Following a public hearing by the Assembly's labor committee on Monday, the Assembly met on Thursday, March 5, to vote on Senate Bill 44, commonly called the "Right to Work" bill.  This proposal would prohibit someone from requiring another person either to be or not be a member of a labor union as a condition of employment.  Debate on SB 44 began Thursday morning and continued through the night until the final vote was held at 9:08 Friday morning, with recesses for caucus meetings and the State of the Tribes address, which is held in the Assembly chamber every year.  The Assembly passed SB 44 on a 62-35 vote, and the proposal will now go to Governor Walker for his signature.

As I had indicated in last week's E-Update, I have been listening to both sides of the Right to Work issue, and I continued to do so in the run-up to the Assembly floor session.  In the end, I supported SB 44 because it protects workers' right to decide for themselves whether to join a labor union.  It will not prevent an employee from joining a union if he or she sees value in membership, and it also does not impose restrictions on the collective bargaining process.  For those reasons, I do not believe that SB 44 will have the devastating effect on unions that opponents of the bill predict.  At the same time, some studies of other states' experiences with Right to Work suggest that Wisconsin may see improved economic performance and job growth as a result of SB 44 becoming law.

One handy resource for following the Legislature is WisPolitics' Quorum Call blog, which covers floor sessions and important committee meetings as they happen.

The other major event in the Legislature this week were the agency briefings to the Joint Committee on Finance regarding state departments' portions of the 2015-2017 state budget bill, Assembly Bill 21 and Senate Bill 21.  The briefings are available for viewing on WisconsinEye.

The finance committee has also announced that it will be holding four public hearings around the state over the next few weeks, to give Wisconsin residents an opportunity to share their thoughts about the budget.  The hearing closest to the 67th District will be held on Monday, March 23, at UW-Barron County in Rice Lake, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  The other hearings will be in Brillion (March 18), Milwaukee (March 20), and Reedsburg (March 26).

Although I am not a member of the finance committee, it is common for area legislators to attend these meetings, so I currently plan to attend the Rice Lake hearing.  These hearings may also be covered on WisconsinEye.  The committee will also be setting up a special e-mail address in the near future so that people may share their comments directly with committee members' offices.  I will include that address in my E-Update once it is available.

In addition to its Quorum Call blog, WisPolitics also offers a Budget Blog, which covers the finance committee's activities and other budget-related developments.

Listening Sessions

As I mentioned in last week's E-Update, Sen. Terry Moulton is holding listening sessions around the 23rd Senate District.  I joined him at his listening session in Cornell on Monday, March 2, and I look forward to attending two more this coming Monday at the following locations and times:

Monday, March 9

New Auburn Village Hall

130 E Elm St

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Stanley Fire Department

239 E 1st Ave

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.