Governor Tony Evers

Republican legislative leaders were quick to respond Monday, as Governor Tony Evers called for a special session of the Wisconsin Legislature to take up two gun-control bills. Evers wants the Legislature to take up one bill creating universal background checks for most handgun purchases, and another bill to give judges the power to take weapons away from people deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.

Today I called the Legislature to meet to take up 2 critically important bills that will save lives and reduce gun violence in Wisconsin by requiring universal background checks and creating an ERPO process. These bills are supported by an overwhelmingly majority of Wisconsinites pic.twitter.com/yQonuK6Nab

— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) October 21, 2019

Majority Republicans aren’t required to debate or vote on the bills, but the announcement gives Democrats an opportunity to spotlight the issue.

Speaker Robin Vos

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos released a statement: 

“A special session call will not change where my Assembly Republican colleagues and I stand on protecting the 2nd Amendment rights of Wisconsin citizens. As I have repeatedly said, we will not entertain proposals that infringe on our constitutional rights. Today’s call is another indication that Governor Evers stands ready to confiscate guns in our state.

“Governor Evers would rather score political points than effectively govern Wisconsin, where a vast majority want their 2nd Amendment rights protected. Assembly Republicans are committed to bringing people together by working on legislation that addresses important issues affecting the state including water quality, suicide prevention, homelessness and adoption.”

Senator Scott Fitzgerald

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald released a statement:

“Liberals across the country are upping their rhetoric in support of taking guns from law-abiding citizens. After the governor opened the door to a long-term plan of gun confiscation at his press conference last month, it’s easy to see how today’s action could just be the first attack on the Second Amendment. The Senate will not be part of a drawn-out strategy to infringe on constitutional rights.”

After the governor opened the door to a long-term plan of gun confiscation at his press conference last month, it’s easy to see how today’s action could just be the first attack on the Second Amendment. https://t.co/p7umkH7ytF

— Scott Fitzgerald (@SenFitzgerald) October 21, 2019

A Marquette Law School Poll conducted in August showed more than 80 percent of the public supports gun control.

In new poll, 80% overall support universal background checks for firearms sales, 16% oppose. #mulawpoll

— MULawPoll (@MULawPoll) September 4, 2019

This is the first special session Evers has called as governor.

A proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution would limit a governor’s ability to use the veto power to increase spending in the state budget. State Senator Dave Craig (R – Big Bend) is the author.

“By passing this resolution the legislature will consider the historic trend to prevent gubernatorial intervention into the legislature’s purview, regardless of which party holds the executive branch. And this would shield taxpayers from further unauthorized spending increases in the future.”

Craig testified on his proposed amendment before a state Senate committee on Tuesday. “This has been an ongoing, evolutionary process, by which I think the legislature, the people of Wisconsin and the courts have all winnowed that authority to the concept that the governor cannot use the line item veto, the partial veto authority, to increase funds.”
Craig said he received feedback from constituents, after Governor Tony Evers used the veto authority to move an additional $65 million to K-12 schools in the current budget.

“It’s unfortunate that Republicans are upset the governor used his broad veto authority to provide more money to our schools. Instead of devoting all their time and energy toward trying to override the will of the people and seeking political retribution for an election that happened almost a year ago, Republicans should get to work on the pressing issues facing our state,” Evers’ spokesperson Britt Cudaback said in a statement.

Constitutional amendments must pass two consecutive sessions of the legislature and a statewide referendum in order to go into effect.

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With the waterfalls of the Eau Claire Dells as a backdrop, Wausau School Board President Tricia Zunker announced her intentions to seek a much higher office in Washington, DC.

The Associate Justice of the Ho-Chunk Nation Supreme Court will seek the 7th Congressional District seat vacated by Sean Duffy in late September.

Zunker says she’s been considering a run for the seat long before Duffy’s announcement back in August that he would be leaving Congress. “This has been in the works for a bit. I had intended down the road to run for this seat, it was something I had considered in great detail.”

She plans on running on the Democratic ticket but says her first job will be to represent the people, something she already does on the Wausau School Board. “It is always a good idea to remember your focus. We are here to serve the people.

“We all want to afford our health care, we all want to feed our families without breaking the bank, we want to make sure our farmers stay in business, and we want to make sure that our environment is protected,” adding those are all “people over party” issues.

