In this update:

• Administration Updates
• Legislative Updates
• Impeachment Updates
• Election Updates

Administration Updates

Evers sues Legislative Republicans

Governor Tony Evers (D) announced that he filed a Petition for Original Action with the state Supreme Court alleging Republicans in the legislature are violating the Wisconsin Constitution’s separation of powers through the use of “legislative vetoes.” The suit, filed on behalf of the governor by Attorney General Josh Kaul, identifies three so-called “legislative vetoes” from GOP-controlled committees that it claims exceed lawmakers’ constitutional authority including:

• Joint Finance Committee (JFC) blocking conservation projects selected by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) under the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
• Joint Committee on Employment Relations (JCOER) blocking pay raises for UW System employees that had been approved in the FY 2023-25 budget bill.
• Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) blocking rules developed by the Department of Safety and Professional Services and associated boards that would “update the state’s commercial building standards and ethics standards for social workers, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors.”

The suit claims these legislative vetoes sidestep the typical lawmaking process and enable legislative committees to control the administration of laws, which should be solely within the purview of the executive branch. Instead of a bill having to be passed by a bicameral legislature and signed into law by an executive, the legislative committees are able to determine how and if a law is executed. The lawsuit filed by Gov. Evers notes that similar practices by other state legislatures have been overturned by their respective state supreme courts.

Gov. Evers said he was inspired to file the lawsuit because of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’s (R) recent decision to block pay raises for roughly 35,000 UW System employees unless DEI programs and staff were eliminated from Wisconsin state universities. “They went too far,” Gov. Evers said. “You know, it’s one thing to mess around with the decision that was made about purchasing land. But when we mess with people’s lives like that, that was the coup de grâce.” Pay raises for state employees and UW System employees had been passed by Republicans and signed into law by Gov. Evers as part of the most recent budget bill. However, the JCOER — which is co-chaired by Speaker Vos — decided not to pass the raises for the UW System employees while still approving those for other state employees. Speaker Vos had said prior to the JCOER vote the UW System did not deserve any additional resources until DEI programs and staff were cut. “Not a nickel,” Speaker Vos said at the time. “When I say a nickel, that’s what I mean.”

Reaction from GOP Lawmakers:

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos: “Today’s lawsuit by Governor Evers and Attorney General Kaul is an attempt to eliminate the 4% raises given to all state employees by the legislature. In a time of unprecedented inflation brought on by reckless Democrat spending, we think it is abhorrent that the Governor would try and take away lawfully approved money for hardworking state employees.”

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu: “The Governor is working to diminish the voice of Wisconsinites by limiting the authority of the legislature and unduly strengthening his own administration. The Senate will continue to defend the constitutionally prescribed duties of the state legislature against the Governor’s frivolous attacks.”

Evers on WisEye’s ‘Newsmakers’

Governor Tony Evers (D) was on WisEye’s ‘Newsmakers’ this week to discuss his special session workforce bill and the subsequent GOP amendments made to the bill a few weeks ago. He discussed several topics during the interview including:

Special Session Workforce Package

• When asked about the differences between his original special session workforce bill and the amended version passed by Republicans in the legislature, Gov. Evers said the GOP’s “small” tax cut and increased tax deductions for private schools are not going to help people being affected by inflation. He confirmed that he would veto the GOP-amended bill if it passes the legislature.
• Gov. Evers also addressed the $7 billion surplus in the budget this year and said he wants to see some of the surplus returned to taxpayers, particularly the middle class rather than the upper tax brackets. “Middle class is where inflation hurts the most,” he said, “and that’s where we should focus our efforts.”

Election Reform

• Gov. Tony Evers also discussed some of the election reform proposals. He said there are a lot of bills that he doesn’t like, however, he does like a proposal that would allow municipalities to begin processing absentee ballots the Monday before an election. The actual counting of votes would continue to be done on election day.
• He said he would like to see the legislature stop “messing around” with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC). He said WEC works, and the legislature should let it work without interfering.

Brewers Stadium

• Gov. Evers thinks the stadium renovation bill as it stands today is a good deal for taxpayers. The loss of revenue from the Brewers would hurt Wisconsin’s economy if the team were to leave. He also said the current bill is fair to Milwaukee and that he is having discussions with Senators who are hesitant to support the bill. “My goal is to sign that bill. Period,” Gov. Evers said.
• He also said he would likely support amendments to the bill such as a ticket tax or an audit of the stadium district if passed by the Senate.

Legislative Redistricting

• Gov. Evers said an argument could be made that the “Iowa-style” redistricting bill proposed by Republicans is actually not nonpartisan. He said he doesn’t believe the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) is a nonpartisan entity because its employees are hired and fired by the GOP-controlled legislature. He said he believes the liberal-leaning State Supreme Court has to come up with a better process for legislative redistricting.

Evers uses ARPA funds for five building projects

Governor Tony Evers (D) announced that he directed over $36 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for five building projects that had been excluded by Republicans in the recently passed FY 2023-25 state budget. According to a press release from the governor, the projects will support over 400 jobs and create nearly $68 million in economic activity. “These projects were clearly missed opportunities during the Capital Budget process, and the economic impact of these investments will pay dividends for our future economic success,” Gov. Evers said.

The five building projects include:

• $15 million for the Janesville Sports and Convention Center.
• $9.3 million for the Milwaukee Iron District new soccer stadium.
• $7 million for the Green Bay National Railroad Museum expansion.
• $5 million for the Bronzeville Center for the Arts in Milwaukee.
• $330,000 for the Door County Peninsula Players Theatre upgrades.

