Tag: Tony Evers

Wisconsin Gov Shoots Down Bill to Keep Boys Off Girls’ Sports Teams

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Girls Basketball

Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a bill Tuesday barring biological men from competing in women’s sports just weeks after it passed the state Senate.

The bill was passed by the state Senate in March by a 20 to 11 vote and would require athletes to compete in sports categories in line with their biological sex. Evers had expressed displeasure with the legislation in the past and opted to veto the bill, arguing that it would only embolden “anti-LGBTQ harassment, bullying, and violence,” according to a press release.

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Gov. Evers OKs Millions for University of Wisconsin Construction, Tuition Distribution Changes

The Center Square
UW Campus

There’s going to be a building boom on some University of Wisconsin campuses across the state.

Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday signed a new law that clears the way for a new engineering building at UW-Madison, as well as classroom renovations in both Madison and Whitewater. The new law also includes nearly $200 million for central plant renovations and demolition projects.

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Gov. Evers Promises Help for Chippewa Valley Health Care Workers, Wisconsin Congressman Wants More

The Center Square
Derrick Van Orden

Western Wisconsin’s congressman wants the governor to help with the planned hospital closures in the Chippewa Valley.

Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden asked Gov. Tony Evers to use any state or federal resources that can be tapped to make sure the people who use HSHS’ hospitals or Prevea’s clinics in and around Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls are not left without medical care.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Orders Redrawing of State Legislative Maps

Just the News

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday rejected the Republican-drawn legislative district maps and demanded that the creation of new electoral lines ahead of the 2024 contests.

The left-leaning court ruled 4-3 in ordering the new maps, which Democrats had sought to overturn over claims of gerrymandering, according to the Associated Press. The maps included non-contiguous districts.

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Wisconsin Lawmakers Introduce Second Go at Constitutional Amendment to Ban Zuckerbucks in Election Administration

M.D. Kittle

Looking to get around Democrat Governor Tony Evers’ veto pen, Republican lawmakers have introduced the second consideration of a constitutional amendment to bar the use of private funds in election administration.

Passage would send the proposed amendment to referendum, letting voters — not the liberal governor — decide if controversial “Zuckerbucks”-like funding of elections is legal in Wisconsin.

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Wisconsin Assembly Republicans Roll Out Nearly $3 Billion Tax Cut Plan

M.D. Kittle

In the wake of Governor Tony Evers’ gutting of a historic tax cut proposal earlier this summer, Republicans are pushing another plan they said would deliver nearly $3 billion in tax relief for retirees and the middle class.

Conservative lawmakers said the plan to tap into the state’s projected $4 billion budget surplus is a “second chance” for the liberal governor to “do the right thing” and return overpaid tax dollars back to Wisconsin’s taxpayers.

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Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Bills Aimed at Protecting Consumers Against Climate Change Alarmist Agenda

M.D. Kittle

Governor Tony Evers turned to his veto pen once again last week, this time killing consumer protection bills that interfered with his far-left climate change agenda, according to the state’s largest business lobby.

The Democrat vetoed Assembly Bills 141 and 142, and Senate Bill 49, among 10 Republican-led bills killed by a governor who has used the state’s powerful veto pen more liberally than any governor in Badger State history.

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Wisconsin Governor Seeks Prosecution of 2020 Alternate Electors

Just the News

Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Friday contended that a group of alternate electors for the state who supported former President Donald Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election ought to face prosecution.

Amid allegations of election fraud in key battlegrounds, Trump allies put together alternate elector slates in the swing states who asserted that the former president won reelection. 

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Wisconsin Lawmakers Introduce ‘Tiny Tot Tax Cut’

M.D. Kittle

Taking a page from a Florida plan to bring tax relief to families, two Badger State Republican legislators are pushing a bill that would create a sales tax exemption on baby-related products.

State Representative David Steffen (R-Howard) and State Senator Jesse James (R-Altoona) recently introduced the “Tiny Tot Tax Cut” to help fight inflation where it can hurt families the most.

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Report: SSM Health Ends ‘Gender-Affirming Surgeries’ at its Wisconsin Aesthetic Center

M.D. Kittle

One of Wisconsin’s larger health care systems has ended sex reassignment surgeries for adults and children following a directive from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Liberal lawmakers blasted the decision, first reported by Channel 3000 in Madison, as “misguided and dangerous,” while a conservative lawmakers who have championed bills prohibiting the “mutilation” of children called SSM’s change in protocol a “brave” decision.

