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Assembly fails to override Evers veto

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The state Assembly on Wednesday failed to to override a veto by Governor Tony Evers. Evers in November vetoed a bill that would have reduced the number of required training hours to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. Speaker Robin Vos claimed Minority Leader Gorden Hintz threatened Democrats to sustain Evers’ veto, with cuts to their staffs.

“He can’t take your staff away,” Vos said. “The only person who can take your staff away, is me.”

Republicans said the bill, initially passed last year with Democratic support, would alleviate the shortage of CNAs, particularly in rural areas. Hintz said Evers vetoed the measure believing more training is needed for CNAs, citing studies that have shown an increase in the number of training hours increases job satisfaction and retention. “A hundred and twenty hours should be considered a floor, not a ceiling.”

Three Democrats who voted for the bill last year did not vote for the override.

Assembly will attempt override of Evers veto

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Governor Tony Evers WRN image

The Wisconsin Assembly will attempt to override a Tony Evers veto. The Democratic governor vetoed bipartisan legislation in November that was aimed at reducing the shortage of Certified Nursing Assistants.

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke said members will attempt the override on Wednesday.

The legislation passed in May with the votes of three Democrats. It would have reduced the number of required training hours to become a CNA in Wisconsin to match the federal requirement, and brought the state in line with neighboring Minnesota, Iowa, and Michigan.

Milwaukee area Republicans propose ‘tougher on crime’ bills

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Milwaukee area Republican legislators on Monday unveiled new tougher on crime initiatives. Representative Joe Sanfelippo (R-New Berlin) said repeat offenders continue to plague communities. “If somebody makes a mistake, we should give them a second chance. But what we’re aiming at is the habitual offenders who repeat crime over and over again, yet the system doesn’t do anything to change it.”

During a press conference in West Allis, the lawmakers said they hope to pass some of the proposed legislation in the remaining weeks of the session.

Sanfelippo said Governor Tony Evers’ campaign pledge to reduce prison populations by fifty percent means neighborhoods will not be safe.

“In 2018 for the first year ever, there were more people arrested for crime in the city of New Berlin that live outside of New Berlin than ever before. And that is the trend that we’re seeing, for those of us who in the communities surrounding Milwaukee, is we’re seeing this crime come out.”

“What ‘tough on crime’ really means is ‘tough on taxpayers’ and ‘tough on communities,’” said Chris Ott, ACLU of Wisconsin executive director. “These proposals would double down on the harmful policies that have failed to make our communities safe, wasted taxpayer money, and pushed our corrections system to the breaking point.”

Among the nine proposals discussed Monday was one that would allow victims to testify via phone conference or through deposition if there’s a reasonable belief that they may have been intimidated or are at risk of not cooperating fully due to intimidation. Another bill would make any attempt to intimidate a victim of domestic abuse a Class G felony.

Voter rolls purge case put on hold by appeals court

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An early voting location in Madison. (WRN photo)

The latest development dropped Monday morning, in Wisconsin’s fast breaking voter roll purge case. The state’s 4th District Court of Appeals has issued a stay of Ozaukee County Judge Paul Malloy’s contempt order, directing the Wisconsin Elections Commission to remove the names of some 209,000 voters who may have moved.

The stay also put on hold fines imposed by Malloy, for each day the commission failed to comply. The appeals court granted the Department of Justice’s stay request just one day after the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to take over the appeal in the case.

READ: Court of Appeals stay 2019AP2397 – 011420

Trump set to campaign in Milwaukee

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Donald Trump campaigns in Wisconsin in 2016 (WRN photo)

President Donald Trump is set to woo Wisconsin on Tuesday night. The President holds a “Make America Great Again” campaign rally at UW Milwaukee’s Panther Arena. Some people were already in line Monday afternoon, even though doors don’t open until 3:00 for the 7:00 event.

Wisconsin, which the president carried with a less than one percent margin in 2016, is crucial to his reelection. His rally is set to begin just an hour before six Democratic presidential candidates debate in Des Moines. The Iowa Caucuses are just over three weeks away.

Traffic in downtown Milwaukee is likely to be congested – the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks will host the New York Knicks at Fiserv Forum starting at 7:00 P-M. Protesters are planning to take to the streets for the Trump event.

