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(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is out with a new report that says rolling back the limitations on collective bargaining included adopted more than a decade ago in Act 10 would cost local governments in Wisconsin nearly $500 million.

“At the time of Act 10’s passage, the legislation saved Wisconsin from pending financial ruin. As the federal government pulled back funding provided in the Great Recession, the state faced a budget deficit of more than $3.6 billion – the equivalent of nearly $5 billion today. Act 10 fixed the fiscal hole, and state and local budgets adjusted to the ‘new normal.’ There is little doubt that going back on the law would be ruinous for all levels of government,” the report states.

WILL’s Will Flanders said the nearly half-billion-dollar price tag for local governments includes:

● $113 million in new health insurance costs

● $360 million in new retirement benefit costs

● $12.7 million in new salary costs

“When faced with a budget shortfall, governments have two main options: raise additional revenue or cut services. It is not clear how this gap would be closed, but it is likely that a significant increase in the tax burden for Wisconsinites would be necessary,” the report adds.

The report looks at the cost projections for health insurance and retirement costs. It also notes that Act 10 never really slowed the pace of pay rises, acknowledging “Pay in 2012 – the last year prior to full Act

10 implementation – was $65,101 compared to $65,468 today. However, it seems the pay growth rate was arrested by the legislation. From 2000 to 2012, annual pay increases averaged about $241. From 2012 to 2022, pay increases averaged $46.”

The WILL report also quotes Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, who said ending Act 10 would be just as impactful as its implementation.

“It’s almost unfathomable how consequential it would be if Act 10 were repealed. I mean, we’ve made so much progress in the 10, 15 years since that was adopted,” Schoemann said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s here in Washington County, one of the most conservative places in Wisconsin or a place like the city of Milwaukee, the city of Madison, there have been huge reforms that have occurred at the local level since then. So to think about taking a step backwards in that way would be extraordinarily detrimental to our organization. And I think municipalities across the state of Wisconsin.”

WILL released a previous report on Act 10’s impact on public schools costs, That report said Act 10 has saved taxpayers more than $1.5 billion over the past decade-plus.

Act 10 is headed for a hearing before the Wisconsin Supreme Court after a Dane County judge questioned why and how lawmakers exempted certain public employees, like policemen and firefighters, from the law.

Haitians are not just arriving in Springfield, Ohio, but also in small rural towns nationwide as a result of several Biden-Harris administration policies.

Since fiscal 2021, more than 485,000 Haitian illegal border crossers, a record, have been reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The overwhelming majority were reported this fiscal year, nearly 216,000, compared to 48,727 in fiscal 2021.

Since fiscal 2021 through August, the majority have been apprehended at the southwest border of nearly 262,000, followed by nearly 221,000 nationwide and nearly 2,300 at the northern border, according to the data.

Additionally, since July, 205,000 Haitians have been released through the CHNV parole program, according to CBP data. Of the more than 765,000 illegal foreign nationals released into the country through the CBP One app, the top nationality is Haitian.Through these programs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also extended Temporary Permanent Status to them and granted work authorization.

All of these programs are illegal, state attorneys general who've sued to stop them, argue. U.S. House Republicans also cited them as among the many illegal actions Mayorkas caused them to impeach him. Mayorkas has since only expanded the programs and extended TPS.

When responding to the Haitian influx, local officials claim Haitians are there to work and are contributing to society despite claims by residents to the contrary.

The city of Springfield claims a "surge in our population over the last several years, primarily due to an influx of legal immigrants," suggesting that Springfield "is an appealing place for many reasons including lower cost of living and available work."

Springfield Mayor Bob Rue has said "my hands are tied in many ways" about the influx of Haitians, pointing to a designation they were given by the Biden-Harris administration. The TPS program "came from the White House and is a Homeland Security policy," he said at a recent city commission meeting.

Springfield residents have argued the overwhelming majority of Haitians are enrolling in welfare and not working; have caused increased crime andthere aren't enough police to deal with it; and residents are being killed by Haitian drivers. Rue has expressed concerns about the dangerous driving conditions, saying, "I have almost been hit myself."

In the last three years, Springfield's 50,000 population has swelled by roughly 20,000. City officials claim they are there "legally" through TPS through Feb. 3, 2026.

In Sylacauga, Alabama, residents have been demanding answers about busloads of Haitians being dropped into their community. At a Sept. 5 city council meeting, City Council President Tiffany Nix shut down a meeting and made the issue about race. "We have no reason to treat people differently because of how they look," she said. "There's no reason for us to discuss this any further." She also said, "I'm going to welcome anybody to Sylacauga that wants to come to Sylacauga," 1819 News reported.