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WMC Survey of Businesses Finds Alarming Number of Wisconsin K-12 Graduates Aren’t Prepared for the Workforce

M.D. Kittle

As Wisconsin businesses struggle through a worker shortage crisis, it appears Wisconsin’s public schools are failing to prepare students for the workforce.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce’s latest employer survey finds 73 percent of responding businesses said ‘no’ when asked if students graduating from the Badger State’s K-12 education system are prepared for the workforce.

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Wisconsin Constitutional Amendment Would Ban Places of Worship from Closing During States of Emergency

Susan Berry, PhD

A proposed amendment to the Wisconsin constitution that would clarify that state and local officials “may not order the closure of or forbid gatherings in places of worship,” in response to a state of emergency declared at any level of government during a public health emergency, will go before a state Senate committee Tuesday.

State Republican lawmakers introduced the Senate Joint Resolution 54 in June in response to the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown order that restricted worship gatherings, even though the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down that order.

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Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos Calls Governor Tony Evers a ‘Liar’, Expects Evers’ Partial Vetoes to be Challenged in Court

M.D. Kittle

Democrat Governor Tony Evers’ “creative” partial veto that boosts public education spending for the next four centuries “proves he’s a liar,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said during a Sunday morning interview. 

The Rochester Republican said the governor’s “unprecedented” veto trick leaves Republicans — and taxpayers who would be on the hook for 400-plus years of spending increases —  with “little option” but to take the governor to court. 

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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Signs Budget, Guts $3.5 Billion Tax Cut with ‘Frankenstein’ Veto Pen

M.D. Kittle

In signing Wisconsin’s new two-year spending plan Wednesday, Democrat Governor Tony Evers liberally applied his veto pen to the Republican-crafted biennial budget, gutting a $3.5 billion tax cut proposal that had reduced the state’s tax brackets and delivered relief for all taxpayers. 

Republicans blasted the governor for his 51 partial vetoes, including a particularly sneaky one that changed the meaning of funding for schools to a four-century commitment.

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Report: Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Uses Third-Party Funding from the United Nations Foundation to Pay for Far-Left Climate Change Initiatives

M.D. Kittle

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature wouldn’t go along with Governor Tony Evers’ far-left climate change and “environmental justice” initiatives, so the Democrat went around the legislature.

Evers took in hundreds of thousands of dollars in third-party funding from media tycoon Ted Turner’s United Nations Foundation, according to a new report from the Institute for Reforming Government’s Center for Investigative Oversight.

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

M.D. Kittle

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 Manufacturers and Commerce Urges DNR to Move on Permitting Line 5 Pipeline Project

M.D. Kittle

Time is of the essence for the Evers administration to act on a critical energy pipeline relocation project in northern Wisconsin, according to the state’s largest chamber of commerce and manufacturers’ association. 

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) is urging the state Department of Natural Resources to swiftly move forward with a slow-moving permitting process of Enbridge Energy Co.’s Line 5 relocation project in northern Wisconsin. 

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Evers Hints at Third Run for Wisconsin Governor

The Center Square

Just months into his second term, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is already dropping hints about a potential 2026 reelection run.

“Some things have changed since our last convention,” Evers recently told onlookers at the Wisconsin Democratic Party Convention in Green Bay. “Some people have called me two-term Tony. You can call me governor. You can call me Tony. You can call me two-term Tony or three-term Tony, I don’t mind.”

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School Choice in Wisconsin Wins in Day of Breakthrough Education Spending and Revenue Sharing Deals

M.D. Kittle

School choice in Wisconsin would get a huge funding boost, and Milwaukee and Milwaukee County would stave off financial devastation in deals announced Wednesday.

Just when it appeared the Milwaukee portion of a massive state shared revenue plan was on the brink of collapse, the Republican-controlled Legislature reached an agreement with Democrat Governor Tony Evers that will allow pension debt-ridden Milwaukee County and the city to put in place a new sales tax — without having to ask their voters to do so. 

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New Report Shows Wisconsin Getting Older, Worsening Labor Shortage Crisis

M.D. Kittle

A new report finds Wisconsin’s median age is rising, a bad sign for the Badger State’s labor shortage crisis, a workforce expert said.

