Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight

The Week of March 22, 2010

The next general business floorperiod of the Wisconsin Legislature is scheduled to run from April 13 to April 22, 2010, and is the last scheduled general floorperiod of the 2009-2010 legislative session. 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.

Members Not Seeking Reelection

Representative Kitty Rhoades (30th Assembly District) is the latest legislator to announce that she will not seek reelection. She joins 11 other legislators that have indicated that they will forego reelection campaigns in November.

Committee Activity

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

Recently Signed Legislation

Governor Doyle signed a number of bills into law recently, including:

• Act 161 (2009 Senate Bill 439), adopting Internal Revenue Code provisions related to individual retirement accounts.
• Act 163 (2009 Senate Bill 303), requesting a person who operates a vehicle that is involved in an accident that causes death or injury to submit to a test for intoxication.
• Act 165 (Senate Bill 471), relating to health care plans operated by cooperative associations.
• Act 167 (Assembly Bill 230), relating to electronic access by law enforcement agencies to photographs on motor vehicle operators licenses and identification cards.
• Act 184 (Senate Bill 467), relating to using an electronic signature on a criminal complaint.

Recent Bill Introductions

As of March 19, 879 Assembly bills and 633 Senate bills have been introduced. Recently introduced legislation can be found on the Legislature's Searchable Infobases site.

Resources from the LRB Library

The Senate recently introduced Senate Bill 592 and the Assembly introduced Assembly Bill 845, relating to establishing a biometric fingerprint identification system for enrollment and monitoring child care attendance under Wisconsin Shares.

The Library staff recommends the following web resources on this topic:

Biometrics.gov: “The central source of information on biometrics-related activities of the Federal government.”

Biometrics Catalog: A worldwide collection of research, government publications, and news about biometric standards and related privacy issues.

EPIC.org: Electronic Privacy Information Center – Biometric Identifiers.

How Fingerprint Scanners Work - "In this article, we'll examine the secrets behind this exciting development in law enforcement and identity security. We'll also see how fingerprint scanner security systems stack up to conventional password and identity card systems, and find out how they can fail."

ThirdFactor.com: “News and insight into biometric identification and authentication.”

Recent Publications

• The Legislative Reference Bureau reference section released Legislative Brief 10-1, Human Growth and Development Instruction - 2009 Act 134.
• The Legislative Audit Bureau released an auditor’s opinion on State of Wisconsin Investment Board Financial Statements and a letter report on Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority (WHEFA).
• The Legislative Fiscal Bureau released Status of the State's General Fund.
• The Legislative Council Staff published an Informational Memorandum on Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on campaign finance.

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: November 13, 2012