Yearly Archives: 2022

(The Center Square) – The plan from Wisconsin Republicans to get people back to work took its first step forward at the Capitol Thursday.

The Wisconsin Assembly approved new rules for people receiving unemployment and Medicaid benefits.

“We are looking to build a stronger workforce,” Rep. Bob Petryk, R-Town of Washington, said Thursday, “It is the number one issue among employers in our state.”

Petryk’s proposal, AB 883, would make a series of changes to how unemployment benefits are managed in the state.

“Instead of looking at an entitlement, what we want the Department [of Workforce Development] to do is change their focus to helping people get back to work,” Petryk said.

Some of the changes would require people on unemployment in Wisconsin to look for work, actually go on interviews, and accept jobs that they’re offered in order to qualify for benefits.

Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said the idea is not to punish people, but to get them back into the workforce.

“We know this is the biggest issue facing our state, facing our state economy right now,” Born said. “We know that we have 100,000 fewer people in the workforce than we did pre-pandemic. And we know that we have seen growth in our benefit programs.”

The Assembly passed the plans on party-line votes. The state Senate is next.

But that’s about as far as the changes will go. Gov. Evers is expected to kill the plans when or if it makes it to his desk.

(The Center Square) – One Republican lawmaker is offering to accept Gov. Tony Evers’ offer to provide tax relief for Wisconsin, and even add a little.

The governor on Wednesday signed an order calling for a special session of the legislature on March 8 to consider his plan to provide $150 tax rebate checks for everyone in the state.

“[The] Legislative Fiscal Bureau recently released new projections indicating the state general fund balance will have a $3.8 billion surplus at the end of the 2021-23 biennium – nearly $2.9 billion more than was previously projected in June 2021,” the governor wrote in his special session proclamation. “Nevertheless, these costs remain a top concern for working Wisconsinites and families in every corner of the state, many of whom are already working to try and make ends meet.”

Most Republican lawmakers call Evers’ $150 rebate plan an election-year giveaway. The Republican-controlled Assembly and Senate are expected to ignore the March special session call.

But Sen. Roger Roth, R-Appleton, is willing to come back to Madison and vote on tax reforms. Just not the governor’s plan.

“Let’s not stop at $150 in one-time refunds, let’s use this historic opportunity to return all surplus funds back to the hard working families and businesses of Wisconsin,” Roth said Thursday. “Let’s use this special session to take up my bill to become the first state in the Midwest to eliminate the state income tax.”

On Monday, Roth and other Republicans introduced a plan to reduce Wisconsin’s personal income tax with the hope of fully eliminating it in a few years.

The proposal would lower income tax rates to:

2.15% (currently 3.54%)2.85% (currently 4.65%)3.20% (currently 5.30%)4.50% (currently 7.65%)

Roth says if Wisconsin’s finances don’t suffer, the tax rates would be reduced again.

Wisconsin Republicans are looking to make the state the eighth in the nation without a state income tax.

The debate is expected to ramp-up next year when the legislature will begin the process of writing a new state budget. And when Wisconsin may have a new governor.

(The Center Square) – The days of face masks are numbered at the University of Wisconsin.

The UW System on Wednesday announced campuses across the state can begin to end their mask requirements on March 1.

“While we will continue to take prudent prevention measures when warranted, restrictions can be lifted as case counts drop,” UW President Tommy Thompson said in a statement.

Wisconsin’s seven day average for new cases is down to 239 cases, and the state’s positivity rate is down to 8.9%. Both of those numbers are just about where they were at the beginning of the school year when the university ordered students to mask-up for a return to class.

“Our students have been terrific for the last two years in demonstrating a culture of responsibility,” Thompson said. “We have worked relentlessly to instill in them the need to protect themselves and those around them. Students should be able to cheer on sports teams, attend concerts and performances, and go to classes without masks when the conditions are right.”

UW-Madison, the state’s largest campus, said it will end its mask mandate on March 12. Other campuses on Wednesday announced their mask mandates will end on March 11.

“That means we’re at a point where responsible behavior is up to the individual to decide,” UW-Madison said in its statement. “We recognize that individuals will have different reactions to mask requirements ending and that for some it may feel stressful. We encourage those who want to continue to wear masks to do so and we will continue to make high-quality masks available to our campus community free of charge. Please respect everyone’s individual choices about masking.”

(The Center Square) – No one is any closer to an agreement on just what happened during the 2020 election in Wisconsin after the latest election hearing at the Capitol.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission testified before the Assembly’s Committee on Campaigns and Elections.

“A lot of the concerns about the November 2020 presidential election are based on assumptions that lack full understanding of election policies, laws, and technologies. Other concerns expressed to this committee have alleged startling claims of fraud without evidence,” WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe told lawmakers. “Nearly all of these concerns can be easily explained and understood once placed in context of how our election systems work.”

Wolfe said WEC has worked hard to answer questions about the state’s voter rolls, vote count, and allegedly fake voters.

On Wednesday the Commission said one of those accused fake voters, a man by the name of Ambrose Adventure, turned out to be a real person who legally changed his name.

