Capitol Notes

A group of Wisconsin residents filed a federal lawsuit late last week challenging some local stay-at-home orders that were put in place after the state Supreme Court threw out Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide policy. The lawsuit asks a federal judge to declare the local orders unconstitutional.

The conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ safer-at-home order last week, effective immediately. Schools are still closed, but most nonessential businesses can resume operations — unless local governments have their own stay-at-home restrictions. At this time, there's no statewide plan for protecting public safety or reopening the economy.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected to decide soon whether to overturn Gov. Tony Evers’ safer-at-home order, which closed nonessential businesses and put other restrictions in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The order is set to expire on May 26. Republicans who control the Legislature are challenging the order, largely citing its impact on the economy.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to hear a lawsuit brought by Republicans in the state Legislature, challenging Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ safer-at-home order. Republicans cried foul when Evers extended the order to May 26, amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.

Police estimate that 1,500 people rallied at the State Capitol on Friday, demanding that Gov. Tony Evers lift his safer-at-home order, so non-essential businesses can reopen. Evers recently extended the order about a month to May 26 because of the continued spread of the coronavirus.

Gov. Tony Evers has extended his safer-at-home order to May 26 due to fears over the coronavirus. He also announced that schools will be closed through the academic year. Republicans who control the Legislature are opposed to the extension, saying they want the economy to reopen, and have threatened to file a lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The results of Wisconsin’s presidential primary, state Supreme Court race, and spring local elections will be released Monday, under unprecedented circumstances related to the coronavirus.

Wisconsin appears to be moving ahead with Election Day on Tuesday, April 7, despite multiple lawsuits to move the date because of the coronavirus – and an 11th-hour plea from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. He called the Republican-controlled Legislature into a special session to push the date to late May and conduct an all-mail election. The GOP went into special session Saturday as required, and the...

Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature are still working on an agreement that would provide state assistance to those affected by COVID-19. Evers asked lawmakers Saturday to approve more than $800 million, according to wispolitics.com. The sweeping bill would halt enforcement of Voter ID, ban evictions, and prevent layoffs of school employees during a public health emergency. Bu...

It was another week of major changes in lifestyle and in the workplace because of the coronavirus. Gov. Tony Evers ordered bars and restaurants in Wisconsin to close, except for pickups and deliveries. He also directed salons, barbershops, spas and tattoo shops to shut their doors. Now, the Democratic governor and Republican leaders say they're working together on a legislative aid package to help...

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has taken some dramatic steps to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Chair Ben Wikler says the party is following guidance from health officials to practice social distancing, so it's replacing its traditional door-to-door canvassing operation with a digital model ahead of the April 7 spring election and presidential primary.

Wisconsin's presidential primary will be held next month. When voters go to the polls, they'll notice the landscape has changed dramatically. In a matter of days over the past week, the field of Democrats running for their party's nomination narrowed to only two major contenders: former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. It happened after poor showings for the other top-...

It appears the Republican-controlled state Legislature is unwilling to enact tougher gun laws this year — even in light of a mass shooting that left six employees dead at Molson Coors Brewery in Milwaukee. Just hours before the shootings, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers re-stated his commitment to adopting stricter legislation. At the same time, Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald voiced...

The Republican-controlled state Legislature has passed a $250 million income tax cut and has sent the bill to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Republicans want to pay for the tax cut via a projected $600 million budget surplus.

The Republican-controlled state Assembly has passed a slew of tough-on-crime bills. One would allow extended supervision to be revoked, for someone who commits a felony while on release. Another would expand the list of crimes that could land a child in a youth prison.

Gov. Tony Evers wants the Republican-controlled Legislature to spend a chunk of a state budget surplus on the public schools. He's calling for a special session on the topic to begin this week. Republican leaders immediately dismissed the idea, saying they want to put surplus money toward a tax cut instead. Evers says the GOP could do both — cut taxes and spend more on schools.

Republican Vice President Mike Pence apparently went where no other sitting Vice President has gone — he held a rally inside the Wisconsin State Capitol last week. He touted private school voucher programs as an alternative to public education at the rally. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos appeared with him.

Gov. Tony Evers is calling lawmakers into special session to pass a package of bills designed to help struggling farmers and rural communities. The idea drew mixed reviews from Republican leaders after the Democratic governor announced it in his State of the State address. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he's "all ears" on the plan and seems open to a special session. But, Assembly Sp...

The voter purge case took some more turns last week. An Ozaukee County judge again ordered the Wisconsin Elections Commission to immediately drop more than 200,000 names from the voter rolls. It's suspected that those voters may have moved and haven't re-registered. Then, an appeals court sided with the commission and again put the purge on hold while lawsuits continue. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Su...

Republican and Democratic leaders met at the State Capitol last week to place names on the state presidential primary ballot. Democrats approved 14 names for the April 7 election. They include Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar. But GOP officials submitted and approved only one name — that of President Donald Trump, even though other Republicans have thro...

For this week's Capitol Notes, we look ahead to the political stories that'll likely make headlines in Wisconsin in 2020. Probably the biggest is Wisconsin's role in the presidential race. President Trump narrowly won the state in 2016, which means the spotlight is on Wisconsin this year, along with a few other swing states.

For this week's Capitol Notes, we examine the top political stories of the year. It began with the inauguration of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. He defeated Republican Scott Walker the previous fall.

Foxconn is back in the news, with questions about whether it will qualify for up to $3 billion in state tax credits in coming years. The Taiwanese electronics giant signed a contract with the state when the company was planning to build large LCD screens at a huge plant in Racine County, creating up to 13,000 jobs. But Foxconn has since reduced the size of its plant and has said it'll manufacture...

The Wisconsin National Guard's top commander recently agreed to resign after a scathing federal report found he violated laws in investigating sexual assault complaints. Gov. Tony Evers asked Major General Donald Dunbar to step down. In this week's Capitol Notes conversation, WUWM's Marti Mikkelson asked JR Ross of wispolitics.com if there could be more political fallout from the incident.

Concerns about school safety rocked Wisconsin last week. In both Waukesha and Oshkosh, authorities shot and wounded a student who brought a weapon to school. Threats were made in a number of other school districts. The events prompted Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to call for more mental health services and more police officers in the schools. Republican leaders welcomed Evers' proposals — after reje...