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Wisconsin Legislative SpotlightMaintained by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB), this page provides an overview of recent and upcoming activities in the Wisconsin Legislature. The LRB revises its content weekly during legislative floorperiods. Links to more detailed information are highlighted in the text. |
The schedule of floorperiods for the 2009-2010 Legislative Session was established by 2009 Senate Joint Resolution 1. The most recent legislative floorperiod ended March 26 and the next floorperiod commences on April 21. Bills that have been passed by both houses were scheduled to be sent to the Governor for approval by April 9. The Governor has six days (excluding Sundays) in which to act on the bills.
In the race for Supreme Court Justice, incumbent Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson defeated challenger Randy Koschnick. Abrahamson was first appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Patrick Lucey in 1976. She is one of the longest serving justices in the court’s history.
Deputy Superintendent Tony Evers defeated Rose Fernandez in the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Official election results are not yet available.
John L. Merkt, former Representative from the 58th district, which included Germantown, Jackson, and Thiensville, passed away on Wednesday, April 1. Merkt was a member of the Assembly during the 1977 to 1987 sessions. According to his obituary in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Merkt was an early proponent of raising the drinking age in the 1980s and was one of the main authors of the "Len Bias Law" in Wisconsin, related to prosecution of drug crimes. Merkt later worked on the staff of Representative David Prosser, now Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Merkt's biography from the 1987-1988 Wisconsin Blue Book can be found here.
On March 31, Governor Jim Doyle and Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota announced their first steps in an effort to share services between the two states. On January 13, Governor Doyle issued Executive Order 272, directing state agencies to identify specific programs or services for potential cooperative agreements. Wisconsin and Minnesota plan to work together on more than 80 projects, including procurement, tourism promotion, IT systems, and communications infrastructure. A full report on the collaboration has been issued.
After Governor Doyle delivered his Budget Message (video) to the Legislature on February 17, the Joint Committee on Finance introduced the Biennial Budget Bill, 2009 Assembly Bill 75. The Department of Administration has issued its guide to the bill, the Budget in Brief.
Items of interest in the budget bill include:
Tax and Fee Increases. On March 18, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau released a memorandum titled: “State Tax and Fee Modifications Included in the Governor’s 2009-11 Budget Recommendation.” According to a summary in the memo, the changes in the governor’s budget would increase net taxes by about $1.47 billion during the biennium and would increase net fees by about $237 million during the two years covered by the budget. In addition, measures to enhance the collection of current taxes and fees would generate an estimated $61 million.
Local aids. On March 19, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau released estimates for 2010 County and Municipal Aid Payments under AB 75. The bill would reduce local aid payments by a total of about 1%, or $8.5 million.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau released a list last week of non-fiscal policy items contained in the proposed budget. Joint Committee on Finance co-chairs Senator Miller and Representative Pocan released a letter in response. (Links courtesy www.thewheelerreport.com.)
The Joint Committee on Finance conducted a series of public hearings across the state on the 2009-2011 budget bill, AB-75. Video of all these hearings can be found in the archive at WisconsinEye.org.
On February 19, Governor Doyle signed the Budget Adjustment Bill (2009 Senate Bill 62), creating 2009 Wisconsin Act 2. The bill passed swiftly through the Senate and Assembly (18-15 and 51-48, respectively). Items of interest in the bill include a provision for combined reporting for corporations, an increase in the hospital assessment for FY 2008-09, and the introduction of the streamlined sales tax which will require sales and use taxes to be collected on purchases of specified digital goods like music downloads. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau released a summary of the bill's provisions.
Governor Doyle's introduction of the Biennial Budget was delayed so that his office could review the federal economic stimulus package, which was signed by President Obama on February 17. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was passed by Congress on February 13. The governor has announced that Wisconsin will receive more than $3.7 billion in federal stimulus funds. The newly created Wisconsin Office of Recovery and Reinvestment has released a list which estimates how much the state will receive by federal program.
For a historic comparison of how federal economic stimulus packages have impacted the state, the LRB library has dozens of the original reports documenting the economic stimulus and work relief projects funded during the 1930s through federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) spending and state funds. The reports, including such titles as A Half Billion Dollars for Public Welfare in Wisconsin, 1931-1936 and Review of Work Relief Activities, April 1934-Aug. 1935, are listed in LRBCAT under the keyword search terms “Wisconsin Public Welfare Dept.” and “Wisconsin Emergency Relief Administration.”
On March 26, Governor Doyle signed legislation relating to traveling sales crews. 2009 Wisconsin Act 3, popularly known as "Malinda's Act," seeks to provide legal protections for workers, consumers, and homeowners with respect to door-to-door sales. The bill was a response to abuses in the industry that came to light following a traveling sales crew van crash in Janesville 10 years ago.
The text and history of legislation introduced in the 2009 Legislative Session may be accessed on the Legislature's Web site. Click on "Text of Introduced Proposals" in the Legislative Documents Search.
Bills introduced recently include:
Numerous committee hearings are scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week. See the Schedule of Committee Activities to view the full monthly calendar and details on times and locations of committee meetings.
A new edition of the Constitutional Highlights series was published on The Common School Fund. This brief overview describes the public investment fund that is a major source of funding for school libraries. By law, money collected through fines and forfeitures must be deposited in the Common School Fund. In the past, the Legislature has created separate surcharges for certain criminal activity to divert some of the monies collected by the state to law enforcement and judicial programs rather than the Common School Fund. The two reports cited in this edition of Constitutional Highlights that discuss this issue further are available in the Legislative Reference Bureau Library. They are Legislation on Surcharges on Fines and Forfeitures : 1989 Senate Joint Resolution 34 ... : 1989 Senate Bill 193 ... : Report to the Legislature / Legislative Council, 1989. (LegisCl 1989-91/r/no.7) and Fines, Forfeitures and Surcharges: Facts and Findings / Wisconsin Director of State Courts, 2002 (SupC/f). The Common School Fund is administered by the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. For further background on the Board and the Fund, see the Board’s Biennial Report (older reports are available in the Library's state documents collection). In addition, the Library also has History of Public Permanent Common School Funds in the U.S., 1795-1905 / F.H.Swift, 1911. (371.2/Sw5)
Other recently issued publications from the LRB include:
Recent publications by other legislative service agencies:
Two Informational Bulletins were also issued by the LRB as companions to the 2007-2008 Wisconsin Blue Book: Informational Bulletin 07-1, “A Study Guide to the 2007-2008 Wisconsin Blue Book,” and Informational Bulletin 07-2, “Inside the 2007-2008 Wisconsin Blue Book.”
Send comments to LRB.Reference@legis.wisconsin.gov
Last revised: April 10, 2009