The Legislature's Republican-controlled budget committee objected Wednesday to Gov. Tony Evers' plans to spend $31 million Wisconsin is slated to receive in a multi-state settlement with drug manufacturers over their role in the opioid crisis.
Read More »Tag Archives: Joint Finance Committee
Highlights of Republican-authored Wisconsin state budget
The Wisconsin Legislature's budget-writing committee planned to complete its work Thursday on the state's next two-year spending plan, paving the way for the Senate and Assembly to vote on it later this month.
Read More »JFC approves budget increases for courts, DAs, public defenders
The Wisconsin Joint Committee on Finance has approved budget increases for state courts, district attorneys and public defenders.
Read More »Report: State courts, DOJ, DOC spent $97M on contractors in 2020
A report from the Wisconsin Department of Administration shows state agencies within the criminal-justice system spent more than $97 million on services from outside contractors in fiscal year 2020.
Read More »JFC approves $10K settlement, juvenile treatment center expansion
The Joint Committee on Finance on Thursday approved a $10,000 settlement in a lawsuit over improper dredging and an expansion project for a Madison juvenile-treatment center.
Read More »Wisconsin Legislature’s budget committee to hold 4 hearings
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee plans to hold three in-person public hearings on Gov. Tony Evers’ $91 billion state budget proposal, with one virtual hearing for the first time due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The in-person hearings will be in Whitewater, Rhinelander and Menomonie. “We are not going to hide in Madison,” said Rep. ...
Read More »JFC approves farm runoff settlements, dismissal of multi-state post office suit
Wisconsin's Joint Committee on Finance has approved three settlements and the Wisconsin Department of Justice's request for dismissal of a multi-state lawsuit over post-office policies.
Read More »JFC conditionally approves funding for 2 Milwaukee ADA positions
The Wisconsin Joint Committee on Finance has conditionally approved money for two full-time assistant district attorney positions in Milwaukee County.
Read More »AG to ask Republican lawmakers to sign off on 4 settlements
By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Attorney General Josh Kaul was poised Tuesday to ask lawmakers to approve four more legal settlements under Wisconsin’s lame-duck laws. Kaul, a Democrat, was scheduled to present possible settlements to the Legislature’s Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee to resolve cases involving agricultural pollution, landfill violations, a petroleum spill and deceptive housing practices. ...
Read More »JFC approves adding 20 new positions to manage CCAP
Wisconsin is adding 20 new employees to manage the state's CCAP services.
Read More »JFC considering request to add 20 new positions to manage CCAP
Wisconsin's Joint Committee on Finance is considering a request to add 20 new positions to manage the state's CCAP services.
Read More »Finance panel pushes GOP tax cuts to full Senate, Assembly (UPDATE)
Republican lawmakers are beginning a last-minute push on Monday for a plan to reduce taxes by $250 million with a public hearing and vote in the Legislature’s powerful finance committee.
Read More »Finance committee, Kaul to discuss 3 possible settlements
Republican lawmakers and Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul are scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss settling three lawsuits after the defendants in those cases agreed to make the terms of the deals public.
Read More »JFC approves 4 full-time ADA positions
Wisconsin's Joint Committee on Finance has approved four new full-time positions for assistant district attorneys. Dane, Brown, Waukesha and Eau Claire counties will each receive one new position.
Read More »Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds GOP’s lame-duck laws
Wisconsin's conservative-controlled Supreme Court on Friday upheld lame-duck laws limiting the powers of Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, handing Republican lawmakers a resounding victory.
Read More »GOP plans to kill Medicaid expansion, pot legalization
Republicans plan to kill some of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' signature proposals in the first vote taken this year by the state's budget-writing committee, proposals including accepting federal money to offer more Medicaid, legalizing medical marijuana and capping enrollment in private voucher schools.
Read More »Republican leaders say Evers’ pot proposal to be snuffed out
Republican leaders of the Wisconsin Legislature's budget committee say Gov. Tony Evers' proposal to legalize medical marijuana and small amounts of recreational pot will be snuffed out.
Read More »Legislators approve Evers transition budget
The Legislature's finance committee has approved Gov.-elect Tony Evers' transition budget.
Read More »Secret moves hide Wisconsin lawmakers’ actions from public
It was 10:30 p.m. on June 3, 2011, the last day of deliberations on Wisconsin's state budget.
Read More »Panel changes court rules for Foxconn plant
Foxconn Technology Group could appeal lawsuits directly to the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court, skipping the state appeals court, under changes to a $3 billion incentive package the Legislature's budget-writing committee approved Tuesday.
Read More »Prosecutor pay progression still far from certain
Legislation to establish a pay progression plan for Wisconsin prosecutors is a signature away from becoming law, but absent financial backing from the state, it is little more than an empty promise.
Read More »Small claims actions range doubles to $10,000
An increase in the jurisdictional amount for small claims actions in Wisconsin effective today is expected to increase the burden on court commissioners and judges in the state.
Read More »Budget reinstates half of Judicial Council’s annual costs
The Wisconsin Judicial Council will remain in business, with a paid staff attorney, after the state budget signed Sunday by Gov. Scott Walker included money to maintain the agency. But the 2011-13 budget only pays for half the annual operating costs of the council, providing $69,700 of the $127,700 the council was given in the state’s 2009-11 budget. Staff Attorney ...
Read More »Panel approves training, permits for concealed-carry bill (UPDATE)
By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — People looking to carry concealed guns in Wisconsin would need a license and proof they can handle a firearm under revisions made Thursday to a bill to lift the state’s ban on hidden weapons. The changes the Legislature’s budget committee approved would require applicants to pay the state Department of Justice ...
Read More »Lawmakers to ponder training in weapons bill
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Legislature’s budget committee is set to consider adding mandatory permits and training requirements to a bill that would lift Wisconsin’s ban on concealed weapons. Republicans have been considering several bills that would allow concealed carry. The leading version in the state Assembly would require permits. A Senate version would make permits optional. Neither bill would ...
Read More »Bill to buy down Wis. debt clears committee
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A proposal backed by Gov. Scott Walker to buy down some of Wisconsin’s debt has passed the Legislature’s budget committee. Walker and Republican lawmakers want to tap some of the $636 million expected to come into the state through tax collections above earlier projections. Democrats and supporters of public schools and other areas targeted for deep ...
Read More »With union bill tied up in courts, Walker not counting on savings this year
By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Scott Walker no longer expects to see the savings from forcing state workers to pay more for their health insurance and pension benefits before the start of the next budget year in July. Walker is supporting a bill circulated Tuesday in the Legislature by Republican lawmakers that doesn’t count on ...
Read More »Cold shoulder at the Capitol
April Southwick is staring down the possibility of unemployment with the eyes of someone who’s seen a lot worse.
Read More »Union vote could come in committee (UPDATE)
By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican legislative leaders said Wednesday that if the courts have not ruled on the legality of the collective bargaining bill passed earlier this year by early June, it will be added into the state budget by the Joint Finance Committee. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald both told ...
Read More »Budget panel votes to eliminate judicial position, office (UPDATE)
The Legislature's budget-writing committee has voted to eliminate the only staff position that coordinates activity of the Judicial Council.
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