Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight

The Week of October 4, 2010

The final scheduled floorperiod of the 2009-10 legislative session ended on May 26. The legislature is in an interim period for the remainder of the biennial session. The schedule for the current legislative session was established by 2009 Senate Joint Resolution 1. Senate and Assembly committees will meet during the interim to consider administrative rules and conduct informational hearings.

Legislative Candidates for the November 2010 General Election

All odd-numbered senate districts and all assembly districts will be contested by the nominated candidates in the general election on November 2, 2010. The Government Accountability Board recently posted its listing of candidates for the November 2 general election.

Committee Activity

Legislative Council Special Committees on various subjects - including mental health, local government services, managed forest lands, and higher education financial aid - will meet this week. See the Schedule of Committee Activities for information about locations and times of committee hearings during the interim.

Bill Statistics for 2009-2010 Legislative Session

In the 2009 legislative session, 406 bills have been signed into law. Six bills have been vetoed in their entirety, and 5 bills were vetoed in part.

There were 978 assembly bills and 708 senate bills introduced during the 2009 session. Additionally, one senate bill was introduced during the June 2009 Special Session, and 2 assembly bills were introduced during the December 2009 Special Session. All introduced legislation can be found on the Legislature's Searchable Infobases site, or by using the "Request text and history of legislative proposals" function on the home page.

From the Governor's Office

Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Governor Doyle has proclaimed October as "Domestic Violence Awareness Month." The Department of Children and Families is developing a new domestic violence handbook this month to help child protective agents in their work with families.

Health Insurance Exchanges. Wisconsin will receive a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to begin planning for an online health insurance exchange in hopes of providing a "one-stop shop" for affordable health coverage when the federal health insurance exchange provisions take effect in 2014.

Recent Publications

• The Legislative Reference Bureau published a Tap the Power on Health Insurance Exchanges and a Wisconsin Brief on State Agencies, Boards, Commissions, or Councils Created, Repealed, or Revised by the 2009 Legislature.
• The Legislative Council Staff published an informational memorandum on the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, recently signed by President Obama. The memorandum describes the provisions of the act that require compliance by the states, as well as provisions in Wisconsin law which relate to the act.
• The Legislative Audit Bureau published an audit report on Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan Authority.
• The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has released information on Preliminary 2009-10 General Fund Tax Collections.

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

From the LRB Library

Employment Outlook

The recession is still a focus of everyone’s attention as employment figures continue to make headlines. The LRB Library recommends the following resources about job growth and employment outlook.

• Jobs Outlook: Is a College Education Important? / CQ Researcher, Congressional Quarterly, Inc., v. 20, no. 21, June 4, 2010 (331.12/C761b). (Available from the LRB Library)
• Job Creation: Seeking Bipartisan Solutions to Put People Back to Work - Should the House Pass H.R. 2847, the Jobs for Main Street Act? / Congressional Digest, Congressional Digest Corporation, v. 89, no. 3, March 2010 (331.86/C762). (Available from the LRB Library)
• Wisconsin Jobs 2010: Making Wisconsin Competitive Again / Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, 2010.
• Wisconsin Jobs 2016: 2006-2016 Wisconsin Employment Projections / Department of Workforce Development, 2008.

Spotlight Home

Prior Spotlight issues

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

Last revised: November 13, 2012