Maintained by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB), this page provides an overview of recent and upcoming activities in the Wisconsin Legislature. The LRB revises its content weekly. Links to more detailed information are highlighted in the text.
The Wisconsin Legislature stands adjourned at the conclusion of the 2011-12 legislative session's final general business floorperiod which ended on March 15. Enrolled bills (those passed by both houses) not already called for by the governor were to be sent on April 5 for gubernatorial action. A limited-business floorperiod is scheduled for April 24 through May 3.
Governor Walker signed a number of noteworthy bills in the past couple of weeks. All enrolled bills have been acted on. A selected list follows.
On April 12, the governor signed 2011 Senate Bill 275, which changes the membership requirements for those who serve on the district board for the Milwaukee Area Technical College.
On April 12, the governor signed four bills into law aimed at growing Wisconsin’s agricultural economy: 2011 Senate Bill 396, 2011 Senate Bill 410, 2011 Senate Bill 496, and 2011 Assembly Bill 82.
The governor signed a number of bills into law last week relating to protecting victims and holding offenders accountable. On April 9, the governor signed 2011 Senate Bill 104 (Act 266), 2011 Assembly Bill 269 (Act 267), 2011 Assembly Bill 397 (Act 268), 2011 Assembly Bill 263 (Act 269), 2011 Senate Bill 173 (Act 270), 2011 Senate Bill 536 (Act 271), 2011 Assembly Bill 209 (Act 272). On April 12, the governor signed 2011 Assembly Bill 552, 2011 Assembly Bill 232, 2011 Assembly Bill 100, and 2011 Senate Bill 399.
On April 5, the governor signed 2011 Senate Bill 306, creating Act 217, which relates to information provided to a woman seeking an abortion, and restricts the use of abortion-inducing drugs. It also repeals certain criminal provisions related to abortion. He also signed 2011 Senate Bill 92 to create Act 218, which prohibits the coverage of abortions by health insurance plans sold through a health benefit exchange.
Also on April 5, the governor signed 2011 Senate Bill 202, creating Act 219, which eliminates the awarding of compensatory and punitive damages to persons who have been discriminated against in employment or subjected to unfair honesty or genetic testing. The Department of Workforce Development may still award to such a person back pay, costs, and attorney fees.
Act 216, created with the signing of 2011 Senate Bill 237 on April 5, allows a school district to include abstinence-centered human growth and development instruction in its curriculum. The law also repeals provisions related to required instructional topics.
The governor signed four bills into law on April 4 related to the professions of veterans and service members. Acts 209 and 210 make changes to fees and renewal requirements for certain professional and occupational licenses issued to service members and veterans. Act 211 expands the noncompetitive appointment program for disabled veterans in the state civil service system. Act 212 creates an income and franchise tax credit for hiring disabled veterans.
On Monday, April 2, the governor signed 2011 Senate Bill 395, creating Act 200, which significantly modifies standards for the production and use of homemade wine and beer. The bill passed nearly unanimously in both houses during the March floor session.
Also signed on April 2 was 2011 Senate Bill 185, creating Act 197, which regulates text messages for the purposes of the state No-Call List. Under the law, text messages are included in the definition of a telephone solicitation and may not be sent to those telephone customers on the No-Call List.
2011 Senate Bill 326 was also signed on April 2, creating Act 167, related to changes in the issuance and exemption of permits by the DNR for areas in or near navigable waters. The law sets new time limits on the DNR for receiving public comments and issuing final decisions on permit applications. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 20-13 on March 7, and the Assembly, 54-29, on March 15.
The Legislature has RSS feeds for both recently introduced legislation and recent session activity. You can also view a listing of recently introduced bills. Our Facebook page also has links to recently introduced bills.
For details of upcoming committee meetings, see the Schedule of Committee Activities.
As of April 13, 286 acts have been signed into law during the 2011-12 legislative session. They can be found under the acts section of the Legislative Documents site.
Recall elections will be held on May 8 and June 5, 2012. The May 8 election will be a primary if necessary for the particular office, with the general election on June 5. If no political party has more than one candidate qualifying for the ballot in a particular recall election, the May 8 election will be the general election date for that office.
The following people have filed nomination papers for ballot access for the recall elections:
Governor
Lt. Governor
Senate District 13
Senate District 21
Senate District 23
Senate District 29
For a compilation of resources on recall elections and the voter identification law, see the Government Accountability Board Web site.
The following resources are recommended for more information on crime and victims services.
For more information about Legislative Service Agency publications, see the left panel of the Spotlight index page.
Send comments to LRB.Reference@legis.wisconsin.gov
Last revised: November 19, 2012