Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight

The Week of January 9, 2012

The most recent regular session legislative floorperiod ended November 3, and the September 2011 Special Session was adjourned on December 8. The next scheduled regular session floorperiod begins January 17, 2012.

State of the State

Governor Scott Walker has announced that he plans to deliver his annual State of the State address on January 25 in front of a joint meeting of the legislature.

Senate Chief Clerk Resigns

Senate Chief Clerk Rob Marchant has left his post to serve as deputy secretary of the Department of Employee Trust Funds and has been replaced in the interim by his deputy, Jeff Renk.

Candidates Selected for Presidential Primary

On January 3, Wisconsin’s Presidential Primary Selection Committee selected 7 Republicans and 1 Democrat to appear as candidates in the Presidential Primary vote on April 3, 2012. The Republican candidates on the primary ballot will be Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, John Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum. The Democratic candidate will be Barack Obama.

Recently Introduced

• AB-441, to create a penalty for signing a petition to recall the same officer more than once.
• AB-444, to restore voting rights to convicted felons following release from incarceration.
• AB-445, to restore prior law on hours of work for minors.
• AB-447, to authorize a school board to grant a vocational high school diploma.
• AB-449, to increase the penalty for repeated domestic abuse offenses.
• AB-452, relating to resolution of claims against the state for wrongful imprisonment of innocent persons.
• AB-460, to permit the use of university, college, or technical college identification cards as proof of identification for voting.
• SB-347, to create a Capitol Council.
• SB-350, to increase the penalty for repeated domestic abuse offenses.
• SB-351, to change the deadline for approval of a certain federal law waiver request affecting the Medical Assistance program.
• SB-355, to restore prior law on hours of work for minors.
• SB-360, to exempt prescription drugs from the mandatory "minimum markup" law in the Wisconsin Unfair Sales Act.

Signed Into Law

As of January 6, 113 acts have been signed into law. You can find them here.  All bills awaiting action by the governor from the recent floorperiod and special session have been acted on.

Stay Updated

The Legislature has RSS feeds for both recently introduced legislation and recent session activity. Our Facebook page also has links to recently introduced bills.

You can view a complete list of enrolled proposals awaiting action by the governor on the Wisconsin Legislature Web site.

Committee Activity

Legislative committee activity is available on the Schedule of Committee Activities.

2011-2012 Blue Book

The 2011-2012 Wisconsin Blue Book is now available online. It may be ordered from the Department of Administration, Document Sales Unit (search Document Sales Catalog for "Wisconsin Blue Book"), (608) 266-3358. The price is $10.30 with shipping and $7.30 without. State Legislators are provided with complimentary copies to give to their constituents. You may contact your state senator or representative to ask about receiving one.

Recent Publications

• The Legislative Audit Bureau released two auditor's opinions: State of Wisconsin's Financial Statements and Investment Board Financial Statements. It also issued a report on the state's Medical Assistance Program.
• The Legislative Council published a Comparative Study of Major Public Employee Retirement Systems.
• The Legislative Reference Bureau released Wisconsin Briefs on Charter School Expansion and the 2012 Wisconsin Presidential Preference Primary. The Reference Bureau also issued The Wisconsin Scorecard: How Wisconsin Compares to Other States.
• The Legislative Reference Bureau has also issued two study guides for the 2011-2012 Wisconsin Blue Book. Study Guide to the 2011-2012 Blue Book is geared toward high school students. Inside the 2011-2012 Wisconsin Blue Book is geared toward elementary school students.

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 19, 2012