Sylacauga resident David Phillips said, "there is no way the State Department can vet these people," adding that they were coming from a failed state and potentially dangerous.

Residents continue to speak out. At a Sept. 17 meeting, Nix said Haitians were there on 18-month visas. A meeting has also been scheduled with state and federal lawmakers.

In Coffee County, one resident claimed, "30,000 illegal aliens are scheduled to arrive in the first week of October, 1,000 of them in Baldwin County," and that human trafficking was involved, 1819 News reported. Enterprise City Councilman Greg Padgett posted a statement on Facebook saying, "Enterprise is not a sanctuary city; No elected officials have received bribes to allow Haitians into our city; No one informed the elected officials of our city about this program, how many are here, and for what purpose - so there has been nothing covered up." He also said they are "doing our best to obtain factual answers."

In Charleroi, Penn., the immigrant population has grown "by over 2,000% in just the last two years," primarily due to a Haitian influx, 11 News reported. Despite this creating a strain for the local school district, Charleroi Council Borough Manager Joe Manning told KDKA News, Haitians aren't "a drain on our resources, they don't cause problems."Charleroi Council President Kristin Hopkins-Calek said their community is "steeped in a rich history of immigration," and Haitians were making a positive contribution, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported.

Under current law, the majority of Haitians being released into the U.S. are inadmissible but have been ordered to be released by the Biden-Harris administration and given "notice to appear" documents for an immigration court hearing years into the future. The NTA states they are inadmissible, CBP officials have explained to The Center Square. Several U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security reports acknowledge their NTA inadmissible status and state their release, not removal, violates federal law established by Congress. If federal law were followed, House Republicans argue the large majority would be prohibited entry.

Many inadmissible Haitians became citizens of Mexico, Chile and other countries, living and working there for years prior to claiming asylum in the U.S., The Center Square has previously reported. Border Patrol and local Texas officials first realized this when what became 30,000 Haitians descended on Del Rio, Texas, in September 2021. Many left their passports and identifying documents – which show their citizenship was not Haitian – in Mexico, claiming they had none. The majority were released into communities nationwide, The Center Square reported.

(The Center Square) – A Republican lawmaker in Wisconsin want to avoid another fight to get off the ballot.

State Rep. Scott Krug, R-Nekoosa, who oversees the Assembly’s elections committee said on UpFront over the weekend that he wants to change the state law that keeps people on the ballot, almost no matter what.

"We can't force people to do things they don't want to do anymore, even if they wanted to do them earlier," Krug said.

Krug said there’s no victory in forcing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the November ballot even though he’s no longer running for president.

Kennedy has challenged Wisconsin’s ballot access law by arguing it creates two timelines for getting off the ballot. Kennedy says Wisconsin law sets one deadline for Republicans and Democrats to get off the ballot, while it sets another timeline for independent candidates.

A Dane County judge has already rejected Kennedy’s claim, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court was still considering Kennedy’s argument.

Krug said Kennedy has a point to be made.

"I think you saw in the court case they made a pretty strong First Amendment argument that it wasn't what he wanted to do any more, and we kind of forced him into it,” Krug explained. “So that would be the change, I would propose next session is just saying before that final meeting with WEC, let's define what qualified means on the ballot."

It is, however, unlikely Krug and his fellow Republicans will be able to change Wisconsin’s ballot laws. Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed almost every election legislation that lawmakers have sent him over the past four years.

The governor has said he will not sign any new laws that make it more difficult for people to vote.

"I think that's been the challenge we've had the last four years is helping people understand why and how they are working so closely with our clerks, getting information out, having a lot of hearings, a session about ideas and changes we wanted to make," Krug said during the weekend show. "Not a ton of changes got signed into state law, but I think everybody's awareness of how our election process works and how their interactions with their clerks can be handled really gives me a lot of confidence going into this last stretch of the election cycle, that it's safe and secure."

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(The Center Square) – At the Wisconsin Election Commission’s request, the state’s Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up the petition to rule on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s lawsuit seeking his removal from the ballot, bypassing the court of appeals.

The decision follows the Dane County Circuit Court’s ruling Monday to keep Kennedy on the ballot.

“Given the need for a prompt resolution of this appeal, the court does not contemplate holding oral argument in this matter,” the court announced. “The court will endeavor to issue a written decision as expeditiously as possible.”