Gov’s workforce, AI task force meets for first time

The Governor’s Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence met this week to discuss the emergence and potential impacts of Generative Artificial Intelligence. The Task Force consists of thirty members of private and public sector leaders assembled to identify policies and investments to advance Wisconsin workers, employers, and job seekers through technological transformation.

Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Amy Pechacek and Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes shared examples of how AI is already being used in state government and the private sector. Sec. Pechacek pointed to the state’s aging demographics, as well as the lack of people moving to Wisconsin as factors that are putting pressure on the workforce. “So what better time to capitalize, embrace and harness this technology, so that we can keep moving forward on this economic boom that we have been under since the pandemic,” Sec. Pechacek said. She noted DWD already uses AI tools to help process unemployment claims and make other processes more efficient. Meanwhile, Sec. Hughes pointed to examples of private enterprise in the state using AI including Rockwell Automation, which is working on machine learning applications in the advanced manufacturing industry, and Accuray, which employs AI technology to predict a patient’s breathing patterns during radiation therapy to reduce tissue damage.

Before breaking into subcommittees, members of the task force heard from Dennis Winters (DWD Chief Labor Market Economist), Caroline Yap (Managing Director at Google Global AI Business), Emily Rose McRae (Senior Director Analyst at Gartner), and Tyler Clark (U.S. Government Affairs Industry Director at Microsoft). Each discussed how AI has the potential to aid the workforce rather than remove opportunities that already exist. The natural skepticism surrounding answers supplied by AI will cause for people to keep their jobs rather than lose them. Experts in their field are not going to be asked to leave because they are going to be vetting the AI generator’s responses for accuracy. This augmentation is not going to replace workers but rather has the potential to uplift them and drive companies forward. The subcommittees reported back that education, addressing possible people left behind, and maximizing GDP growth are going to be options to prepare the workforce for AI. (click here to watch the full meeting)

The next Governor’s Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence hearing will be December 4th in Milwaukee, and the next will be January 22nd virtually.

Legislative Updates

Floor Session Calendar

The Assembly has been notified they will be holding floor session on:

• Tuesday, November 7
• Thursday, November 9
• Tuesday, November 14

No notification has been released on the Senate yet, but it is expected they will meet on:

• Tuesday, November 7
• Tuesday, November 14

Impeachment Updates

Advocacy group pressures Vos to impeach Wolfe

An advocacy group calling itself the “Wisconsin Elections Committee” released a new tv ad and a newspaper ad that promises to oust Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) through a recall or primary challenger if he does not allow for the impeachment of state elections administrator Meagan Wolfe to move forward. A spokesperson for the group said it has budgeted $100,000 for TV, radio, and newspaper ads each week until Speaker Vos moves forward with the impeachment or is replaced. Documents filed with the FCC show the group plans to spend $80,000 to run tv and radio ads from October 30 through November 7. The group’s officers include Adam Steen, who unsuccessfully ran a primary challenge against Speaker Vos, and Harry Wait, a Racine County man who was charged by the state for fraudulently obtaining absentee ballots for Speaker Vos and Racine Mayor Cory Mason. The ad campaign comes just over a month after five Assembly Republicans introduced a resolution that included 15 articles of impeachment against Ms. Wolfe.

A day after the ad campaign was announced, Speaker Vos referred the impeachment resolution to the Committee on Government Accountability and Oversight. A spokesperson for Speaker Vos said the decision to move the resolution to committee had no connection to the ad campaign and the resolution was referred “like any other bill.” During an interview last month, Speaker Vos said he opposed impeaching Ms. Wolfe because in his view, she did not legally occupy the position to begin with. Instead, Speaker Vos proposed naming a replacement elections administrator. However, last week a Dane County judge barred the legislature from replacing Ms. Wolfe pending a ruling from the court as to whether elections commissioners are statutorily required to appoint someone for Senate confirmation.

In a statement responding to the ad campaign, Speaker Vos said “Whether we like the result or not, a Dane County judge has issued a ruling saying we cannot remove Meagan Wolfe at least until the court issues a final ruling. I think she should be replaced, but we now have to wait for the court process to work. The people running these ads are obviously from out-of-state since anyone living in Wisconsin would know of recent events. They appear to be uninformed and not following what’s actually going on in our state. The money could be better spent attacking the real obstacle to election reforms and that’s Tony Evers.”

Election Updates

3rd CD ranked “lean Republican”

The Cook Political Report released an updated set of rankings for U.S. House races in 2024. One of five changes made by Cook in its latest update includes Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District seat being rated “lean Republican” after previously being rated “likely Republican.” The seat, located in western Wisconsin, is held by Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who was last elected in 2022 with 51.8% of the vote. Details on why the change was made can be read here (subscription required.)

RNC announces honorary co-chairs

The 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC) Milwaukee Host Committee announced that former Governor Scott Walker and former Governor Tommy Thompson will serve as honorary co-chairs. “Scott Walker and Tommy Thompson are two of the best ambassadors Wisconsin has ever had,” said host committee Chairman Reince Priebus. “In just under a year, they will help us welcome visitors from around the world to Milwaukee. Having them involved with the Host Committee will help us throw a great convention in 2024.”

The 2024 RNC is scheduled to run from July 15 to July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.

Upcoming Marquette Law School Poll

Marquette University Law School will release the results of a new statewide survey on Wednesday, November 8, at 1:15 p.m. According to a press release from the university, November’s poll examines the Republican presidential primary and potential general election matchups; views of national and state issues; job-approval ratings for President Joe Biden and Gov. Tony Evers; favorability ratings of former President Donald Trump and other Republican presidential candidates; and public opinion of Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Sen. Ron Johnson, and others.