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
The four candidates for state Democratic Party chair all have different views on how the party should be organized coming off of a crushing 2016 general election. While they differ on whether the state should employ a bottom-up versus top-down
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
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
Barca and state Dems today seized on a new study showing a jump in public works contracts to out-of-state companies since changes to prevailing wage laws took effect this year. But a key group that supports repealing prevailing wage laws
Gov. Scott Walker again took to Twitter today to promote the lower taxes proposed in his budget, touting his “reform dividend” as evidence that “now is NOT the time to raise taxes on the hard-working people of WI.” And he
Backers of a proposal to require justices to step off cases if the parties involved donated $10,000 or more in their races argued it would increase the public’s confidence in the court through transparency and accountability. But a WisPolitics.com check
Milwaukee activists today slammed Milwaukee County Sheriff Clarke’s promotion to a position in the Department of Homeland Security, calling the appointment “disgraceful.” They also called on Gov. Scott Walker to appoint a sheriff friendlier toward immigrant families, following Clarke’s announcement
Gov. Scott Walker today lauded the dropping of the state’s unemployment rate last month to 3.2 percent as “further evidence we are continuing to move Wisconsin forward.” This is down 0.2 percent from March’s unemployment rate, and marks the lowest
Two GOP lawmakers are circulating a bill that would bring back Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to require the UW System to lay out more three-year degree options for its students. Under the bill, from Sen. Dan Feyen and Rep. Joel
Walker announced today he has signed an executive order creating a committee to advise him on the testing and operation of automated vehicles. The Steering Committee on Autonomous and Connected Vehicle Testing and Deployment will be chaired by DOT Secretary
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 co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee say their caucuses are debating whether to sign off on the guv’s push to eliminate the forestry property tax. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Realtors Association has launched a paid broadcast and mail campaign pushing
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
Gov. Scott Walker will tell party activists at this weekend’s GOP state convention “I’m ready” for a third term as he continues to send signals that he’ll run in 2018. But the state Dem party slammed the guv, saying he
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
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
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
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
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
The four candidates for state Democratic Party chair all have different views on how the party should be organized coming off of a crushing 2016 general election. While they differ on whether the state should employ a bottom-up versus top-down approach, or some kind of mix, they all agree that
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,
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
Barca and state Dems today seized on a new study showing a jump in public works contracts to out-of-state companies since changes to prevailing wage laws took effect this year. But a key group that supports repealing prevailing wage laws called the study a flawed analysis. Last session, the Legislature
Gov. Scott Walker again took to Twitter today to promote the lower taxes proposed in his budget, touting his “reform dividend” as evidence that “now is NOT the time to raise taxes on the hard-working people of WI.” And he repeated his Twitter pledge to veto the entire budget if
Backers of a proposal to require justices to step off cases if the parties involved donated $10,000 or more in their races argued it would increase the public’s confidence in the court through transparency and accountability. But a WisPolitics.com check found no individual donations of $10,000 or more in recent
Milwaukee activists today slammed Milwaukee County Sheriff Clarke’s promotion to a position in the Department of Homeland Security, calling the appointment “disgraceful.” They also called on Gov. Scott Walker to appoint a sheriff friendlier toward immigrant families, following Clarke’s announcement in a radio interview yesterday that he’s leaving his post
Gov. Scott Walker today lauded the dropping of the state’s unemployment rate last month to 3.2 percent as “further evidence we are continuing to move Wisconsin forward.” This is down 0.2 percent from March’s unemployment rate, and marks the lowest level of unemployment since February 2000, according to federal data
Two GOP lawmakers are circulating a bill that would bring back Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to require the UW System to lay out more three-year degree options for its students. Under the bill, from Sen. Dan Feyen and Rep. Joel Kitchens, the UW System would have to submit three-year graduation
Walker announced today he has signed an executive order creating a committee to advise him on the testing and operation of automated vehicles. The Steering Committee on Autonomous and Connected Vehicle Testing and Deployment will be chaired by DOT Secretary Dave Ross, or his designee. Others who will serve on
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
The co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee say their caucuses are debating whether to sign off on the guv’s push to eliminate the forestry property tax. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Realtors Association has launched a paid broadcast and mail campaign pushing GOP lawmakers to back the proposal, and the conservative Americans
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
Gov. Scott Walker will tell party activists at this weekend’s GOP state convention “I’m ready” for a third term as he continues to send signals that he’ll run in 2018. But the state Dem party slammed the guv, saying he “won’t be able to convince Wisconsinites to re-elect him for
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
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
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
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