Assembly Speaker Robin Vos offers grim assessment of several hot-button bills
MADISON — Just call him Dr.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos: 'Dark stores' bill not likely to pass
MADISON — Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says a bill designed to force mega-retailers like Menards, Lowe's and ShopKo to pay more in property taxes is unlikely to pass the Legislature.Vos said Wednesday that he has "serious concerns" with the measure that's won bipartisan support and the backing of communities across the state.The bill is designed to close the so-called "dark store" loophole and increase how much mega-retailers pay local communities in property taxes.A string of court rulings in Wisconsin and across the Midwest have helped the retail giants lower the value placed on their stores for levying property taxes.
Assembly Speaker: Bill allowing permit-less concealed carry unlikely
MADISON — Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says a Republican-backed bill to allow the carrying of concealed weapons without a permit is unlikely to pass the Legislature next year.Vos said Wednesday that the measure is likely doomed because "there's not a big hue and cry" to pass it.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says new prison will be needed in Wisconsin
MADISON — Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he doesn't see any way around building a new prison to deal with overcrowding.Vos said Wednesday that he's received a report from the Council of State Governments that looked into Wisconsin's prison system.
Abolish Columbus Day? State lawmakers, activists push to replace with 'Indigenous Peoples Day'
MADISON -- Spurred on by students in Milwaukee County, some state lawmakers are pushing to get rid of Columbus Day and replace it with "Indigenous Peoples Day."
Democratic governor candidate Matt Flynn favors legalizing pot
MADISON — Democratic candidate for governor Matt Flynn says if Wisconsin voters want to legalize marijuana, he's all for it.Flynn on Tuesday called for the Republican-controlled Legislature to put a non-binding referendum on the November 2018 ballot asking if there's support for the legalization and sale of marijuana.If it would pass, Flynn says as governor he would push the Legislature to follow through.There have been small signs of movement in the current Legislature among supporters of legalizing marijuana.
Vos confirms dust-up with Kasich on redistricting: "An issue he frankly didn't know much about"
MADISON -- Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has confirmed he confronted fellow Republican John Kasich, the Ohio governor this fall.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says consensus not yet reached on permit-less carry bill
MADISON — Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he doesn't have a problem with allowing people to carry concealed weapons without a license, but consensus needs to be reached with Gov.
Assembly speaker calls Republicans terrorists; "Don't hold somebody hostage for your own personal needs"
MADISON — The speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly apologized Monday for calling three fellow Republican lawmakers "terrorists" over how they negotiated the state budget with Gov.
"Deliberate nastiness:" Wisconsin Senate discusses opposing views on state budget bill
MADISON -- The republican majority needs 17 votes out of their 20 senators to approve the $76-billion spending plan that was due on back on July 1st.
Wisconsin Senate begins budget debate
MADISON -- The Wisconsin Senate has begun debating the state budget 11 weeks after the $76 billion spending plan was due.Republicans entered the day one vote short of the 17 they needed to pass the plan.
Wisconsin Republicans defend Foxconn ahead of Assembly vote
MADISON -- Wisconsin Republicans say they are not moving too quickly on a bill that would extend up to $3 billion in tax breaks to Taiwan-based electronics giant Foxconn Technology Group to locate a massive $10 billion factory in the state.The state Assembly scheduled a vote on the measure Thursday, just three weeks after it was introduced.
Ingredients for controversy: Home bakers battle to make the 'Cookie Bill' a law
MILWAUKEE -- It's called the 'Cookie Bill.' It sounds sweet and simple, but it turns out the 'Cookie Bill' has all the ingredients for creating quite a controversy in Wisconsin.Angela Steinkamp is a home baker in Milwaukee who aspires to one day make baking her day job.
Senate Republicans who once hated borrowing now embrace it
MADISON — Senate Republicans who strongly opposed borrowing money to pay for Wisconsin's roads now back a plan to do just that by issuing $712 million in additional bonds, which has been a major obstacle to reaching a budget deal.Assembly Speaker Robin Vos emerged from a 90-minute meeting with Gov.
Senate GOP budget advances Milwaukee-area freeway projects with $712 million in bonding, but may lack support
MADISON — Wisconsin Senate Republicans took the unusual step Tuesday, July 18th of releasing their own state budget in an effort to end a weeks-long impasse, but admitted they may not have the votes to pass it in their chamber."I'm not going to make that prediction that I have the votes right now," Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald told reporters at a state Capitol news conference.The Senate GOP plan includes $712 million in borrowing for road construction, enough to move three Milwaukee-area freeway projects forward.
Assembly Speaker Vos says truck fee could bridge budget deal
MADISON — Assembly Republicans are supportive of a new fee on heavy trucks to help pay for roads and appear to be aligned with Gov.