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Dane County judge gives Speaker Vos one last chance to avoid contempt in open records lawsuit

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is getting one last opportunity to prevent a contempt ruling in an open records case.

Attorneys from Vos’s office told Dane County Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn that they were unable to compel special counsel Mike Gableman to comply with an open records request, something she found unlikely. 

“That’s what you’re telling me is that Mr. Vos, who has the control and responsibility for this contractor, can’t get his own contractor even though he has a contract with them to cooperate with him to just satisfy the court.”

Bailey-Rihn says complying with her order shouldn’t be that hard. 

“It’s not like this is Batman, that you have to send out the Bat-Signal to get somebody to respond. This is a contractor that is in Waukesha with an office and Waukesha where you live”

Vos’s office will have to show the judge they’ve attempted to get records by the next hearing in June. 

Nurses group critical of Evers’ veto

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The organization representing Wisconsin nurses is not happy about a veto from Governor Tony Evers. The bill created a separate license for nurse practitioners and other nurses with advanced training. Several physicians groups were opposed.

“I guess what it says is, organized medicine does not want us here in Wisconsin. They do not want us to be able to practice, and take care of patients independently. And I think that’s a very sad state of affairs,” Wisconsin Nurses Association CEO Gina Dennik-Champion said during a Thursday press conference at the Capitol.

Rebecca Gilbertson is a family nurse practitioner and operates a family care clinic in Medford. “I am very disappointed with the governor’s veto, as this does perpetuate physicians groups maintaining power and control over my nursing practice,” Gilbertson said.

Nurses were joined at the Capitol by the legislation’s Senate author, Senator Pat Testin (R-Stevens Point).

“This bill is not going away.” Testin said. “It will come back next session in some form or fashion. And I am hopeful that there will be an administration that will sign this bill into law.”

About 8,000 Wisconsin nurses have advanced degrees.

Wisconsinites have a poor view of Speaker Vos according to MU Poll

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This month’s Marquette Law School Poll shows Wisconsinites have a poor opinion of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, if they have one at all.

Poll Director Charles Franklin explains. 

“Despite being such an important government figure and having held that position for a long time 49% say they haven’t heard enough about Speaker Vos to have an opinion. Of those with opinions, 12% are favorable, 29% were unfavorable. Not surprisingly, there’s a pretty sharp party split on that question as well.”

In comparison, Governor Tony Evers has a 49 percent job approval rating.

MU Poll shows tightening primary for Dems in US Senate, steady numbers in GOP primary for Governor

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The possible winner of the Democrat primary for a US Senate seat is still up in the air, according to the Marquette Law School Poll.

Poll director Charles Franklin says two candidates remain in the lead. “We have Mandela Barnes at 19%, Alex Lasry at 16%, Sarah, Godlewski at 7%, and Tom Nelson at 5%. And the other seven candidates we asked about all at 1% or less.”

But 48 percent of Democrats still say they don’t have a candidate or didn’t know enough to make a decision just yet. 

That’s a similar case for the Republican primary for Governor. Franklin says Republicans seem to be leaning towards former Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch for now, at least among people who have made a decision.

“Rebecca Kleefisch continues to lead there at 32%, Kevin Nicholson at 10%, and Tim Ramthun at 4%.”

Forty-eight percent of Republicans still don’t know enough about the candidates to make a choice. The poll was conducted before businessman Tim Michels entered the race this weekend.

Not enough people know about the Republican elections investigation to have an opinion on it.  Despite the divisive nature of the probe among political circles, poll director Charles Franklin says not many people know enough about it. 

“57% this month said they hadn’t heard enough. And another 2% said they didn’t know. 13% had approved of the job [Special Counsel] Gableman is doing, 27% disapproved.”

Taxpayers are paying over 600-thousand dollars for the investigation, plus more for legal fees stemming from several open records lawsuits filed against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Special Counsel Mike Gableman.

Speaker Vos extends elections probe after Trump statement

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The Republican elections probe will not be ending after all.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos had previously said that he was closing down Michael Gableman’s investigation into the 2020 presidential election this week, but has now extended the probe.

In his statement, Vos says he wants to “guarantee the legal power of our legislative subpoenas and get through the other lawsuits that have gridlocked this investigation.”

Former President Donald Trump put out a statement on Monday that didn’t name Vos specifically but did say that “anyone calling themselves a Republican” should support the investigation, and that he might support primary opponents in local races.

Medical marijuana legislation gets public hearing at Capitol

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Sen. Mary Felzkowski

At the Capitol on Wednesday, a first-ever public hearing on a medical marijuana bill for Wisconsin. The measure from Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma) would allow patients to access cannabis for a limited number of conditions in a limited number of forms, and does not include smokable.

“I know that smoking was big issue, and there’s a lot of people that would like smoking,” Felzkowski said. “The largest concern around smoking that our colleagues had, and we heard it from the outside groups, is that if there are children in the household or children near they could also be affected from that.”

Representative Pat Snyder (R-Schofield), the bill’s Assembly author, defended the limited approach. “Because if you you try to do all at once then it would get shot down and we wouldn’t be able to get this through. So let’s work and take up those other kind of concerns later.”