The action breaks with typical court procedure to reject premature petitions, leading Justices Rebecca Bradley and Annette Ziegler to issue a dissent.

“A majority of this court grants the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s (WEC) petition to bypass the court of appeals before the WEC has filed its response brief, despite the majority’s professed practice in prior cases of ‘generally den[ying] as premature petitions for bypass prior to the filing of briefs in the court of appeals,’ Bradley said Friday. “Such arbitrariness by courts is antithetical to the original understanding of the judicial role.”

Kennedy’s effort to remove himself from the state’s ballot has encountered setbacks for months. After withdrawing from the presidential race and endorsing former President Donald Trump, Kennedy had sent a letter Aug. 23 to the WEC, requesting his name be removed from the ballot.

But in its certification of presidential candidates five days later, the WEC voted 5-1 to put Kennedy’s name on the ballot, saying he had missed the Aug. 6 deadline for third party candidates to withdraw from the General Election. Following the decision, county clerks were authorized to begin printing ballots and Kennedy filed his lawsuit, which the Dane County Circuit Court struck down.

As Americans struggle with high inflationary costs, paying record high grocery costs and energy bills, Congress continues to allocate billions of dollars of taxpayer money to fund services for illegal border crossers living in U.S. cities.

Prior to the last budget funding showdown in March, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said in January that “any bill that does not secure the border is not acceptable.”

He also identified 64 examples of ways he says the Biden-Harris administration “worked to systematically undermine America’s border security.”

In February, House Republicans impeached Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas arguing he was derelict in his duty and violated the public trust by creating a border crisis. One month later, the majority of Republicans who voted to impeach him, passed a spending bill that funded programs he created they maintain are illegal.

While Americans complain about escalating crime caused by illegal border crossers who’ve inundated their communities, Congress funded the programs that brought them there – and are keeping them there – including DHS’ Shelter and Services Program grants funneling billions to primarily Democratic states, counties, cities as well as nonprofits.

Likewise, the U.S. Senate’s “strongest border security bill in history” the White House, Senate and House Democrats keep touting, co-authored by U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-OK, allocated “an additional $1.4 billion in SSP funds, and provide additional needed tools and resources to respond to historic global migration,” DHS says – to fund caring for illegal border crossers released into the US.

DHS recently announced the latest round of SSP funding of $380 million—a drop in the bucket to overall spending authorized by Congress. This round “augments the $259.13 million in SSP grants that DHS distributed in April 2024 … which was authorized by Congress to support communities that are providing services to migrants,” DHS says.

The April DHS grant money was distributed after Congress in March passed a $1.2 trillion spending package to avoid a so-called government shutdown, despite Johnson’s and others’ claims, about requiring border security as a condition for passing it.

More than $780 million worth of SSP and the Emergency Food and Shelter Program – Humanitarian Awards grants were awarded in fiscal 2023 “which went to organizations and cities across the country,” DHS says. That’s after DHS awarded $640.9 million in fiscal 2024 “to enable non-federal entities to off-set allowable costs incurred for services associated with noncitizen migrant arrivals in their communities,” also authorized by Congress.

Here are examples of fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024 grant recipients and the amounts they received.

The SSP grants are awarded in phases. One round in fiscal 2024, totaling $40.8 million, was awarded to:

City/County of Denver, $5.9 million;District of Columbia, $2.7 million;City of Chicago, $3.8 million;Commonwealth of Massachusetts, nearly $4.9 million;NYC Office of Management and Budget, $20.4 million;City of Philadelphia over $3 million.That’s after $275 million was awarded to 55 recipients in the attached spreadsheet. Top recipients in one round of funding include:New York City’s Office of Management and Budget, $38.8 million;Pima County, Ariz., $21.8 million;Catholic Charities, Diocese of San Diego of $19.5 million;Maricopa County, $11.6 million, among others.

Democratic-led cities also received large payouts in one round of funding:

Atlanta, $10.8 million;Chicago, $9.6 million;Denver, $5.8 million.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts also cashed in, receiving nearly $7 million; the District of Columbia received $8.7 million; Illinois, $9.6 million, all in one round of funding.

Democratic controlled El Paso County has long received federal money to coordinate transporting illegal foreign nationals north to New York City, Chicago and Denver, The Center Square reported; Austin and San Antonio followed suit flying north “guests coming from the border,” to “proactively manage the flow of people” out of their cities.

