In this update:

• Redistricting Updates
• Administration Updates
• Legislative Updates
• Election Updates
• Upcoming Floor Sessions

Redistricting Updates

Republicans debate adopting Evers’ maps without changes

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) told reporters that Senate Republicans are considering approving Gov. Tony Evers’ (D) proposed legislative maps without changes. Similarly, a spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) confirmed the speaker would be open to approving the governor’s maps unaltered. In addition to the public statements, Republican lawmakers have assigned a redistricting bill that could be the vehicle for adopting the governor’s maps to the Senate organization committee. This action would allow the senate to adopt the maps during their floor session next week Tuesday. Two weeks ago, Republicans passed a set of legislative maps based on the governor’s proposal, but the GOP version included less incumbent pairings. The governor subsequently vetoed those maps, calling them “gerrymandered.” Responding to the possibility of his maps being passed unchanged by the legislature, Gov. Evers told reporters this week, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Questioned as to whether he would sign his map proposal into law, the governor said “Why not?” During a subsequent interview on ‘UpFront’ the governor said “If my maps are approved by the Legislature, of course I’d sign them.”

The latest movement in the redistricting story comes a week after two consultants appointed by the state Supreme Court recommended the court pass any one of four map proposals backed by Democrats while labelling the two GOP-supported maps “partisan gerrymanders.” Parties to the redistricting case weighed in this week on the consultants’ report with GOP lawmakers calling on the court to reject the recommendation and strike the report from the record while Democrats urged the court to follow it. The filing from Republicans argues the “report raises questions about the fundamental fairness of these proceedings, ex parte communications, disregard for parties’ principal arguments and their experts, reliance on extra-record evidence, conclusions about ‘gerrymandering,’ and more.” Meanwhile, Democrats pointed to the GOP proposals’ failure to follow the political neutrality standard established by the court as the reason the maps supported by Democrats should be adopted. “That the Legislature’s and Johnson maps fail the Court’s political neutrality criterion is unsurprising,” Senate Democrats wrote in their response to the consultants’ report. “Neither party believed this was a legitimate criterion for the Court’s consideration nor appears to have made a meaningful attempt to put forth a map that does not greatly favor Republicans.”

To see all the filings: click here

ICYMI: For a comprehensive analysis of Gov. Evers’ proposed maps, make sure to check out the slide deck pictured below from Michael Best. Click here to view the slide deck.

Administration Updates

Evers announces healthcare task force appointments

Governor Tony Evers (D) announced the creation of the Governor’s Task Force on the Healthcare Workforce last week, and this week, he announced the 25 task force appointees. The task force is entrusted with creating an action plan to address the chronic challenges in the state’s healthcare industry and bolster the healthcare workforce. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, a registered nurse who holds a master’s degree in nursing and public health, was named by Gov. Evers as chair of the task force.

“These individuals will bring important and necessary perspectives toward finding solutions to the pressing challenges facing our state’s dedicated healthcare workforce,” said Gov. Evers. “This task force will be charged with developing critical, innovative solutions for me to consider in preparing my next biennial budget to bolster and support our healthcare workforce and make sure this vital industry is prepared to meet the needs of Wisconsinites today and well into the future.”

For Gov. Evers’ press release and the full list of appointees, click here.

SCOWIS agrees to hear Evers’ lawsuit against GOP legislature

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to hear Governor Tony Evers’ (D) lawsuit against the GOP-controlled legislature. The suit argues that the legislature is blocking basic government functions; however, the court will only hear one of the three points Gov. Evers made in the complaint: the issue of the legislature’s joint finance committee withholding funding for state conservation programs.

Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley said the court’s majority is “needlessly engulfing this court in the morass of politics.” In her dissent, she wrote, “By accepting only one of the issues raised by the Governor and holding the other two issues in abeyance, the majority refashions this court as the Governor’s avenue for imposing policy changes without the consent of the governed.”

Oral arguments are set for April 17.

Legislative Updates

JFC holds executive session

The Joint Committee on Finance held an executive session and passed the most recent tax cut package, as well as two bills that would allocate more funding to the Universities of Wisconsin and authorize new building projects that were included in the deal reached between Speaker Robin Vos (R) and UW System leaders. The four bills included in the tax package were approved 11-4, and the two UW System funding bills passed unanimously.

Rep. Tip McGuire (D) warned against the tax package saying, “I think the biggest risk here, though, is that this package takes a substantial surplus and turns it into a deadly deficit.” Joint Finance Co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein (R) said, “Every budget when we close the books, we end up in better shape than what we had projected when we passed the budget. I’m very comfortable. I think this is an excellent proposal here.”

The package of bills includes:

• AB 1020 / SB 977: an expansion of the second tax bracket to up to $150,000 for married couples filing jointly, $112,500 for single, and head-of-household and $75,000 for married-separate filers.
• AB 1021 / SB 978: an exemption of the first $75,000 of retirement income from taxes for those 65 and older.
• AB 1022 / SB 979: an expansion of the maximum married couple tax credit from $480 to $870.
• AB 1023 / SB 976: an expansion of the child and dependent care tax credit to align with the federal credit and increase maximum credits to $10,000 per child or dependent and $20,000 for two or more children or dependents.

The UW System funding bills includes:

• AB 140 / SB 161: the Minnesota-Wisconsin tuition reciprocity agreement and making an appropriation.
• AB 920 / SB 896: funding related to a Minnesota-Wisconsin student reciprocity agreement and making an appropriation.
• AB 921 / SB 895: amendments to the 2023-25 capital budget for University of Wisconsin System projects, granting bonding authority, and making an appropriation.
• AB 540 / SB 518: University of Wisconsin System branch campus redevelopment grants, including a grant to Richland County, and making an appropriation.

Election Updates

MU Poll Recap

Marquette University Law School Poll released a new statewide poll on Wednesday, February 7th. Below, please find a short overview of the survey’s results.

• The poll found 49% of registered voters backed President Biden, while 49% backed former President Trump.

• The poll found 64% of Republican voters backed former President Trump for the GOP nomination, 22% supported former South Carolina Governor Nikki Hailey, and 14% remained undecided.

• The poll interviewed 930 registered Wisconsin voters between January 24-31, 2024. The interviews were conducted online with 814 respondents and with 116 by telephone using live interviewers. The margin of error is +/- 4.2 percentage points.

• FiveThirtyEight rates Marquette University Law School 2.9 out of 3 stars.

• ICYMI: For an in-depth analysis of the poll from Michael Best, click here.

Upcoming Floor Sessions

• The Assembly will be on the floor February 13 and 15.

• The Senate will be on the floor February 13 and 20.