(WFRV) – Wisconsin lawmakers are busy Tuesday evening as they look at bills that run the spectrum, from penalties for protestors and contracts for state troopers.
Wisconsin lawmakers OK penalties for protesters
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly has approved a bill that would create tougher penalties for protesters.
The proposal would make attending a riot or blocking a street a misdemeanor punishable by up to nine months in jail and participating in a riot that causes property damage or personal injury a felony punishable by up to three-and-a-half years in prison.
The Senate and Assembly passed the measure Tuesday and sent it on to Gov. Tony Evers. The Assembly also approved a bill that would make it a felony to damage government property of historical significance.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
Wisconsin Assembly OKs vaccine passport ban, immunity waiver
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Assembly have approved bills that would require employers to count a prior coronavirus infection as an alternative to vaccination and testing and prohibit vaccine passports.
Both measures would face a likely veto from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. The governor last year vetoed a GOP bill that would have barred public health officials from requiring people to get vaccinated. Republican backers maintain natural immunity is at least as effective as vaccination.
And supporters of banning vaccine passports say they’re worried that the federal government will mandate them. The Assembly approved the vaccine passport bill on a voice vote and the immunity bill on 59-34 vote. Both bills now head to the Senate
Wisconsin Senate sends critical race theory ban to Evers
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin public schools would be prohibited from teaching students and training employees about concepts such as systemic racism and implicit bias under a Republican bill the state Senate sent to Gov. Tony Evers.
The Democratic Evers will almost certainly veto the measure. The Senate passed it Tuesday 20-13, with all Democrats and Republican Sen. Howard Marklein against. The Assembly passed it on a party-line vote in September. Republicans don’t have the votes to override the expected Evers veto.
Wisconsin’s proposal follows a national trend of Republican-controlled legislatures moving to thwart certain ideas they associate with “critical race theory.”
Lawmakers approve contracts for troopers, building trades
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin lawmakers have signed off on new contracts for state troopers, carpenters, bricklayers, electricians and plumbers.
The deals for workers other than the state troopers cover the previous and current fiscal years. They call for raises ranging from 1.23% to 1.8%. The University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW System also negotiated deals calling for the same raises for their tradespeople.
The trooper contract covers the previous two-year period that ended on June 30, 2021. The Senate passed all the contracts Tuesday with no debate.
The Assembly followed suit Tuesday evening. The contracts go next to Gov. Tony Evers, who is expected to sign them into law.
Only citizens could vote in Wisconsin under amendment
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Senate has passed a constitutional amendment that says only citizens can vote in elections.
The Republican-authored amendment approved Tuesday must also pass the Assembly this year and both houses of the Legislature next session before it would go to voters to decide. The governor has no power to veto constitutional amendments. The Wisconsin Constitution guarantees that every U.S. citizen age 18 and over is a qualified elector.
But it does not specifically say that only U.S. citizens are qualified to vote in state or local elections. Republican backers of the measure say that ambiguity needs to be fixed through a constitutional amendment.