Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight

The Week of September 7, 2009

The next legislative floorperiod will commence on September 15. The schedule of floorperiods for the 2009-2010 Legislative Session was established by 2009 Senate Joint Resolution 1.

Open Meetings and Public Records Seminars

In September and October, the Attorney General's office will be offering seminars at various locations on the state's open meetings and public records laws.

Governor Doyle Will Not Seek Reelection

Expected to Become State's Second Longest-Serving Governor

On August 17, 2009, Governor Jim Doyle announced that he will not run for a third term as governor. Doyle, a Democrat, was first elected in 2002. The next gubernatorial election will be in 2010. Of Wisconsin's 43 governors, only one, Tommy Thompson, has served more than 8 years in office (1/1987-2/2001). Assuming that Doyle completes his current term, following him in longevity in office would be  Jeremiah Rusk (1/1882-1/1889) and Patrick Lucey (1/1971-7/1977).

Recently Signed Laws

As of September 3, this session 39 bills have been passed by the legislature and signed into law. The most recent, 2009 Wisconsin Act 39, signed on August 13, 2009, lowered the minimum hunting age to 10 years old as part of a newly-created hunting mentorship program. The law went into effect September 1.

A list of enacted legislation from the 2009 session can be viewed at: http://www.legis.wi.gov/2009/data/acts/.

Recent Bill Introductions

The Legislative Council introduced 2009 Senate Bill 279 on August 28, and 2009 Assembly Bill 408 on August 31. The bills were prepared by the Council's Special Committee on Domestic Biofuels.

2009 Assembly Bill 406, introduced on August 31, would require that anyone challenging a person's right to vote must be a resident of the same ward or election district of the elector he or she wishes to challenge and would require the challenger to provide proof of residence.

2009 Senate Bill 275, introduced on August 26, would prohibit employment discrimination based on an applicant’s credit history.

Committee Activity

The Assembly Committee on Transportation will conduct a public hearing on September 10 on three bills, including 2009 Assembly Bill 341, which proposes to prohibit minors from using cellular telephones and other wireless telecommunications devices while driving a motor vehicle.

For times and locations of other public hearings this week, see the Schedule of Committee Activities.

News from the LRB Library

In response to the memo Preliminary 2008-2009 General Fund Tax Collections, released by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau on September 1, the LRB Library has prepared a featured list of state fiscal policy publications from our collection. This is a selective list of recent titles on Wisconsin's and other states' responses to fiscal crises, structural deficits, and also includes various tax publications about Wisconsin. The "State Fiscal Policy" list, along with several other topical lists, can be found on the right-hand side of the Library Services Web page.

Recent Publications

• The Legislative Council has released an information memorandum on the state smoking ban.
• The Legislative Audit Bureau has released a letter report addressing “Test Score Data for Pupils in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.”
• The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has released its "Comparative Summary of Budget Recommendations (2009 Act 28)", a cumulative summary of executive and legislative action on the biennial budget.
• The Legislative Reference Bureau has released a Wisconsin Brief on the “Executive Partial Veto of Assembly Bill 75,” as well as a supplement to the brief. The LRB Library released a new "Tap the Power" annotated bibliography on Environmental Monitoring.

Blue Book Study Guides

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.”

Study guides for the 2009-2010 Wisconsin Blue Book will be available after that edition is published this fall.

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

Last revised: September 04, 2009