Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight

The Week of May 28, 2012

The Wisconsin Legislature stands adjourned at the conclusion of the 2011-12 legislative session's final general business floorperiod which ended on March 15. The 2013-14 legislative session will commence on January 7, 2013.

News

HIRSP Audit

The Legislative Audit Bureau has released a report on its audit of the Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan (HIRSP). Wisconsin's HIRSP Authority provides medical insurance for state residents who cannot obtain commercial insurance because of cost or medical condition. According to the report, as of March 31, 2012, there are 21,645 policyholders of the plan. More information on enrollment in the plan and a review of the financial statements of the authority can found in the report.

Legislative Council Special Committees

Legislative Council has received and tabulated ballots to select the special committees for the 2013-2014 biennium. The results are available here.

Redistricting

The Department of Justice is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court a March 22 federal district court decision that concluded that the line between Assembly Districts 8 and 9 needed to be redrawn under the Voting Right Act. In a press release, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen stated, “Any time a federal court rejects a state redistricting statute, and decides to redraw or adjust a legislative district, it is a serious matter and appropriate for appellate review.”

Signed into Law

During the 2011-12 legislative session, 286 acts have been signed into law. They can be found under the acts section of the Legislative Documents site. All enrolled bills from the current session have now either been signed into law or vetoed.

Stay Updated

The Legislature has RSS feeds for recent session activity. Also see our Facebook page and Twitter.

Committee Activity

For details of upcoming committee meetings, see the Schedule of Committee Activities.

Election Information

Recall Candidates

Recall primary elections were held on May 8, and unofficial vote totals have been tabulated. The candidates in the June 5 recall elections will be:

Governor

• Scott Walker (R-I)
• Tom Barrett (D)

Lieutenant Governor

• Rebecca Kleefisch (R-I)
• Mahlon Mitchell (D)

Senate District 13

• Scott Fitzgerald (R-I)
• Lori Compas (D)

Senate District 21

• Van Wanggaard (R-I)
• John Lehman (D)

Senate District 23

• Terry Moulton (R-I)
• Kristen Dexter (D)

Senate District 29

• Jerry Petrowski (R)
• Donna Seidel (D)

For a compilation of resources on recall elections and the voter identification law, see the Government Accountability Board Web site.

Resources from the LRB Library

The Library recommends the following resources on current events:

• Christianson, Kyle. Room Taxes and Tourism Development. Madison, WI: WISTAX, 2012. (389.69 W751b)
• Hussar, William J. Projections of Education Statistics to 2020. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2011. (370.2 X6)
• U.S. Department of Education. The Condition of Education. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 2011. (370.2 X1)
• U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Digest of Education Statistics. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Education Division, National Center for Education Statistics, 2011. (370.2 X2)

Recent Publications

• Legislative Reference Bureau recently released Wisconsin Brief 12-3, "Concealed Carry and Firearms Laws in Wisconsin".
• The LRB's monthly Recent Acquisitions list from April is also available.

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: April 18, 2013