Dane County Exec Joe Parisi said today he’s not running for governor, making him the most recent Dem to opt out of challenging Gov. Scott Walker in 2018. Calling county government the “nuts and bolts” where local leaders have the
Walker’s campaign is running a statewide digital ad telling people to call their lawmakers and ask them to “cut taxes not raise them.” The ads come as Walker and Assembly Republicans continue their battle over whether the state needs to
State officials announced today that more than $100 million has been freed up for transportation projects across the state. But Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the money doesn’t “come anywhere near to solving the long-term transportation funding crisis.”
UW System President Ray Cross told lawmakers today to take a cautious approach as they consider Walker’s proposal to bring performance-based funding to the system. He said while he supported the idea, he wanted to make sure the model didn’t
Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan and the state’s congressional delegation sent a letter to the Trump administration today asking for “immediate action” on an issue that’s put dozens of Wisconsin dairy farmers at risk of shutting down. The letter says
The state Department of Employee Trust Funds is disputing claims that local governments could get kicked off the state’s health insurance program for employees under Gov. Scott Walker’s self-insurance proposal. Walker’s proposing to shift coverage of state employees to self-insurance,
The League of Wisconsin Municipalities is warning its members over Walker’s proposal to self-insure those in the state employee health insurance program, saying it puts “the future of your health benefits in question.” That’s because 368 local government employers choose
Two GOP lawmakers are circulating a bill to completely repeal prevailing wage, days after a provision in Walker’s budget doing just that was eliminated by JFC. The bill, from Sen. Leah Vukmir and Rep. Rob Hutton, also prevents local governments
The Assembly author of what backers call the REINS Act said the decision by the Joint Finance Committee to pull the guv’s version of the regulation overhaul from the budget isn’t a setback because he prefers the standalone bill anyway.
Dems hoping for major electoral victories in 2018 will likely only get them if President Trump’s base begins to pull away from him, according to pollster Charles Franklin. So far, there’s little sign that’s happening, the Marquette Law School Poll
Union officials and some business owners say the state would be less safe under a Walker administration budget plan to exempt those who finished some state-approved apprenticeship programs from taking an exam to get their license. The exemption would apply
Municipalities and schools have been fleeing a state-run insurance fund Gov. Scott Walker wants to kill, spooked by his 2015 attempt to wipe out the program and a more than 70-percent rate hike to shore up the sagging fund, according
Dem Mark Bakken, a Madison businessman who co-founded Nordic Consulting and then left to launch the venture capital firm HealthX Ventures, has decided against a bid for guv, according to a source with knowledge of his decision. Bakken’s name surfaced
Outside groups spent $62.7 million trying to influence the state Capitol in the 2015-16 session, $5 million more than they dropped on those efforts in the previous two-year period, according to a WisPolitics.com check of lobbying reports. The increase was
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,
State Superintendent Tony Evers said today he’s pleased with Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal to add $649 million toward K-12, though he’d like some changes in the budget. That includes Walker’s proposal to allow permanent licenses for teachers and administrators
UW System President Ray Cross told lawmakers Gov. Scott Walker’s budget is “the best budget the UW System has seen in a decade.” But he indicated there’s several areas where he’d like changes, such as Walker’s performance-based funding formula, adding
UW System President Ray Cross told the Joint Finance Committee today he supports an audit lawmakers approved today reviewing UW System campuses and their respective private foundations. The Legislative Audit Committee today approved the audit, along with a separate one
Wisconsin Technical College System President Morna Foy today asked JFC members to scrap Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed tuition freeze from the budget. The provision — one of several proposed changes Foy raised concerns over — would freeze tuition for in-state
Department of Health Services Secretary Linda Seemeyer said today the Trump administration will give states more flexibility on Medicaid “even though health care reform wasn’t passed.” “I don’t think there’s any reason to think we won’t get added flexibility,” Seemeyer
Dane County Exec Joe Parisi said today he’s not running for governor, making him the most recent Dem to opt out of challenging Gov. Scott Walker in 2018. Calling county government the “nuts and bolts” where local leaders have the “tools to address” challenges, Parisi told WisPolitics.com he’d rather stay
Walker’s campaign is running a statewide digital ad telling people to call their lawmakers and ask them to “cut taxes not raise them.” The ads come as Walker and Assembly Republicans continue their battle over whether the state needs to consider raising revenues to address a transportation funding shortfall. The
State officials announced today that more than $100 million has been freed up for transportation projects across the state. But Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the money doesn’t “come anywhere near to solving the long-term transportation funding crisis.”