And Governor Tony Evers has been a sleep at the switch in meeting the crisis, according to Rachel Ver Velde, senior director of Workforce, Education & Employment Policy at Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the combined state chamber and manufacturers’ association. 

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Green Bay Area Lawmakers Request $2 Million in State Funds to Support NFL Draft at Legendary Lambeau Field

M.D. Kittle

Two Green Bay lawmakers are asking for $2 million from state taxpayers to help cover the costs of Title Town hosting the 2025 NFL draft.

State Senator Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay) and State Representative David Steffen (R-Green Bay) argue the return on investment will be significant, with the widely watched NFL draft expected to generate some $94 million for the state — $20 million to Green Bay alone.

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Report: Wisconsin Tax Collections Projections Come in Lower Than Expected

M.D. Kittle

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

M.D. Kittle

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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Wisconsin’s Largest Business Advocate Applauds Republicans’ Removal of Hundreds of Governor Tony Evers’ Proposals from Budget

M.D. Kittle

The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee this week jettisoned 545 of liberal Governor Tony Evers’ budget proposals, packed with higher taxes on businesses and individuals and growing government initiatives.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s largest business advocate, is applauding the Republican-controlled budget-writing committee for trimming Evers’ bigger government budget plan. 

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New Report Highlights Benefits of a Wisconsin Flat Tax

M.D. Kittle

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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Republican Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Arm Wisconsin School Employees

M.D. Kittle

Two Wisconsin lawmakers, looking to stop school shooters before they have a chance to take more innocent lives, have introduced a bill that would allow teachers and staff members to carry firearms on school grounds.

State Representatives Scott Allen (R-Waukesha) and Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) recently introduced a bill that would create an exception to the state’s prohibition on guns at schools.

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Report: Wisconsin Gov. Evers’ Building Plan Includes $62 Million in ‘Pork Barrel’ Projects

The Center Square

Most of Gov. Tony Evers’ building plan is earmarked for the University of Wisconsin System, but a new report says there are also millions of dollars dedicated to non-state agency “pork-barrel” projects.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty released its report on the governor’s capital budget on Thursday. It details how Gov. Evers plans to spend $3.8 billion for construction, remodeling, maintenance, and renovation in the next two-year state budget.

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Wisconsin’s Pro-Life Movement Regroups After Tuesday’s Devastating Supreme Court Loss

M.D. Kittle

Julaine Appling rejoiced in June when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a decision she had been praying for a long time. The victory for the unborn in Wisconsin, though, looks to be short-lived.

Appling, president of pro-life Wisconsin Family Action, says the shifting of power from right to left on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court will put life — and liberty — in peril in the Badger State. 

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Wisconsin Republicans Secure Supermajority in Senate, Gain Super Power

M.D. Kittle

It wasn’t all bad news for conservatives in Tuesday’s election. While the right lost control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Republicans gained two-thirds — or supermajority power— in the state Senate. 

State Representative Dan Knodl (R-Germantown) narrowly defeated environmental lawyer Jodi Habush Sinykin in the race for Wisconsin’s 8th Senate District Seat.

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Long-Serving Wisconsin Secretary of State La Follette About to Cash in on Lucrative Taxpayer-Subsidized Pension

M.D. Kittle

Secretary of State Doug La Follette’s sudden retirement from the post he’s held for nearly half a century raised questions, particularly when Governor Tony Evers swiftly appointed former state treasurer and Democratic Party political climber Sarah Godlewski to take La Follette’s place. 

But it’s the millions of dollars La Follette — and his survivors — could take home in retirement benefits that may really raise eyebrows. 

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Tommy Thompson, Wisconsin’s Longest-Serving Governor, Endorses Work-First Ballot Issue

M.D. Kittle

Tommy Thompson, Wisconsin’s longest-serving governor and welfare reform pioneer, is lending his support for a work-first referendum question on the Badger State’s April 4 election ballot.

The non-bonding referendum asks voters a simple question: “Shall able-bodied, childless adults be required to look for work in order to receive taxpayer-funded benefits?”

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Mastriano Proposes Bill for Pennsylvania School Curriculum Transparency

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania state Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) this week announced he is introducing legislation requiring public K-12 schools to post their curricula online. 

Should the policy become law, school districts and charter institutions must provide public web access to syllabi for all classes and thorough lists of the textbooks planned for use in those courses as well as commonwealth academic standards for all course offerings. Should a school make any curricular revisions, it would have 30 days to publish them. 

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