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Evers wants to ease access to marijauna

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Governor Tony Evers announces he’ll use his proposed state budget to to legalize medical marijuana and decriminalize possession of small amounts (less than 25 grams) of the drug.

At the Capitol on Monday, the Democratic governor indicating he thinks there’s bipartisan support for the changes.

“I believe that there are Republicans out there that think this is something that’s important, not only around the issue of medical marijuana, but also decriminalizing small amounts,” Evers said.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos released a statement in which he said Evers proposals “appear to go too far,” by making access to recreational marijuana easier, and providing a pathway to full legalization, which Vos doesn’t support.

“Governor Evers did not really run on decriminalization, so it is kind of new to us,” Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke said. “It is going to more about the language that he produces, so we will have to see.”

Evers proposal would also allow for those convicted of having small amounts of marijuana to get their criminal records expunged.

 

Legislators seek to end special sales tax for Miller Park

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A group of state legislators want to get rid of the Five County sales tax for Miller Park.

State Senator Van Wanggaard says the people of southeast Wisconsin have paid enough for upkeep at the stadium and he’d like to see it all ended by the end of the year.

“I’ve had so many constituents come to me and say ‘when is this going to be over?’ Well this bill that we’ve introduced that we’re putting forward will end that by December 31st of this year.”

Wanggaard says residents have paid out more than half a billion dollars in taxes since the tax went into effect 22 years ago.

West Allis girl fends off kidnapper with a bag of candy

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A scary situation for a student in West Allis on Thursday after a fifth grader at Horace Mann Middle School says a man tried to kidnap her.

He allegedly grabbed her by the wrist and tried to pull her into his car, but she fought him off with her bag of Valentine’s candy.

Local resident Chini Lorenzana says she’s proud of the girl. “She did everything right and she told the school when she got here and that’s pretty awesome. Pretty brave of her.”

Police say the man is described as possibly Hispanic, between 30 and 40 years old, around 5 and a half feet tall and walked with a limp. He was driving a white S U V with larger than normal tires.

Senate Republicans reject Kaepernick’s name in Black History Month resolution

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The Wisconsin Legislature’s Black History Month resolution moved to the state Senate floor on Wednesday. An amended version offered by Democrats included the name of former NFL quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick.

On Tuesday, Republicans in the Assembly removed Kaepernick’s name from the resolution drafted by the Legislature’s Black Caucus.

Milwaukee Democrat, Senator Lena Taylor, said the nation sees an historic moment in Wisconsin. “See you take us back, to a time where African-Americans had to have permission to speak, to read, to think, to what they should think.”

Senate Republicans toed the line,voting to table the amended resolution after Democrats spoke on it for more than three hours.

The former San Francisco 49’er brought attention to police brutality against African-Americans by kneeling during the National Anthem prior to games. Taylor pointed out that he’s also donated more than a millions dollars of his own money to organizations around the nation, including in his native Milwaukee.

Assembly Black History Month resolution deletes Kaepernick

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A Black History Month resolution almost failed to pass the Wisconsin Assembly on Tuesday. A proposed resolution from the Legislature’s Black Caucus honored a number of individuals. But at least one of those names apparently triggered some white Republicans.

“I think the biggest one was Colin Kaepernick,” for obvious reasons,” Majority Leader Jim Steinke said in comments prior to the start of Tuesday’s floor debate.

Milwaukee Representative LaKeshia Myers, on the Assembly floor later, said she and other Black Democrats thought the Wisconsin-born Kaepernick deserved to included in the resolution.

“He decided to take on ownership of a problem that he saw, which was police brutality,” Myers said.

AUDIO: Rep. LaKeshia Myers (:30)

The chamber ended up unanimously passing a resolution with Kaepernick’s name deleted. Myers later asked the Assembly Chief Clerk to change her vote on the resolution.

“To support the watered down version of this resolution would mean supporting the suppression of the African-Americans fundamental right to support injustice,” Myers said in a statement. Madison Representative Chris Taylor tweeted that she was also changing her vote.

Assembly passes GOP tax break bill

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Republicans in the state Assembly have passed a middle-class tax cut that’s at odds with Governor Tony Evers, who has his own tax cut plan.

The GOP bill uses a state surplus to fund a ten percent middle class tax cut. Evers plan, which he’ll introduce as part of his state budget proposal, uses some of that surplus, but also caps a manufacturing tax credit. Republicans call that a jobs killer.

“I can’t understand how we could possibly use up all of the surplus for this, and then ignore the rest of the budget,” Evers said Tuesday.

The Assembly passed the measure 61-33, with all Republicans for it and all Democrats against it.

Evers to join governors climate coalition

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Wisconsin’s Tony Evers is joining a group of governors focused on climate change. The U.S. Climate Alliance formed two years ago to implement the Paris climate accord at the state level.

It’s goals include reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The 19 member coalition includes three Republican governors.

Icy conditions led to I-94 pile-up

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Investigators are getting a picture of what led to a massive pile up on I-94 nears Osseo. Conditions were deteriorating at the time of the pile up shortly after noon Sunday. Lieutenant Les Melsna with the Wisconsin State Patrol in Eau Claire says it was icy.

“You can go 60, 70 miles an hour on ice, until you have to steer or hit your brakes, and then the party’s over,” Melsna said.

Travel across much of the state is hazardous again today. “Don’t go out there if you don’t have to, and if you have to, you really have to give yourself that following distance, you have to reduce your speed,” Melsna said.

Seven semi-trucks and more than two dozen other vehicles were involved Sunday. One person was critically injured and seven others required medical treatment.

Walker could fetch up to 25K per speech

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Governor Scott Walker (WRN photo)

A Virginia-based national speakers group has added former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to its list. Walker – who lost his reelection bid to Democrat Tony Evers last November – will charge $15,000 to $25,000 to speak on topics like “the power of faith in times of crisis” and “insights on the current and future political landscape in America.”

Other speakers represented by World Wide Speakers Group include General John Kelly, Doctor Sanjay Gupta and former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina.

Finance committee approves GOP middle-class tax cut

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A Republican-authored middle-class tax cut has passed the legislature’s finance committee. “We have a reasonable, simple plan, said Representative Mark Born, part of the Republican majority who advanced the plan over the objections of Democrats. “We’ve collected too much money, we’re going to give some it back.

The Republican bill pays for a tax cut out of a state surplus. Democratic Governor Tony Evers has a tax cut plan as well. He pay for it by capping a tax credit for manufacturers, something opposed by Republicans.

Thursday’s Joint Finance Committee vote was 10-3, with three members absent. Republicans amended AB-10 with an “emergency clause.”

“I think it would have been better suited for us to table this, take a look at his (Evers’) budget, and then decide if this was necessary,” said Senator LaTonya Johnson, a Milwaukee Democrat.

Joint Finance Committee co-chair, Republican Representative John Nygren, said numbers from the Legislative Fiscal Bureal reveal that Evers’ plan is tilted more towards higher income households than that from Republicans. “Somebody’s go to be spinning in their chair somewhere,” Nygren said.

AUDIO: Rep. John Nygren :34 

The Republican plan, which calls for tapping a budget surplus to pay for a $340 million annual tax cut that would net an average reduction of $170, now heads to the Assembly for a vote next week.

A spokesman for Evers called the GOP plan “fiscally irresponsible.” Evers will present his state budget proposal later this month.