UW System President Ray Cross told lawmakers today to take a cautious approach as they consider Walker’s proposal to bring performance-based funding to the system. He said while he supported the idea, he wanted to make sure the model didn’t just reward campuses on outcomes. Some of the money, he
Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan and the state’s congressional delegation sent a letter to the Trump administration today asking for “immediate action” on an issue that’s put dozens of Wisconsin dairy farmers at risk of shutting down. The letter says new trade policies from Canada “appear to violate Canada’s existing
The state Department of Employee Trust Funds is disputing claims that local governments could get kicked off the state’s health insurance program for employees under Gov. Scott Walker’s self-insurance proposal. Walker’s proposing to shift coverage of state employees to self-insurance, but the proposal would also affect employees at the 368
The League of Wisconsin Municipalities is warning its members over Walker’s proposal to self-insure those in the state employee health insurance program, saying it puts “the future of your health benefits in question.” That’s because 368 local government employers choose to participate in the state’s current program, and there’s a
Two GOP lawmakers are circulating a bill to completely repeal prevailing wage, days after a provision in Walker’s budget doing just that was eliminated by JFC. The bill, from Sen. Leah Vukmir and Rep. Rob Hutton, also prevents local governments from enacting their own prevailing wage requirements, and extends a
The Assembly author of what backers call the REINS Act said the decision by the Joint Finance Committee to pull the guv’s version of the regulation overhaul from the budget isn’t a setback because he prefers the standalone bill anyway. Still, Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Waukesha, said there are no assurances
Dems hoping for major electoral victories in 2018 will likely only get them if President Trump’s base begins to pull away from him, according to pollster Charles Franklin. So far, there’s little sign that’s happening, the Marquette Law School Poll director says, with Trump’s national approval rating hovering around 42
Union officials and some business owners say the state would be less safe under a Walker administration budget plan to exempt those who finished some state-approved apprenticeship programs from taking an exam to get their license. The exemption would apply to journeyman plumbers, electricians and sprinkler fitters, as well as
Municipalities and schools have been fleeing a state-run insurance fund Gov. Scott Walker wants to kill, spooked by his 2015 attempt to wipe out the program and a more than 70-percent rate hike to shore up the sagging fund, according to a WisPolitics.com review. Local governments persuaded lawmakers two years
Dem Mark Bakken, a Madison businessman who co-founded Nordic Consulting and then left to launch the venture capital firm HealthX Ventures, has decided against a bid for guv, according to a source with knowledge of his decision. Bakken’s name surfaced earlier this year as a potential candidate. But he joins
Outside groups spent $62.7 million trying to influence the state Capitol in the 2015-16 session, $5 million more than they dropped on those efforts in the previous two-year period, according to a WisPolitics.com check of lobbying reports. The increase was driven in part by the first six months of the
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
State Superintendent Tony Evers said today he’s pleased with Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal to add $649 million toward K-12, though he’d like some changes in the budget. That includes Walker’s proposal to allow permanent licenses for teachers and administrators by eliminating their expiration dates. Evers told the Joint Finance
UW System President Ray Cross told lawmakers Gov. Scott Walker’s budget is “the best budget the UW System has seen in a decade.” But he indicated there’s several areas where he’d like changes, such as Walker’s performance-based funding formula, adding more capital budget projects and flexibilities for UW and a
UW System President Ray Cross told the Joint Finance Committee today he supports an audit lawmakers approved today reviewing UW System campuses and their respective private foundations. The Legislative Audit Committee today approved the audit, along with a separate one of State Fair Park. The audit follows a UW System
Wisconsin Technical College System President Morna Foy today asked JFC members to scrap Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed tuition freeze from the budget. The provision — one of several proposed changes Foy raised concerns over — would freeze tuition for in-state students for the next two years. Walker’s budget also would
Department of Health Services Secretary Linda Seemeyer said today the Trump administration will give states more flexibility on Medicaid “even though health care reform wasn’t passed.” “I don’t think there’s any reason to think we won’t get added flexibility,” Seemeyer told the Joint Finance Committee. In fact, she agreed with