Wisconsin is one of just 11 states that have not legalized some version of medical cannabis. The bill is similar to one which Felzkowski first introduced in 2019. It calls for a program to be overseen by a Medical Marijuana Regulatory Commission within the state Department of Revenue, with members chosen by the governor and legislative leaders.

Doctors, physician assistants and advanced practice nurse prescribers would be able to prescribe liquid or pill form medical cannabis to patients, for a limited number of medical conditions.

Felzkowski said she wished a medical marijuana option had been available while she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer in 2014, and said it’s time for Wisconsin to join the majority of states which allow it. “Thirty-seven other states don’t have it wrong. I think it’s time for Wisconsin to move in that same direction.”

While Wednesday’s hearing did not address the broader issue of legalizing marijuana for recreational use, advocates for that plan to continue bringing up legislation. State Senator Melissa Agard (D-Madison) has made repeated attempts to advance legalization, and she takes issue with the limited scope of the Republican measure.

“The bill . . . is a restrictive medicinal bill that does not provide access to the plant based products. It only provides access to tinctures and oils and pills, not the plant itself.”

Agard has proposed allowing people to grow their own marijuana for use, would have prevented outside businesses from selling cannabis in Wisconsin, and would have allowed for judicial remediation for those with cannabis convictions on their records. Her bills have never gotten a committee hearing.

While Wednesday’s hearing will not result in any action because the legislature has adjourned for the year, both Felzkowski and Schneider pledged to reintroduce it next session.

 

Evers vetoes more than two dozen Republican bills

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Democratic Governor Tony Evers has issued more than two dozen vetoes of Republican bills that made it out of the Legislature before recess.

Evers issued 28 vetoes on Friday. Among those bills were measures that would have made it easier to kick people off of unemployment and medical assistance, a bill that would have dissolved the Milwaukee Public Schools District, as well as massive expansion of the school voucher program.

“It is remarkable to me that many supporters of this bill, who commonly express concerns about property taxes when it comes to supporting more than 800,000 public school children in our state, are apparently unfazed by the fiscal impact this bill could have on families due to the way these programs are funded,” Evers said in veto message of the voucher expansion.

“If the Governor had bothered to read the bills we sent to him, he would see that we were giving him the power to be part of the solution for smaller, more accountable, community school districts for Milwaukee. He’s vetoing this bill because he wants to hide from the problem he helped create,” said state Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), author of the bill to break up MPS.

The governor also vetoed a “Parental Bill of Rights” that would have required schools to tell parents their children wanted to change their gender identities and given parents broader leeway on pulling their children from lessons that they viewed as objectionable.

State Supreme Court hears oral arguments over absentee ballot drop boxes

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There were some pointed questions to the head of the group arguing against absentee ballot drop boxes from members of the State Supreme Court.

During oral arguments on Wednesday, Justice Brian Hagedorn tried to figure out where the preferred limits were from Wisconsin Insitute for Law and Libert president Rick Esenberg. “Imagine a mail slot connected to the clerk’s office, but the staff is not there. So, whenever the buildings open, you can walk in, can you drop a ballot in that slot that goes directly to the clerk’s office is that okay?” Esenberg responded, “At this point, we are now outside the presence of the clerk.”

Justice Rebecca Dallet asked Esenberg about other possible ways to deliver a ballot. “Why can’t I hand it to my municipal clerk as I see them walking down the street in a small town? Oh, I meant to mail my ballot. I see you I’m gonna hand you my ballot.”

Under the current language of the statutes, a ballot must be delivered to the clerk, but it does not state how that must be done. Esenberg and WILL say that other parts of the statutes contradict that and that a person should only be allowed to mail a ballot personally or deliver it to a clerk themselves. 

Voting and disability rights advocates say that restrictions on who can help someone deliver a ballot will disenfranchise disabled and elderly voters.

A decision is expected this summer before the fall election season.

Dane Co. Judge finds Speaker Vos in contempt over records requests

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A Dane County judge has found Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in contempt for continually failing to turn over records.

Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn says that Speaker Vos has deliberately withheld emails and texts from watchdog group American Oversight. That group is looking for records from the ongoing Republican elections probe.

Vos now has 14 days to turn over records, before Bailey-Rihn starts fining him 1000 dollars a day. He will also be on the hook for legal fees for American Oversight.

Marquette Poll shows President Biden holds very early lead in 2024 presidential races

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The country is only heading into the midterm elections, but politicians are looking to the 2024 presidential elections.

The new Marquette Law School Poll shows that President Joe Biden has the edge over three potential Republican Challengers nationwide. But poll director Charles Franklin says a lot of people didn’t want to vote for any of the matchups.

“The public is grumpy by a whole lot of measures. And I think this wishing for someone else is also a sign of that grumpy essence kind of non-partisan wishing for someone else.”

Franklin says this is less a chance to start the race for the 2024 election, and more of a way to gauge interest in the race.  

“Our real purpose here is to explore how the Republican Party is thinking about alternatives to President Trump and whether President Trump may run again.”

President Biden showed a lead over former President Donald Trump, former vice president Mike Pence, and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.