MADISON — An effort is underway in the Wisconsin Legislature to have the voter ID requirement added to the state Constitution. Wanggaard and Snyder introduce amendment Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) Representative Pat Snyder (R-Schofield) Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) and Representative Pat Snyder (R-Schofield) introduced the amendment. The amendment will be similar to current state law: […]
Tag: Wisconsin Legislature
Posted inGovernment, Local news
Bills to increase funding for local government and choice schools pass Legislature
MADISON, WI —Wisconsin’s Legislature passed a bill that will increase state aid to local government and allow Milwaukee to raise its local sales tax on Wednesday night, following months of negotiations that culminated in a deal struck between Republican leaders and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. As a part of that deal, lawmakers passed another bill […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news
2 Bipartisan campaign finance bills introduced by legislators
by Henry Redman, Wisconsin ExaminerMay 2, 2023 A pair of campaign finance bills with bipartisan support were introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature last week, aiming to prevent officials convicted of violating election rules from accessing their campaign finance accounts and assisting local governments with the cost of holding a special election. Voters make their way […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news
Vos sets state budget listening sessions for May 2
UPDATE (May 4, 2023): For the rest of this story, please read the following article: ORIGINAL STORY (May 1, 2023): RACINE COUNTY — Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) has scheduled three state budget listening sessions here for Tuesday (May 2). Listening sessions with Vos The one-hour meetings will be held at: 3 p.m., Veterans Terrace, […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news
Caledonia Rep. Wittke sets 2023-25 budget listening sessions for April, May
RACINE COUNTY — Rep. Robert Wittke (R-Racine/Caledonia) has scheduled three listening sessions to receive public input on Wisconsin’s 2023-25 state budget. The Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee is currently preparing a budget to cover spending on state programs, services and personnel for the next two years. Wittke to host Norway, Caledonia listening sessions Rep. Robert […]
Posted inCommunity, Local news, Opinion
Op-Ed: Yes! Send a penny of sales tax back to locals
OPINION — What does a penny buy these days? When it comes to the state budget, you might be surprised. First, a bit of background The state of Wisconsin levies a 5% tax on retail sales – a rate unchanged since 1982. This state sales tax rate works out to five pennies on every dollar […]
Posted inGovernment
Expungement reform: How Republicans and Democrats are working together
by Iuscely Flores, Wisconsin ExaminerJanuary 9, 2023 Republicans and Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature are working together to make it easier to clear your criminal record (expungement). They are seeking co-sponsorship of LRB 0955/1, which would update decades-old legislation and give millions their freedom back. According to the Sentencing Project, “between 70 million and 100 […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news
Legislature quietly and unanimously enact legislation intended to improve policing hiring transparency, reduce bad apples
BY PETER CAMERON, The Badger Project With little fanfare and no opposition, a bill proponents hope will cut down on bad apples in law enforcement passed the legislature and was signed by the governor way back in November. The law requires law enforcement agencies maintain a work history file for each employee and creates a […]
Posted inBusiness, Government, Kenosha business, Kenosha Lens, Local news
Local news deserves a break today
In recent years, the news business in Wisconsin has seen a lot of bad news. Dozens of newspapers have closed. Revenues are way down. Staffs are being trimmed. And “vulture” hedge funds are circling, threatening to pick clean the bones of this once robust industry. But there is at least one piece of good news: […]
Posted inCommunity, Letter to the Editor
Letter to the Editor: Thank You Governor Evers and Wisconsin Legislature
Thank you, Governor Evers and members of the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate for your bipartisan effort to exempt the AmeriCorps Segal Education Award from state income tax. In particular, we acknowledge Representative David Bowen for his work submitting the proposal for inclusion in Governor Evers’s Executive Budget and Senator Dale Kooyenga for supporting the proposal […]
Posted inCommunity, Letter to the Editor
Your Right to Know: Bar Wisconsin Lawmakers from Destroying Records
By Larry Gallup, Your Right to Know WISCONSIN- If you want to see all of the emails your mayor received and sent during the week of March 16-20, 2020, to find communications regarding the coronavirus outbreak, all you have to do is ask. Under state law, the mayor is required to retain these and provide […]
Posted inLocal news
Legislature Special Session Includes Racine Health Center Funding
RACINE – The Wisconsin Legislature is called into a Special Session next Tuesday that includes expanding the BadgerCare health program and funding more than 50 initiatives around the state, including $53 million for a permanent Racine Community Health Center. Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, signed an executive order earlier this week introducing the Special Session […]