Zunker adds that she supports finding a way to comingle private-sector health care with a public marketplace option as opposed to medicare-for-all. She declined to go in-depth on the recent impeachment inquiry into President Trump because she expects the matter will be cleared up before the special election is head but did say it is the job of Congress to uphold the constitution.

Zunker chose to hold Monday’s announcement in the park because of its significance to her family, saying entertainment funds were hard to come by so they took several day trips to the park. She also promised to support legislation to natural resources like those found in the park.

Members of Zunker’s family and Elders of the Ho-Chunk Nation were also in attendance during Monday’s event, some displaying the Tribal flag.

During both her opening remarks and a one-on-one interview after, she made it clear that she feels the direct leap from local to national politics is not too much for her. “I’m incredibly competent, I”m a hard worker, smart, fierce, I’m determined, and I’m ready. I can do it.”

Zunker became the second Democrat to announce their intention to run for the seat after Vietnam War Veteran Lawrence Dale announced his intentions, meaning both parties will now require a primary before the general election for the seat.

Dale, a Michigan resident, made his announcement outside the 7th district boundaries in Madison on Monday but reportedly promised he would move to Hurley “in the legal sense” soon.

It’s still unclear when the election for the seat will be held as state and federal officials attempt to find a spring 2020 date that will satisfy both regulations.

WSAU

A contentious debate saw the state Assembly approve rules to accommodate a disabled lawmaker. Representative Jimmy Anderson (D-Fitchburg), argued his case on the Assembly floor.

“Remember, I was just asking to use the damn speaker phones. Something the Senate is already doing, something we’re already doing during joint committees,” he said.

Anderson explained to his colleagues that he’s been in a wheelchair ever since a drunk driver slammed into his family’s car. The crash killed Anderson’s parents and younger brother and left him in a wheelchair as a result of a severed spinal cord.

In the end, Republican leadership removed language dealing with veto overrides from the a package, leaving the disability accommodations in place. “The changes to the committee process allowing him to phone in, allowing anybody to phone in that is certified with a disability, and the things on the floor that help us ensure that we don’t have lengthy delays and overnight sessions,” explained Majority Leader Jim Steinke (R-Kaukana).

The vote Thursday ended a months-long dispute, in which Anderson had retained a disability rights group to represent him in a potential lawsuit.

It was a busy floor session on Tuesday in the State Senate, with dozens of appointments and bills on the agenda.

Senators started the session by approving all of Governor Tony Evers’ Cabinet picks. Those appointments had been held up for several sessions before making it to the floor.

One pair of bills will change how the state handles sexual assault testing kits. One bill lays out distinct procedures for what happens once a test is performed, something that State Senator Robert Cowles says was oddly not in place. 

“We have no statutory procedures currently for sexual assault kit processing. We need to have that. We need to have a clear chain of evidence to prevent the kinds of problems that have occurred in the past.”

The other bill requires police and investigators to keep victims appraised on when their kits are being tested. State Senator Patty Schachtner says that’s vital after years of neglect when it came to DNA testing at the crime lab.

“It empowers victims and survivors, and we need to really support our victims, and this helps them track through the justice process. So I hope everyone supports it.”

Senators also approved a bill that would make the state’s industrial hemp program permanent and afford some protections to farmers who grow it.

The bill formalizes policies from the state ag department on how to handle growers of hemp, and would protect farmers who unknowingly grow hemp that contains too much THC.

Senator Lena Taylor of Milwaukee voted for the measure. 

“This is an important industry that we want to be a part of. But without this bill, the federal government would be in control. Those of you who feel strongly about state’s rights? Today is the day that you should be voting for this if you support states rights, because otherwise you’re giving the federal government control over your farmers.”

The bill also modifies Wisconsin’s hemp laws to match language found in the new U S D A Farm Bill. 

The families of officers and EMTs killed while on duty will not lose their health insurance coverage under another bill. State Senator Van Wangaarrd says it’s something that that state should have had in place a while ago. 

“I’m sure that the law enforcement officers throughout the state and the EMTs will really appreciate the thoughtfulness in caring for their living spouses.”

State Senator Dave Hansen says the bill will match a measure that’s already in place for the surviving families of firefighters who died while on duty. 

“We were able to do this for fire personnel several years ago. I’m very proud of being a co author of this. But this today is about doing the right thing together.”

The state will pay for that insurance through the Police and Fire Protection fee that residents pay on their phone and wireless bills.