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Evers vetoes 6 Republican elections bills

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At the Capitol in Madison on Tuesday, Democratic Governor Tony Evers vetoed six Republican bills which were crafted to restrict Wisconsin election laws.

“At the end of the day, these bills add unnecessary and damaging hurdles, for Wisconsinites to participate in our democracy,” Evers said.

Among the bills were efforts to cut down on the number of absentee ballot drop boxes and limits on how long people could get help voting in assisted living homes.

“Wisconsin has long been a laboratory of democracy, but in recent years we are used as a Petri dish for Republican plans to undermine that democracy,” said Evers. “Well not anymore, not today, not as long as I’m governor of the great state of Wisconsin.”

Many of the bills would have acted on complaints from former President Trump and his allies in the wake of his loss in 2020.

“The governor is making another momentous mistake with his veto pen. While he claims these bills are ‘anti-democracy,’ his actions speak louder than words. He is satisfied with the status quo and refusing to improve future elections.

“These bills closed loopholes, standardized procedures, established uniformity, guaranteed only the voter can correct their own ballot and protected votes of seniors in long-term care.

“I am very disappointed Governor Evers refuses to do the right thing.”

*SB 212 sought to prohibit local elections clerks from filling in missing information on absentee ballot envelopes.

*SB 210 sought to allow election observers to be no more than 3 feet from tables at which voting activities are occurring. Current law says observers must be between 3 feet and 8 feet away.

*SB 205 sought to overhaul policies for special voting deputies that assist voting in assisted care facilities.

*SB 204 would have revamped procedures for those who claim indefinitely confined status due to age, infirmary or illness. That includes a provision that sought to require those voters to provide a copy of their voter ID with their application if they have one.

*SB 203 would have explicitly authorized the use of drop boxes to collect absentee ballots, but also sought to place various restrictions on their use.

*SB 292 sought to require municipalities that broadcast canvassing proceedings live to record it and retain the recording for 22 months.

Republicans vote to block UW System COVID-19 fall protocols

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University of Wisconsin System leaders will have to run future COVID-19 rules past state lawmakers. On a 6-4 party line vote, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules declared Tuesday that the UW System must issue an emergency order to enact pandemic protocols like mandatory testing and masks.

“No public hearing. No opportunity even for the legislators on the committee to discuss the issue at hand,” said Representative Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) a committee member.

The committee voted by ballot on Tuesday. The action comes amid a steady increase in new COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin and across the U.S.

“I think they understand and know that they’re on the wrong side of this one, as they have been throughout this entire pandemic,” said Senator Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee), another committee member.

“The path forward in addressing Covid-19 is not through excessive government mandates, but in the restoration of Americans being able to make voluntary informed decisions based on their individual health circumstances,” said Senator Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) the committee co-chair who introduced the resolution last week.

“If the university proceeds with putting these measures in place, as I think they need to – it’s imperative – I would not be surprised to see the Republicans sue,” Subeck said. “We have seen Robin Vos and Devin LeMahieu perfectly willing to spend loads of taxpayer money on ridiculous lawsuits.”

Republican state Senator wants to block UW System COVID-19 protocols

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Senator Steve Nass

A Republican state legislator is seeking to block the University of Wisconsin System’s COVID-19 plans for the fall.

State Senator Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) wants the UW System to get legislative approval for any virus-related regulations. Nass co-chairs the legislature’s administrative rules committee. Nass explained his decision in media release on Wednesday.   

Unfortunately, some chancellors in the UW System consider themselves mini-Andrea Palms not beholden to following state law and moving quickly to take advantage of the Delta-variant hysteria to enact excessive Covid-19 mandates.  The legislature should not drag its feet in utilizing the powers we have to prevent state agencies from abusing the statutory and constitutional rights of citizens as was done in 2020.

 

Interim UW System President Tommy Thompson

Senator Kelda Roys (D-Madison) serves on the rules committee, and her district includes the Madison campus. “It’s just hard to see how any rational person could think that prohibiting any COVID precautions is a good idea. I mean unless you really think that unmitigated spread of COVID is a good thing,” said Roys.

Interim UW System President Tommy Thompson did not directly address Nass’ proposal, but expressed his concerns in a statement released on Thursday.

Given my experience as a former United States Health and Human Services Secretary, I know the biggest threat to in-person classes this fall would be actions that strip the UW System of the tools it has so successfully used to date to address outbreaks and reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Nass plans to hold a paper ballot vote Tuesday in the committee, in which Republicans hold a 6-to-4 majority. His effort to restrict the UW System’s efforts come with Wisconsin the midst of an increase in new COVID-19 infections.

Assembly Republicans fail to overturn veto on federal unemployment benefits

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Assembly Republicans unsuccessfully attempted to overturn Governor Evers’ veto of a bill that would have ended federal unemployment benefits.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says it’s unfair that businesses have to compete with the federal government. 

“If you pay people over $17 an hour tax free to stay home and not work there are going to be fewer people working it’s not rocket science.”

Minority leader Gordon Hintz says the numbers that Republicans and business leaders are quoting just don’t make sense. 

“You can look right at the unemployment numbers. They continue to go down.  Fewer people are filing unemployment; they’ve gone down the $300 bump.”

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is 3 point 9 percent, and is below the national average, and many workers have left the retail and service sectors for other positions during the pandemic. 

