Republicans and Democrats React to Wisconsin Supreme Court Redistricting Hearing

There are no surprises among the reactions to the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s questions about drawing new political maps in the state.

A number of lawmakers and advocacy groups weighed in after the high court Tuesday heard arguments to redraw the state’s legislative maps.

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Wisconsin GOP Senate Boss Disappointed in Child Care Funding Announcement

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ announcement he will give $170 million to child care providers in the state is not going over well with the Republican leader of the Wisconsin Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu accused the governor of misleading families across the state.

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Republican-Led Wisconsin Senate Turns Tables on Democrats in Resolution That Could Lead to Elections Commission Chief’s Ouster

In a move that turned the tables on Democrats who had played political games with the appointment of controversial Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, the Republican-controlled state Senate late Wednesday evening dropped a surprise resolution that sets up a confirmation vote sources say Wolfe can’t win. Democrats stormed out of the Senate Chamber, refusing to vote on the resolution.

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Wisconsin’s Budget-Writing Committee Passes Budget with ‘Historic’ $4.3 Billion Tax Cut

After a season of spending, the Wisconsin Legislature is finally getting around to talking tax cuts. Perhaps Republicans have saved the best for last.

The Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee put the finishing touches on a complete rewrite of Democrat Governor Tony Evers’ 2023-25 state budget proposal, passing a tax reform package that promises to deliver $3.5 billion in income tax cuts and nearly $800 million in property tax relief. 

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Wisconsin Senate Republican Boss: Votes Aren’t There for Share Revenue Tax Changes

The top Republican in the Wisconsin Senate says there are not enough Republican votes to change the plan for a Milwaukee sales tax increase.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said on UPFRONT over the weekend that he doesn’t have the 17 votes needed to pass a plan that would allow Milwaukee and Milwaukee County leaders to raise taxes, as opposed to putting the question to voters.

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Top Wisconsin Senate Republican Unhappy with ‘Line in the Sand’ over Shared Revenue Specifics

The prospects for Wisconsin’s shared revenue plan got a bit dimmer Thursday after the top Republican in the State Senate said his half of the legislature wants a slightly different plan of their own.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu told reporters Thursday morning that the Senate will hold some public hearings, then vote on a version of the shared revenue proposal that Senators agree upon.

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Report: Wisconsin Tax Collections Projections Come in Lower Than Expected

Wisconsin state tax collections over the next three years are projected to come in more than three-quarters of a billion dollars lower than expected, according to a new report from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. 

Republican lawmakers say the revised projections further underscore their efforts to remake a more fiscally responsible biennial budget out of Democrat Governor Tony Evers’ big-spending proposal. 

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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Threatens to Veto Republicans’ Shared Revenue Plan

Republican leadership is blasting Governor Tony Evers for threatening to kill a bill that would boost state shared revenue and bail out financially troubled Milwaukee. 

The liberal governor, however, isn’t the only critic of the legislation that pours hundreds of millions of dollars of new taxpayer revenue into Badger State towns, villages, cities and counties. 

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New Report Highlights Benefits of a Wisconsin Flat Tax

As the Wisconsin Legislature considers sweeping tax cuts, a new report finds a flat tax would yield substantial benefits for all. 

The report, published by the Badger Institute, notes single-rate reform to Wisconsin’s costly progressive tax system would spur faster economic growth, creating more jobs and more investment — all while lowering the burden on Badger State taxpayers. 

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Wisconsin Legislature Passes Key Crime Bills, Stops Evers Administration Rule on ‘Conversion Therapy’

In a busy and divisive day, the Republican-led Legislature on Wednesday passed several crime bills, a measure blocking what some say is the Evers administration’s assault on the First Amendment, and a resolution demanding the governor call an election for Secretary of State.

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Milwaukee-Based Free-Market Think Tank Expands with New Madison Office

The Badger Institute, a free-market think tank that has operated in Milwaukee for since 1987, is expanding with a new office near the state Capitol. 

While the policy-research center, known in its early days as the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, will keep its principal headquarters in Cream City, its educational consultant Jim Bender and communications vice president Michael Jahr will staff the new Madison office. Badger leadership expect the new capital-city presence to bolster the think tank’s government-relations efforts. 

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Wisconsin Flat Tax Proposal Overshadows Zero Tax Idea

Tax reform is top of mind for Republicans this legislative session. But while a flat tax measure has taken center stage, another proposal by one legislative leader to eliminate Wisconsin’s personal income tax has seemingly disappeared from the tax cut discourse.

A new State Policy Network (SPN) survey shows a good deal of support for nixing the state income tax.

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Wisconsin Part of Flat Tax ‘Revolution’

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) and state Representative Rob Brooks (R-Saukville) are set to introduce a tax reform proposal this week that would ultimately phase in a 3.25 percent flat income tax rate by tax year 2026. The measure would make Wisconsin part of a recent “flat tax revolution”, according to a national tax expert.

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Republican Leaders Call Wisconsin Gov. Evers’ Latest Special Session ‘Political Stunt’

Wisconsin lawmakers are once again planning to ignore a call from Gov. Tony Evers’ for a special session, and they are once again calling it a political stunt.

The governor on Wednesday said lawmakers need to come back to the Capitol in Madison in two weeks and start work on a constitutional amendment that would allow voters in Wisconsin to vote on binding referendum questions that would create new state law.

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Fiscal Report: Wisconsin’s Tax Burden Down $22 Billion Since 2011

Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol are pointing to another report as proof their policies are working.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu on Wednesday released a memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau that shows Wisconsin’s tax burden has fallen by $22 billion since 2011.

“In 2010, Wisconsin had the 5th highest tax burden in the nation. Residents were sending far too much of their earnings to Madison. On top of high taxes, the state had a $3.6 billion structural deficit, no Rainy Day Fund, and businesses were leaving in droves,” LeMahieu said.

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Wisconsin Senate to Launch New 2020 Election Investigation

There will be more questions from lawmakers in Madison as to just what happened before and during last year’s election.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu on Monday announced that the State Senate is launching its own investigation into the 2020 election.

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