Proposal would address unpaid bills from campaign events

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Donald Trump campaigns in Wisconsin in 2016 (WRN photo)

Wisconsin cities are still holding the bag, from campaign events four years ago. President Donald Trump will hold a rally tomorrow night at UW Milwaukee’s Panther Arena, and more candidate visits are likely here.

Eau Claire and Green Bay still have thousands in unpaid bills for security and other expenses from 2016, from the Trump and Hillary Clinton campaigns.

A pair of lawmakers from the Chippewa Valley want to prohibit campaigns with outstanding bills from receiving a permit for another event until all debts are paid. Democrats, Senator Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire) and Representative Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) would also allow municipalities to charge in advance of campaign events.

Ron Johnson says Iran’s regime is ‘menacing, malign, evil’

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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)

The U.S. House last week approved a War Powers resolution to limit future military action against Iran without congressional approval. U.S. Senator Ron Johnson says he’ll offer an amendment pre-authorizing use of military force, if it’s apparent that Iran is going to have a nuclear weapon

“Every Senator that I’m aware of has always said we can’t let that happen,” the Wisconsin Republican said on WISN TV’s “UpFront” on Sunday. “Well, put your vote where your rhetoric is.”

Johnson also said he is “not at all” confident that the Iranian regime is standing down militarily, in the wake of attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq. He also said Iran has “an apocalyptic view” of the world, but has a choice to “become a normal nation.”

“It’s pretty basic what they need to do, and the fact that they won’t do that over the course of 40 years, tells you all that you really need to know about how menacing, how malign, how evil Iran truly is.”

 

Evers hires ombudsman for Wisconsin National Guard

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Governor Tony Evers

Governor Tony Evers has hired an ombudsman, charged with assisting survivors of sexual assault in the Wisconsin National Guard. Georgia National Guard Lieutenant Colonel Brian Bischoff will fill the new, independent federal position created for Wisconsin by the National Guard Bureau, an agency that oversees Guard units nationwide.

Bischoff will field concerns and facilitate communication regarding sexual assault investigations between the governor’s office and the Guard. He’ll report beginning next week, according to Evers’ office. Bischoff is a an Iraq war veteran with more than 17 years of experience as an Army attorney.

Bischoff’s hiring is the latest move, following a Deember report from the National Guard Bureau that detailed failure to follow protocols in sexual assault investigations by the Wisconsin Guard.

Evers assigns ‘homework’ to legislative leaders

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Governor Tony Evers WRN image

Governor Tony Evers credits his education background, for a letter he sent to legislative leaders on Thursday. “Teacher turned governor, I thought it would be appropriate to assign the legislature some homework before adjourning this spring,” Evers said during a stop in Wausau.

“The people of Wisconsin deserve to have elected officials who show up and get things done, so I’m also asking the Legislature stay in session as long as is necessary to accomplish these important priorities,” said a press release from Evers’ office which announced the homework assignment.

If Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s reaction is any example, it didn’t go over well. In a tweet, Fitzgerald referred to Evers’ letter as “condescending” and “ridiculous.”

Evers identified priorities as capping copay amounts for insulin; closing the state’s “dark store” loophole; improving water quality; and addressing homelessness. He pointed to a bipartisan bill on homelessness and the results of the Speaker’s Task Force on Water Quality, which on Wednesday unveiled its proposals.

State Senator Dave Hansen to retire

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State Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) will not seek reelection this fall. Hansen was first elected to represent the Green Bay-area 30th District in 2000.

The 72-year-old Democrat announced his retirement on Thursday.

“On December 18th I turned 72. And as much as it has become a cliché in politics, I truly am retiring to spend more time with my family. I have no fears about my chances for reelection having survived an attempted recall in 2011 and winning handily in a district that Republicans told me they gerrymandered specifically to defeat me. I believe had I chosen to run again I would win.

But as anyone who knows me will tell you, Jane and my family are the most important people in the world to me and it is important to me that I spend more time with them at this stage of our lives.”

Hansen, a Green Bay native, won reelection in 2016 with 51.3 percent of the vote. Republicans, who already hold a 19-14 majority in the state Senate, are looking to pick up additional seats. Hansen’s term ends in January of 2021.