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Republicans propose American Family Field funding plan

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Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly have proposed a $614-million plan to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee and upgrade American Family Field. The new plan would raise income taxes on MLB Players and staff, including the Brewers.

“Unfortunately, the amount of money that was generated and has been spent so far, doesn’t even allow the team to remain in Wisconsin unless something is done as quickly as possible,” said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester).

Under the plan, the Brewers will chip in for repairs to American Family Field, including winterizing the park for use year round. “We’ve asked the Brewers to step up and they have the Brewers are going to contribute an additional 100 million dollars over the term of the contract. And that is in addition to their current rent and other capital investments,” said Representative Robert Brooks (R-Saukville).

The plan also requires investments from Milwaukee city and county.

The plan unveiled Monday was greeted cautiously by Democrats. In a statement, a spokesperson for Governor Tony Evers said it’s unfortunate Republicans rejected a proposal Evers’ made earlier this year, to spend $290 million in state money to fund Brewers ballpark renovations. Evers looks forward to reviewing the Republican proposal and continuing conversations.

Assembly Democratic Leader Greta Neubauer of Racine and Assistant Leader Kalan Haywood of Milwaukee said the Republican proposal falls short of recognizing the regional benefit of AmFam Field and places too great of a financial burden on the city and county of Milwaukee.

Kaul files lawsuit following Senate vote to oust WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe

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As expected, legal action quickly followed a vote on the status of Wisconsin’s elections administrator. The Wisconsin State Senate voted 22-11 along partisan lines Thursday to not accept the appointment of Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe – with Republicans effectively attempting to fire her from the position.

Democrats argued the action was not properly before the chamber and that Wolfe may remain in the post.

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul agreed and said Republicans were out of order because Wolfe didn’t need to be reappointed. “There is in fact no appointment, the Commission was clear that there is no appointment. And more importantly, Wisconsin law is clear that there’s no appointment because the votes of four commissioners in favor of an appointment were required.”

Kaul filed a lawsuit in Dane County Court, asking a judge to rule the Senate action invalid and to prohibit appointment of an interim administrator.

Democrats argued that a recent state supreme court ruling that allowed a Republican appointee to the Natural Resources Board to stay on past the term of his office also applies to Wolfe. Kaul said the Senate has no power to reject her.

Wolfe said she won’t leave her position unless ordered to by a court. “The Senate’s vote today to remove me is not a referendum on the job I do, but rather a reaction to not achieving the political outcome they desire,” she said Thursday.

“It’s unfortunate that political pressures have forced a group of our lawmakers to embrace unfounded rumors about my leadership, my role on the commission, and our system of elections.”

Inconclusive Senate committee hearing on status of WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe

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At the Capitol, the status of Wisconsin’s chief elections officer remains in doubt. A public hearing on Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe opened with Beloit Democrat Mark Spreitzer arguing there was no nomination for the Senate committee to vote on.

“This committee cannot take up a nomination that has not been made, and so I make a point of order that this nomination is not properly before us,” said Spreitzer.

Committee chair, Germantown Republican Dan Knodl, rejected the opinion by attorneys for the legislature. “And they’re just that, they are opinions. This is not a court of law, here it is a public hearing.”

Rock County Clerk Lisa Tollefson spoke in support of Wolfe, who was was appointed by the bi-partisan, six-member Commission in February of 2018 and unanimously confirmed by the Wisconsin State Senate in May of 2019 for a four-year term.

“Her strength and knowledge, her ability to run a tight ship and keep things running amid immense intense pressure is amazing,” Tollefson said.

But former state Supreme Court Justice Micheal Gableman – whose investigation failed to uncover malfeasance in the 2020 election – was critical.  “The record speaks for itself, and nothing speaks as highly as the fact that she didn’t come here today to tell you about all the good work she’s been doing.”

In the end, Knodl, said he hasn’t decided whether to hold a vote on Wolfe’s continued tenure at WEC. A vote to remove her would likely end up in court.

NWS offers tips to beat the heat this week

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Be safe as extremely hot temperatures move through Wisconsin this week. National Weather Service Meteorologist Richard Mamrosh said you should keep an eye on loved ones in the heat.

“Check on older people that might live alone, that don’t have air conditioning, make sure they’re okay. Don’t leave kids or pets in a hot car.”

Mamrosh said if you don’t have to be outside, don’t go outside. “It would be better to, you know, do those activities early in the morning, like shortly after sunrise or just before sunset. Because during the late afternoon hours, that’s when the heat indices will be highest.”

Parts of southern Wisconsin could see heat indices into the triple digits Wednesday and Thursday. Communities across the region have made cooling centers available.

Renowned Menominee leader Ada Deer dies at 88

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Wisconsin and national Native American leader Ada Deer has died.

She was the first female head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and first woman to serve as chairperson of the Menominee Nation. Speaking on a UW-Alumni podcast in 2019, Deer said she didn’t set out to be the first of all these things. 

“It just kind of works out that way because I’m willing to put in the work and it interests me and I have a passion for people and passion for life!” Deer said she spun a college scholarship from the Menominee nation into her success “Then the doors open up and then more things happen. And so I’m accustomed to succeeding not failing.”

Deer’s work helped fend off federal efforts in the 1950s to eliminate America’s tribal nations, and allowed the Menominee to be once again recognized as a sovereign nation.

Governor Evers praised Deer on social media, calling her a trailblazer and a champion. Deer was 88.