Governor Evers signs state budget with some vetoes to GOP policy items

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Wisconsin families should be seeing an average income tax cut of 800 dollars under a new state budget signed today by Governor Tony Evers.

Evers says he’s used his veto powers to target those tax cuts to families across the state. 

“I’m newly providing tax relief to more than 1.6 million Wisconsin taxpayers at a time when our economy and Working Families across our state need it the most.”

Republicans had sent the Governor a budget that was far below the spending he requested in February, but Evers says there’s still room for tax cuts for Wisconsin families, along with increases in spending. 

“When combined with prior reductions 2.4 million filers will be receiving tax relief in Wisconsin.”

The Governor also cut a number of policy decisions the GOP added to the budget, including a cut in spending for the lieutenant Governor’s security detail, as well as a proposed drug testing requirement to get unemployment insurance. 

Legislative Republicans say they should be getting credit for the tax cuts.

Joint Finance Committee co-chair Mark Born says Evers made changes that will hurt people, like not changing income tax withholding tables.

“He vetoes the updates to the tax withholding tables that takes money out of people’s paychecks and keeps it instead with the government.”

Evers also shot down a removal of the personal property tax, and Born says they’ll work to get that passed through other means in the future.

Lawmakers wait for Evers to act on state budget

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Republican legislative leaders are urging the governor to sign the state budget bill passed this week. For the first time in 14 years, the two-year spending plan got bipartisan support.

Seven Democrats in the state Senate and Assembly joined Republicans in voting for it this week.

Governor Tony Evers said in Green Bay Thursday that he is “looking forward” to spending time going through it. When he officially gets the budget he will have six days to sign it, make changes, or veto it.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says members of the Joint Finance Committee worked hard to minimize opportunities for Evers to make changes. The budget spends $87.5 billion, which is far less than what Evers proposed in his original document.

Assembly passes Republican state budget bill

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The Wisconsin Senate takes up a Republican authored state budget bill on Wednesday. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said the $87.5 billion plan passed by that chamber Tuesday night is a big improvement, over what Governor Tony Evers proposed.

“His budget had dramatic tax increases, it had massive increases in spending, expansions of welfare, legalizing marijuana, all kids of social policy issues that the Joint Finance Committee took out of the budget and reconfigured, to make sure that this reflects the priorities of all of Wisconsin, not just liberal Democrats in certain parts of the state,” Vos said.

“Budgets are about priorities, and the Republicans’ biggest priority has been doing everything possible to undermine this governor, to obstruct oppose and minimize the success of Governor Evers,” said Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh).

Four Assembly Democrats joined all Republicans in voting for the budget. Once the Senate passes it, Evers can veto portions, or all of it.

The Republican budget plan increases state spending by 5.4 percent over current levels. Democratic Governor Tony Evers wanted to spend some $91 billion over two years. Once the Senate passes it, Evers can veto portions, or all of it.

 

Elections related bills headed to Evers

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Several elections related bills are headed to Governor Tony Evers, after passing the state Assembly on party line votes.

Representative Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit) is Minority Caucus Chair. “These bills are designed to add more hurdles for voters to get over, and more pitfalls that voters need to avoid,” Spreitzer said. “They are actively hostile to voting, to voters and to the right to vote itself.”

Speaker Robin Vos said the bills are needed. “The goal is to make sure . . that every single person has the chance to vote, but that we guarantee that the confidence in the election, which has been severely undermined by the actions of a few over the last election cycle, hopefully are a thing of the past,” Vos said.

The bills include SB 204, which would require indefinitely confined voters to apply for absentee ballots annually and end an exemption for providing proof of ID. It would also require all absentee voters to include their ID each time they apply for a ballot. Currently, voters are only required to provide ID verification the first time they vote absentee.

Assembly Republicans pass bill to ban trans women from high school and college women’s sports

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Republicans in the state Assembly have passed a pair of bills that restrict how trans women can take part in high school and college sports.

The bill’s author, Republican Barb Dietrich, says the bill would create a separate but equal co-ed branch of youth sports that trans women would be allowed to participate in.

“If a biological female is perfectly comfortable competing against a biological male, this legislation provides a way to do so!”

Democrat Lee Snodgrass says the move is a cynical way to attack trans athletes. “If we really truly care about women’s sports issues, we should be working on closing the pay gap in women’s sports. We should be making investments in sports and promoting equal economically opportunities for these girls and women.”

Snodgrass says trans women already have it tough competing. “They suffer from higher rates of bullying, anxiety, depression, all of which – news flash – make it more difficult to train and be competitive.”

Dietrich says that children who are trans need mental help rather than help competing in sports. “Let’s get them the care that they need on the mental health level, rather than allowing them to displace women who have worked so hard to reach this achievement level.”

Governor Evers says he’ll be vetoing the bill if it makes it to his desk.

Governor Evers pleased with Supreme Court decision not to hear ACA challenge

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Governor Tony Evers says he’s pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear a challenge to the Affordable Care Act.

In a 7 to 2 decision released on Thursday, the Supreme Court said that a group of Republican states couldn’t show that the Affordable Care Act was harming them, because the mandate to have insurance doesn’t carry a penalty. 

Evers said that healthcare isn’t just for the wealthy, quote “Today’s decision is a critically important victory for our work to make sure everyone has access to quality, affordable healthcare coverage.” Governor Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul withdrew from the lawsuit in 2019 .