These grants exclude others awarded through numerous other federal agencies, including FEMA, U.S. Health and Human Services and others.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-FL, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, and several House Freedom Caucus members argue Congress has a constitutional requirement to stop funding the border crisis. DeSantis, a Freedom Caucus member when he served in Congress, has asked, “How many congressmen rail against Biden’s transgressions yet still vote to fund them?”

Massie said in January that “in March, when funding expires, we can put a rider in the next bill that says none of the money hereby appropriated can be used to countermand border security measures of the states.”

This didn’t happen. The majority of Republicans voted to keep spending taxpayer money on these programs. By July, a U.S. House Judiciary Committee report highlighted examples of how Congress was still funding the border crisis.

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In many battleground states, former President Donald Trump is in better position this election cycle compared to the same time in the 2020 election cycle when he lost to Joe Biden.

In six of the seven consensus states, Trump’s polling average is better than the same point four years ago. Ninety-three electoral college votes ride on Pennsylvania (19), North Carolina (16), Georgia (16), Michigan (15), Arizona (11), Wisconsin (10) and Nevada (six).

Biden won six of those states in 2020 – North Carolina was the exception – and the electoral college 306-232.

Polling information from Project 538 is included in the following state by state summaries.

Michigan

Michigan is a perfect example of this trend.

At this point in 2020, Biden led Trump by nearly 8%. This year, Vice President Kamala Harris leads Trump by only 1.8%, which is well within the margin of error.

Harris polls better than Biden when he was in the race in June and July. Michigan has the trifecta of Democrats for governor and majorities in both chambers of the Legislature.

Biden was leading Trump by 7.9% in polling heading into Election Day. He then won by just 2.8%.

This year, Harris' 5% behind Biden could be pivotal.

Arizona

Arizona is seeing a very similar trend to Michigan.

In 2020, Biden led Trump by an average of 4.8%. Compared to Trump’s lead today in the state of nearly 1%, polling has Trump up nearly 6% compared to his 2020 average.

Harris is still within the margin of error, usually about 3% to 4% on most polls.

Biden led the polls by 2.6% going into Election Day and won by 11,000 votes, or just 0.3%.

Georgia

In Georgia, Trump is polling just 0.4% ahead of Harris – down from 1.4% over Biden four years ago.

In 2020, Biden began leading Trump on Oct. 1. By Election Day, he was 1.2% ahead of Trump. The winning difference was about 11,000 votes, or just 0.2%.

Since 1980, this was only one of two times that the Republican presidential candidate lost in Georgia.

Nevada

While Harris is ahead of Trump in Nevada by 0.5%, it is 5% less than Biden's lead at the same time. Trump never led in polling in the final three months.

This election season, Trump has led the polls numerous times since early August.

In 2020, Biden was polling 5.3% ahead of Trump on Election Day. Yet, he won by only 2.4%.

North Carolina

North Carolina is particularly interesting. It has been the focus of both campaigns over the last few weeks, and Democrats believe they can win the state for the first time since Barack Obama won it in 2008.

Trump outperformed the polls here both four and eight years ago, winning the state twice.

In 2020, Biden was polling 1.8% ahead of Trump going into Election Day and lost by 1.3%. The Democrat never trailed in the final months, and was 1.2% ahead at this same time.

Trump has led all four polls in the last week since his debate against Harris, and his consensus lead is a slim 0.3%.

Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, Harris is polling 3% behind where Biden was polling at this point in 2020. She is leading Trump by 1.4%, while Biden was leading him by 4.8%.

On Election Day, Biden was nearly 5% ahead of Trump, and won by 1.2%.

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, Trump has significantly narrowed Harris' recent lead.

At this point in 2020, Biden was leading by 6.7%, but he eventually finished on Election Day with polling a whopping 8.4% ahead of Trump. He won by just 0.8%.

This time around, Harris is ahead only 1.6%, or within the margin of error. Since August, Trump has slowly been narrowing her lead over him.

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(The Center Square) – There are new challenges to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ 400-year school funding increase.

Both the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and the Institute for Reforming Government recently filed amicus briefs with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, challenging the governor's veto power.

“The partial veto power is a tool in the governor’s toolbelt, but it has a specific purpose. When it comes to fiscal policy, the partial veto power is a one-way rachet. It empowers the governor to tighten public spending and taxation by eliminating or reducing budgetary items, but it does not permit the reverse. The governor cannot use the partial veto power to increase either appropriations or revenue. That function requires a different tool – legislative power – which is not in the governor’s toolbelt,” IRGs brief states.