 

Public support for child care providers is another partisan divide in Wisconsin

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A Wisconsin child care advocate says public funding called for by Governor Tony Evers is essential. The Democratic governor included funding for child care providers as part of a special session bill he wants the Wisconsin Legislature to consider next month,

Ruth Schmidt is executive director of Wisconsin Early Childhood Association. “The governor is proposing this major $340 million investment into continuing funding for Child Care Counts, that was part of his budget. We did a ton of advocacy on that. It is unfortunate that childcare has become a little bit of a political hot potato in Wisconsin, because we just don’t have time for that.”

Schmidt said many child care providers will be forced to raise rates for families or even close if more funding isn’t available. “Working families with young children, they have their backs up against the wall in really big ways right now, and it’s gonna get worse before it gets better.”

Speaker Robin Vos quickly rejected Evers’ plan and the larger workforce development bill and said Assembly Republicans plan to take up a tax cut instead. In a statement, Vos called the governor’s proposal “Another 12-month patch to match what they just lost through the federal stimulus plan. It is unsustainable and does nothing to address the long-term problem faced by the childcare industry.”

State Senator Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) said the money Evers is requesting is unreasonable. “Republicans are making sure that we’re not being trapped into spending money that the federal government has pulled away from us,” Tomczyk told WSAU in an interview. “This is a program where the federal government gave us money to do this stuff, and to pay people to make sure that there’s daycare  during the pandemic. And now the Feds are not paying the money. And now they expect us to continue paying money at that level.”

Tomczyk was referring to the federally funding directed to Child Care Counts, which will expire early next year. Schmidt said that will put further stress on families and providers.  

With the special legislative session to address the need already rejected, at least one local government is reallocating some ARPA funds towards child care providers.

Rock County Board Supervisor Bill Wilson stressed there’s still much work to be done. “This is not a solution to childcare, but we have a childcare crisis and we’ve already kicked the can down the road previously on this issue. The crisis only gets worse as time passes.”

The county board last week approved moving ARPA funding from Small Business and Nonprofit Grant Programs to Childcare Grant Programs. The grants will be tied to how many kids individual child care centers are serving. “This is a short term help for childcare providers,” Wilson said “I would point out that many of these childcare providers are small businesses.”  

Schmidt, with the Early Childhood Association, argued that public funding for child care should not be a partisan issue. “Republicans consume childcare, Democrats consume childcare and completely apolitical people do and and we just need funding for it.”

WSAU and WCLO contributed to this report     

Vos rejects Evers’ latest special session request

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Governor Tony Evers has called a September 20 special session of the Wisconsin Legislature. At a Tuesday news conference in Milwaukee, the Democratic governor said he wants lawmakers to take up a $1 billion workforce development package, including $365 million to support child care providers. 

Republican leaders have previously gaveled in and out of such sessions, but Evers said he doesn’t think that will happen this time. “Because at the end of the day, I know that Republicans do not want to be responsible for farmers, hospitals, schools and other businesses in their district snot being able to find workers because parents can’t find care for their kids.”

But a Republican legislative leader said Evers’ latest special session request isn’t going to happen.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos called the governor’s plan “a rehash of Evers’ tax and spend budget.” Republicans rejected efforts to add childcare funding to the state budget earlier this year, and Vos says additional spending won’t solve the childcare shortage Wisconsin families face. Assembly Republicans instead plan to send a tax cut to Evers. 

State Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz sworn in at Capitol Rotunda

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Former Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz is Wisconsin’s newest state supreme court justice.

She was sworn into office Tuesday afternoon. “I look forward to serving alongside all of you, along with Chief Justice Ziegler and Justice Bradley to uphold the Constitution of our state and deliver on the promise of justice for every Wisconsinite.”

Protasiewicz says her time as a judge and prosecutor will help her administer justice fairly to all. “I’ve witnessed firsthand the importance of upholding our laws, holding people accountable, and applying justice fairly. And equally.”

Protasiewicz’s election shifts the balance on the court to a liberal majority. She defeated conservative Daniel Kelly in the spring elections in a hotly contested race. Major court cases could soon be before the supreme court, including challenges to the state’s abortion ban and how the state handles elections. 

Dane County judge says 1849 law can’t be used to ban abortions

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A Dane County judge will allow a challenge to continue against an 1849 law that’s been used to ban abortion.

Judge Diane Schlipper ruled Friday against a motion by Sheboygan County DA Joel Urmanski to dismiss that lawsuit. Schlipper said that the law is meant to ban “feticide” and not consensual medical abortion because that’s how the state supreme court ruled the last time it came before justices.

She also said updated languages elsewhere in the state statutes allow for medical abortions and never changed the wording in the 1849 law.

If this ruling is challenged, it will likely come before the state supreme court, which will have a progressive majority starting in August.

Evers partial vetoes of state budget include new K-12 funding for 400 years

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Democrat Governor Tony Evers has used the line-item veto to give Wisconsin school districts their largest base revenue increase in history. 

“I have also used my broad veto authority to provide school districts with predictable long-term increases for the foreseeable future.”

The governor cut words and hyphens from a provision on revenue increases in the Republican-authored state budget to put a 325 dollar per year per pupil increase into revenue limits for schools for the next 400 years. He also eliminated a Republican proposal to remove the state’s top tax bracket and put back over 180 positions at the UW-System. Republicans say Evers is being irresponsible with taxpayer money, and creating unsustainable programs. 

Evers says all of these vetoes were necessary. “They sent the budget back to my desk without making critical investments in key areas that they know and have acknowledged are essential to the success of our state.”

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos voiced his disappointment on Wednesday. “Vetoing tax cuts on the top two brackets provides hardly any tax relief for truly middle-class families. His decision also creates another economic disadvantage for Wisconsin, leaving our top bracket higher than most of our neighboring states, including Illinois.”