Rep. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison, told Wolfe that quicker and more complete answers from the Commission would have helped.

“There’s 50-plus conspiracy theories out there,” Tusler said. “If we can narrow down the most tangible one, kind of get rid of these easier to explain ones, I think we’d all be in a better place now.”

The hearing came as tensions between Republicans grew over their response to the 2020 election. Assembly Campaigns and Elections Chairwoman Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, issued a statement after the hearing in which she accused Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of “kneecapping” her election investigation and reform efforts.

“It is no secret that the Speaker of the Assembly, Robin Vos, and State Sen. Kathy Bernier have been severely downplaying the significance of the voter fraud that the elections committee, the special counsel, and numerous independent groups have uncovered. Even in the face of growing outrage from an overwhelming number of Wisconsinites across the state, they continue to play political games with the future of our elections and our state,” Brandtjen said.

She’s upset that Vos sent some election reforms to a different Assembly committee. Bernier is the chairwoman of the Senate’s election committee.

“My question is simple: What are Robin Vos and Kathy Bernier afraid of?” Brandtjen asked.

Wednesday’s hearing also came one day after Brandtjen and now Republican candidate for governor Rep. Tim Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, rallied at the Capitol with a few hundred people.

Ramthun is running for governor on a promise to recall Wisconsin’s electoral votes, which election officials say is impossible, and move forward with a complete forensic audit of the 2020 election.

(The Center Square) – Gov. Tony Evers covered a lot of ground during his fourth State of the State, ranging from such topics as farm aid to the internet to tourism.

But Republican lawmakers say the governor ignored two of Wisconsin’s most pressing issues: crime and election reform.

“While crime is skyrocketing across the state, [Gov. Evers] has no plans to make us feel safer in our homes,” Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said after Tuesday night’s speech. “He lamented his inability to accomplish ’justice reform,’ another way of lamenting that Wisconsin isn’t more like Illinois, California and New York. The solution isn’t weaker criminal penalties, defunding the police, prosecuting fewer crimes, or eliminating cash bail.”

The senator continued, noting the state's crime rate has spiked upward at 9%.

"Milwaukee just recorded a record high in homicides. And people don’t feel safe in their communities, yet Gov. Evers failed to present a plan to combat crime or even mention the subject,” Sen. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, said. “One in five murder or attempted murder suspects in Milwaukee County was out on bond for another felony. It’s time to get tough on crime, pass meaningful bail reform, and actually support our police.”

Republican lawmakers also noted Evers failed to mention election reforms.

“The governor also failed to address the issues with our previous elections by vetoing several reforms,” Rep. Chuck Wichgers, R-Muskego, said.

Evers used the speech to take credit for Wisconsin’s low unemployment rate, as well as tax breaks and the state’s record budget surplus.

Republican lawmakers were quick to say that they are responsible for the tax cuts and the $4 billion surplus.

“Gov, Evers tried to take credit for a slew of Republican victories, including a massive $2 billion tax cut, record low unemployment, and the largest rainy day fund in state history,” Rep. Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, said. “For four years, Governor Evers has pushed a radical-left agenda that includes more government, higher taxes, and less freedom. Republicans are committed to cutting taxes, protecting our police officers, and empowering parents to get involved in their children’s education.”

(The Center Square) – The latest tax map in the United States might add to the debate over whether Wisconsin should end or reduce its personal income tax.

The Tax Foundation's new report looks at income tax rates across the country, and Wisconsin comes in as one of the most taxed states in the Midwest.

The Tax Foundation notes that Wisconsin’s 7.65% tax rate is third highest in the Midwest, behind Minnesota and Iowa; and it's the third highest among all Great Lakes states. Only New York and Minnesota are higher on that list.

Among our neighbors, both Illinois and Michigan have lower income tax rates than Wisconsin.

“I think a lot of Wisconsinites would be surprised to learn that Illinois of all places has a flat and much lower income tax rate. If Wisconsin wants to attract businesses and residents from high-tax Minnesota and highly regulated Illinois, policymakers should start by dramatically lessening our tax burden,” The Badger Institute’s Michael Jahr told The Center Square.

The report comes as Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol push toward lowering and eventually eliminating Wiscosin’s personal income tax.

Jahr said the Badger Institute has worked with the Tax Foundation on a range of tax reform options that would make Wisconsin more competitive.

“A fair and pro-growth tax structure, combined with Wisconsin’s overall fiscal health, would make the Badger State an even more inviting place to do business. Whether it’s through flattening, eliminating or better balancing our various taxes, the need for reform is pressing,” Jahr said. “People factor in things like taxes when deciding where to live or locate a business. States without an income tax clearly have an advantage as evidenced by the population and business growth they’ve experienced in recent years.”

There are seven states without a state income tax, and another 11 that have flat income taxes. Wisconsin is not on either list.

The Tax Foundation’s report states that income taxes make-up a sizable chunk of state revenues across the country, accounting for about 36% of all monies that states take-in. In Wisconsin, that number is closer to 50%.