Evers changed a line in the current state budget to change a two-year school funding increase into a 400-year increase.

IRG CEO C.J. Szafir said the governor’s veto is both “unconstitutional and sets a disastrous precedent for policy.”

“Separation of powers is worth the fighting for and while we do not file a lot of briefs, we felt this was a debate that we couldn't sit out,” Szafir added.

WILL Attorney Skylar Croy called Evers’ veto both “dangerous and unconstitutional.”

“No executive should have the power to single handedly manipulate bills into something entirely beyond the legislature’s intentions. Continuing to operate this way will create negative consequences far into the future,” Croy added.

Evers changed the line “for the limit for the 2023-2024 school year and the 2024-2025 school year, add $325” to read “For the limit for 2023-2425, add $325.”

WILL’s argument to the court states that while the Wisconsin Constitution gives the governor a limited partial veto power.

“Appropriation bills may be approved in whole or in part by the governor, and the part approved shall become law,” the constitution states.

“However, a ‘part’ refers to a ‘part’ of the policy proposal in the bill, not the alphanumeric characters,” WILL argues to the court.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court in June said it would consider the case and has asked for arguments.

Evers has defended the 400-year funding increase as a way to “provide school districts with predictable long-term increases for the foreseeable future.”

The court has not said when it will hear oral arguments in the case.

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(The Center Square) – Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney said Wisconsin needs a proper process to check its voter rolls for noncitizens and remove them, ensuring election integrity in the state.

Currently, election commissions cannot check their rolls with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to ensure an estimated 90,000 individuals who are currently legally in the state, who can get a drivers license, do not register to vote.

Toney was one of several officials statewide to take part in a Tuesday morning press conference from the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy about Wisconsin election integrity.

Wisconsin election managers recently pushed for an Office of Election Transparency and Compliance, with a $2 million budget request for the office approved by the Wisconsin Election Commission.

“We want to make sure that it is easy to vote but hard to cheat,” said Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany, who holds the state’s Seventh Congressional seat.

Tiffany pointed to the SAVE Act, pushed by Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, Chairman of the Committee on House Administration. The bill passed the House in July with a 221-198 vote but has not been taken up by the Senate.

Tiffany said that the bill would setup a process ensuring that only citizens are registered to vote and that states must check voter rolls to ensure that is true. Ohio and Arizona were just some of the states where noncitizens have been removed from rolls.

Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt, meanwhile, said that it’s essential that each citizen gets just one vote and that election laws are followed. He pointed to a Supreme Court ruling that only the voter can put their own ballot in a ballot drop box as one way to ensure that.

Dodge County does not use drop boxes because it did not have proper monitoring to ensure that only the voter was dropping a ballot. The only exception to the rule comes if a person is bedridden.

“Election laws are just like any other laws, they must be followed,” Schmidt said.

Toney called election and ballot integrity a nonpartisan issue that all in Wisconsin should want to ensure. He said that it would be more difficult for someone in the country illegally to vote because they cannot get a driver’s license but it essential to have a process in place to check those who are in the country legally but are not allowed to vote.

“It is a felony to do this and it is a deportable offense,” Tiffany said.

House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., threatened Tuesday to subpoena the head of border patrol, saying he has not received answers when asked about Vice President Kamala Harris' role as border czar.

Comer sent a letter to Troy Miller, the acting commissioner for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, requesting documents and communications regarding Harris' role in working with CBP to address the border crisis.

"The deadline to produce has passed, and CBP has failed to provide the Committee with any responsive documents, communications, or even a timeline for when CBP intends to comply with the request," the letter said.

CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"If CBP continues to withhold documents and communications on this matter, the Committee will consider alternative measures to obtain this information, including through the compulsory process," Comer said in the letter.

Harris has tried to distance herself from her role in handling the border issue for President Joe Biden, in part because the border has been in crisis throughout the administration with millions of illegal immigrants pouring into the U.S. in just under four years.

Several high-profile crimes committed by illegal immigrants have helped push the issue to the forefront as the number of migrants coming into the U.S. under the Biden administration alone has surpassed the total population of most U.S. states.

Now, lawmakers want answers about what exactly Harris did, or didn't do, to handle the border crisis.

"It is important the Committee and the American people understand Vice President Harris's role as the border czar in the ongoing border crisis," the letter said. "The mass illegal entry and release of illegal aliens into the United States under the Biden-Harris Administration has contributed to murders, sexual assaults, and serious bodily injuries committed against numerous Americans at the hands of illegal aliens. These crimes should have never happened."