Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight

The Week of February 20, 2012

The most recent legislative floorperiod began on February 14 and is scheduled to conclude on February 23.  The final general-business floorperiod for the 2011 legislative session is scheduled for March 6 to 15.

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The Legislature has RSS feeds for both recently introduced legislation and recent session activity. You can also view a listing of recently introduced bills. Our Facebook page also has links to recently introduced bills.

Mining Bill

The Assembly passed Assembly Bill 426, relating to the regulation of ferrous metallic mining and related activities, on January 26, by a vote of 59-36 (2 paired). An Assembly Substitute Amendment was adopted by a vote of 59-37. The bill was referred to the Senate Select Committee on Mining Jobs, but withdrawn from that committee on February 15 and rereferred to the Joint Committee on Finance, pursuant to Senate Rule 46 (2)(c).

Wetlands Bill

The Senate passed Senate Bill 368, relating to permits for discharges into wetlands, wetland mitigation, and wetland mapping and delineation, on February 15, by a vote of 17-15. The Assembly Committee on Rules made the bill a special order of business on February 21 pursuant to Assembly Resolution 21.

Committee Activity

For details of upcoming committee meetings, see the Schedule of Committee Activities.

Signed Into Law

As of February 17, 114 acts have been signed into law during the 2011-12 legislative session and they can be found under the acts section of the Legislative Documents site.

To date, one act has been signed in calendar year 2012, but other bills awaiting action by the governor can be found under the enrolled bills section of the Legislative Documents site. The most recent act, which was enacted on February 1, was 2011 Wisconsin Act 114, relating to the deadline for renewal of teacher contracts, changing timing of application process under the open enrollment program, and permitting certain pupils to submit open enrollment applications outside of the regular application period.

Recall Petitions

The Government Accountability Board (GAB) is currently reviewing petitions for the following offices: Governor Scott Walker, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, Senator Scott Fitzgerald, Senator Van Wanggaard, Senator Terry Moulton, and Senator Pam Galloway. For more information on recalls, including estimated numbers of signatures and images of the petitions, see the GAB recall information Web site.

Candidates Selected for Presidential Primary

On January 3, Wisconsin’s Presidential Primary Selection Committee selected seven Republicans and one Democrat to appear as candidates in the Presidential Primary vote on April 3, 2012. The Republican candidates on the primary ballot will be Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum. The Democratic candidate will be Barack Obama.

2011-2012 Blue Book

The 2011-2012 Wisconsin Blue Book is available online. It may be ordered from the Department of Administration, Document Sales Unit (search Document Sales Catalog for "Wisconsin Blue Book"), (608) 266-3358. The price is $10.30 with shipping and $7.30 without. State Legislators are provided with complimentary copies to give to their constituents. You may contact your state senator or representative to ask about receiving one.

The Legislative Reference Bureau issued two study guides for the 2011-2012 Wisconsin Blue Book. Study Guide to the 2011-2012 Blue Book is geared toward high school students. Inside the 2011-2012 Wisconsin Blue Book is geared toward elementary school students.

From the LRB Theobald Library

As mining legislation continues to be discussed, the library recommends the following resources:

• Tap the Power: Iron Mining and Frac Sand
• Metalliferous Mining: Taxes Under Current Law and 2011 Assembly Bill 426

Recent Publications

• Legislative Council released three informational memoranda related to the mining bill, AB-426, which can be found on the agency's home page.
• Legislative Reference Bureau recently released:
  • Governing Wisconsin #34: The Executive Order. (The Governing Wisconsin series is aimed at high school students.)
  • The Wisconsin Scorecard: How Wisconsin Compares to Other States.
  • Tap the Power: Banking Regulation
• Legislative Fiscal Bureau released memos on:
  • Medical Assistance
  • Status of State General Fund
• Legislative Audit Bureau released:
  • A report on FoodShare Benefits Spent Outside of Wisconsin
  • An audit of the University of Wisconsin System's financial statements
  • The annual report of the Fraud, Waste, and Mismanagement Hotline

For more information about Legislative Service Agency publications, see the left panel of the Spotlight index page.

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Send comments to LRB.Reference@legis.wisconsin.gov

Last revised: February 17, 2012