Undemocratic: Secrecy and Power vs. The People
Photo essay: Wisconsin’s frenetic lame duck session
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The Legislature held an extraordinary session to push through a series of fast-tracked bills before Gov. Scott Walker leaves office.
WisWatch Blog
Drafting notes silent on author of open records overhaul
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Sixty pages of drafting documents included only initials and partial names of legislative service agency staffers.
State Legislature
Are higher per diems for lawmakers ‘outrageous,’ or long overdue?
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Not surprisingly, the reaction from some quarters was harsh. In a letter to the editor, Oak Creek resident Wayne Meyer called the higher per diems “unconscionable,” saying it “borders on criminal.”
Under the Influence
In Wisconsin statehouse, laws on drunken driving seen as tough enough
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How did Republican backing in a GOP-controlled state, overwhelming public support and virtually no opposition add up to the legislative defeat of a package of drunken driving bills aiming to increase penalties?
Money & Politics Column
Lobbyist bill draws sharp reactions
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“No one outside of the Capitol Square in Madison has been clamoring for increasing the ability of lobbyists to make campaign contributions to legislators,” declared Jay Heck of Common Cause in Wisconsin.
Money & Politics Column
Public wants action on redistricting
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Recently the Wisconsin State Journal asked Dennis Dresang, political science professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, about state Republicans’ push to bar local governments from regulating everything from the sale of large sugary drinks to the use of explosives by sand mining companies. Negative reaction to these curbs on local control, mused the veteran political observer, might hurt Gov. Scott Walker at the polls. But he doubted the GOP would lose seats in the Legislature, given how voter boundaries have been redrawn to the party’s advantage.
Climate Change
State cool to climate-change action
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Of the more than 600 bills introduced in Wisconsin’s 2013-14 legislative session, none contains the terms “climate change,” “greenhouse gases” or “global warming,” and only a handful deal with energy policy.
Money & Politics Column
Are former lawmakers cashing in?
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Jay Heck of Common Cause in Wisconsin decries the “revolving door” between lawmaking and lobbying: “It feeds a public perception that legislators, at least some of them, are legislators so they can cash in on the contacts they make.”
Money & Politics Column
Court ruling blamed for record spending
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The 2012 presidential and congressional elections, said Lisa Graves, was “the most expensive election in U.S. history. In fact, it was the most expensive election in the history of the world.”
wisconsin democracy campaign
GAB: threatened with overhaul, praised by advocates
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State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, incoming Majority Leader, has been suggesting that the Government Accountability Board should be governed by partisan appointees, rather than the six retired judges who now do the job. “I just don’t think they’re an independent voice at all,” the Republican from Juneau told the Associated Press.