farmers, municipalities
Gov. Scott Walker said today he’s glad House Republicans are looking to repeal the Affordable Care Act since “Obamacare is collapsing.” But he did not fully back the House GOP plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. The bill, released yesterday, has come under fire from some conservative groups for