Wisconsin Right Now

Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly are taking the first step to reign in some of the governor’s veto power. Lawmakers on Tuesday took up Assembly Joint Resolution 112, which would change the Wisconsin Constitution to stop the governor from raising a tax or a fee on his own. “Wisconsin's unique partial veto is considered one of the most powerful policy tools in the country,” Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, told reporters. “From Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson's infamous Vanna White veto to Democrat Gov. Tony Evers 402-year tax increase, we have seen abuse of the partial veto addressed with proposed constitutional amendments by legislatures nearly 30 times in the last century.” Nedweski said this proposed constitutional amendment would apply to Evers specifically but would apply to all future governors as well by banning the governor from single-handedly increasing taxes or creating fees. “The will of the people is the law of the land, not the will of the go...

Wisconsin’s assembly speaker is not calling his proposal for medical marijuana dead, but he says it’s not going to happen this year. Speaker Robin Vos told reporters Thursday there are too many different views of marijuana to find a consensus on a strict-medical only plan. “I think we have now seen, unfortunately, people who from the very beginning have said that they have concerns that this will lead to widespread recreational marijuana and many of my colleagues on the other side continue to say that that is their goal which of course that's their right,” Vos said. Vos’ plan would create five state-owned marijuana dispensaries that would sell non-smoking marijuana to people with 15 specific health conditions. Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate, specifically, don’t like the idea of state-owned pot shops. “I still think we have the votes in the Assembly to pass it,” Vos added. “I've not had anybody come to me who was a supporter and say they have changed their posit...

The top Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly is not saying there will never be a vote to impeach the state’s elections chief, but there won’t be a vote anytime soon. [caption id="attachment_95919" align="alignleft" width="200"] Robin Vos[/caption] Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday there’s not enough support among Republicans to call for a vote to oust Meagan Wolfe as Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator. “We had a brief discussion about it, and we are nowhere near a consensus,” Vos said. A handful of Republican lawmakers are demanding Vos call for an impeachment vote. They want Wolfe out for how she handled the 2020 election, and how she has responded to Republican questions about her job performance since then. Part of the GOP demands include a threat to oust Vos if he doesn’t act. State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menonomnee Falls, on Monday accused Vos of protecting Wolfe. “Why is Speaker Vos so c...

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says the U.S. Supreme Court will have the final word on Janet Protasiewicz's recusal in the legislative redistricting cases after a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice said he did not believe there was a strong enough case to impeach her at this time. “Justice Protasiewicz should have recused herself. We think the United States Supreme Court precedent compels her recusal, and the United States Supreme Court will have the last word here," Vos said in a statement. “Justice Protasiewicz is asking to be taken at her word that she will apply the law. Given the Wisconsin Supreme Court is limiting its review of the redistricting case to two questions, legal contiguity and separation of powers, applying the law should be straightforward. The Wisconsin Supreme Court addressed these very questions less than two years ago, and the law remains the same.” https://twitter.com/mattsmith_news/status/1711766721273426006 Whether Protasiewicz should recuse...

The Assembly Republican majority caucus re-elected Robin Vos (R-Rochester) as Speaker for the 2023-2024 legislative session and said he’s willing to work on “solutions” with Gov. Tony Evers. Vos on Thursday said he sees Republicans offering the governor compromises on abortion, school choice and taxes. “I think when you look at where we are, we need to make some potential changes to the 1849 [abortion] law. One of the things that I want to make sure of is that we have a law that can withstand court challenges,” Vos told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber Thursday morning. “When Tony Evers said he wouldn’t even consider making exceptions for rape and incest because he wants radical, up-until-birth abortion laws, let’s put something in front of him and see if he really believes that.” The governor said during the recent campaign that he wouldn’t sign an abortion exemption law because it would continue to ban most abortions in the state. Many other Republicans in the legislature have...