Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight

The Week of February 22, 2010

The current floorperiod of the Wisconsin Legislature is scheduled to run until March 4, 2010. Both the Senate and the Assembly are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, February 23, at 11:00 a.m.  The schedule of floorperiods for the 2009-2010 Legislative Session was established by 2009 Senate Joint Resolution 1.

Check the Assembly and Senate Daily Floor Calendars for items which will be considered during floor sessions.

Committee Activity

For information on upcoming events refer to the Schedule of Committee Activities.

Last Week’s Floor Session

The Senate concurred in a number of Assembly bills, including:

2009 Assembly Bill 57, relating to breast-feeding in public, by a voice vote.

2009 Assembly Bill 186, creating restrictions on salvinorin A, by a voice vote.

2009 Assembly Bill 419, placing rape shield provisions in civil cases, by a voice vote.

The Senate also passed 2009 Senate Bill 439, adopting certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code as state law, by a vote of 33-0.

The Assembly scheduled action on the override of Governor Doyle’s veto of 2009 Assembly Bill 138, relating to the appointment of the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, for Tuesday, February 23.

The Assembly also scheduled action on 2009 Assembly Bill 35, relating to race-based school mascots, for Tuesday, February 23.

Recent Bill Introductions

As of February 19, 757 Assembly bills and 545 Senate bills have been introduced. Recently introduced legislation can be found on the Legislature's Searchable Infobases site.

Among the bills introduced in the last week:

• 2009 Assembly Bill 751, relating to entering into an agreement with the other states of the union to elect the President of the United States by popular vote.
• 2009 Senate Bill 540, relating to political disbursements by corporations.
• 2009 Senate Bill 542, relating to encouraging the purchase of food produced in this state.

Resources from the LRB Library

The Legislature recently introduced 2009 Assembly Bill 745 and 2009 Senate Bill 525 restricting credit card marketing on higher education campuses, providing financial literacy information to students, establishing rules on extending credit to individuals under 21 years old, and adding a forfeiture provision.

The library recommends the following resources on this topic:

"Credit Card Reforms for Students" / NCSL LegisBrief (v. 18, no.6, January 2010). (call no.: 328/N21h/pt.6/2009-2010/v.17-v.18)

Planning Curriculum in Personal Financial Literacy / Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 2009. (call no.: PubI/p) (library use only)

"Financial Literacy: Should Courses Be Mandatory in Schools?" / Congressional Quarterly, 2009. (CQ Researcher, v. 19, no. 30, September 4, 2009). (call no.: 374.1/C761d)

Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards for Personal Financial Literacy / Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 2006. (call no.: 374.36/W7)

"Teen Spending: Are Teenagers Learning to Manage Money Wisely?" / Congressional Quarterly, 2006. (CQ Researcher, v. 16, no. 20, May 26, 2006 ). (call no.: 332.85/C761b)

Financial Literacy: a Primer for Policymakers / National Conference of State Legislatures, 2005. (call no.: 374.36/N21)

The Wisconsin Model: Expanding Opportunities Through Financial Education: Final Report / Governor's Task Force on Financial Education, 2002. (call no.: Gov/FinEd/w) (library use only)

Executive Orders Index

The executive orders index has been updated through December 9, 2009. The official title is: Subject index to executive orders of Governors Knowles, Lucey, Dreyfus, Earl, Thompson, McCallum, Doyle, Acting Governor Schreiber, Lieutenant Governors Olson and Flynn, and Secretary of State Zimmerman, January 1965 – December 9, 2009. The index can be found on the LRB Publications page under the heading “Special Publications.”

2009-2010 Wisconsin Blue Book

The 2009-2010 Wisconsin Blue Book has been published. The Blue Book is available online and is available for purchase from Department of Administration Document Sales for $8.75 plus sales tax if picked up in person; for mail orders, add $3 to the total to cover shipping.

Recent Publications

• The Legislative Reference Bureau library section has produced a Tap the Power bibliography on texting while driving. The bureau also released its biennial report.
• The Legislative Audit Bureau released audits of the Educational Communications Board radio and television networks and the Public Broadcasting Foundation.
• The Legislative Fiscal Bureau released Status of the State's General Fund.
• The Legislative Council Staff published its Comparative Study of Major Public Employee Retirement Systems on December 17 and the report of the Special Committee on Child Welfare Provider Rate Implementation on February 15.

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

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Last revised: November 13, 2012