(The Center Square) – Wolf hunting in Wisconsin is doubtful this year after a federal judge in California said gray wolves need to be protected once again.

Federal District Judge Jeffrey White from the Northern District of California on Thursday ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to look at the full population of wolves in parts of the west and the upper Midwest when the agency removed endangered species protections for the wolves back in 2021.

“The Service’s analysis relied on two core wolf populations to delist wolves nationally and failed to provide a reasonable interpretation of the ‘significant portion of its range’ standard,” White wrote.

The ruling halts wolf hunting across the country, except for parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Hunter Nation, one of the groups in Wisconsin that pressed for a return to wolf hunting, said in a statement Thursday that the judge is turning his back on “common-sense predator management.”

The group-issued statement continued: “We are disappointed that an activist judge from California decided to tell farmers, ranchers, and anyone who supports a balanced ecosystem that he knows better than them,” Hunter Nation President and CEO Luke Hilgemann said. “We prefer to trust local experts and conservation and hunting partners to come up with predator management programs that make sense for them rather than putting our faith in bureaucrats who don’t spend time in the woods or never have to deal with the negative consequences of an uncontrolled wolf population.”

Hunter Nation says it looks forward to an appeal from the Biden Administration.

Wisconsin’s wolf hunt has been controversial since it began again in January of 2021.

The Evers Administration initially fought a return to hunting, but relented only after a judge ordered a hunt in February of last year. Hunters took 218 wolves in just three days. That was far more than environmentalists and the state’s Department of Natural Resources had wanted.

Thursday’s ruling is the fourth time since 2003 that Wisconsin’s wolf hunt has been frozen by the federal government or a federal judge.

Wisconsin has had a hunting season for just three years in the last decade, from 2012 until 2014, and again from January of 2021 until this week.

(The Center Square) – U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and John Kennedy, R-La., introduced new legislation Thursday that would block American Rescue Plan taxpayer dollars from being used to purchase and distribute crack pipes.

The Cutting Rampant Access to Crack Kits (CRACK) Act of 2022 comes after the Washington Free Beacon reported federal taxpayer dollars had gone to a program that provides syringes and pipes to drug users as a form of “harm reduction."

“The Biden administration wants to spend millions of dollars helping drug users smoke crack and meth, but there is no safe way to smoke these dangerous drugs,” Kennedy said. “Sooner or later, these drugs kill people. Why wouldn’t the president spend this money to help people get off crack and meth or to stop these drugs from crossing the border into our country in the first place?"

The three-year, $30 million harm reduction grant program in question was funded through President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill passed by Democrats in March of last year. The grant includes, among other things, syringes and “safe smoking kits/supplies” as an approved use of federal funds. The Washington Free Beacon reported that a Health and Human Services official told them the smoking kits include pipes.

“I’m grateful to partner with Sen. Rubio to make sure taxpayer dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act don’t end up funding crack pipes,” Kennedy added.

After the story broke, the Department of Health and Human Services released a statement saying crack pipes would not be included in the program. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has disputed the crack pipe story, saying pipes were never part of the program.

Critics argue that pipes are often included in smoking kits and say the administration has shifted its stance after the pushback. They also point out groups and local governments have distributed pipes in the past as part of smoking kits.

One group, the National Drug Policy Alliance, released a statement disapproving of the administration’s decision to “remove” pipes as an approved use.

“Harm reduction works to meet people where they are at, and keep people free of diseases and alive so they have a chance of recovery and healing,” NDPA wrote on Twitter. “That’s why [HHS] and [the White House Office of National Drug Control’s] decision today to remove pipes from safe smoking equipment is deeply disappointing. This is a missed opportunity to be preventative of more deaths due to overdose. Giving clean drug-using equipment such as a pipe [and] syringe reduces transmission of disease including Hep. C [and] HIV. When this is done in a supportive setting, we can link people who use drugs chaotically to other services including treatment, doctors, [and] getting access to naloxone.

“​​Giving clean drug-using equipment such as a pipe [and] syringe reduces transmission of disease including Hep. C [and] HIV,” the group added.

(The Center Square) – Nearly 12% of police officers were assaulted while on duty in 2020, according to annual state level data collected by the FBI. Alaska reported the greatest percentage, California the greatest number.

A total of 60,105 officers were assaulted nationwide, with the overwhelming majority assaulted, and injured, by assailants’ hands and feet.

Nationwide, 26% of assaults in 2020 involved a deadly weapon that wasn’t a firearm; 5% involved a firearm.

California and Texas had the greatest number of officers shot in 2020: 379 and 300, respectively – less than half of one percent of their entire force.

The report was based on the most recently available data from 2020 on 505,212 officers, or 72.5% of all police officers nationwide.

Not every law enforcement agency reported assault data to the FBI; nine states with limited statistical data were excluded from the report.

The two largest states, Alaska (by area) and California (by population) reported the greatest percentage and number of assaults, respectively. Nearly two-thirds of Alaska’s officers, 813 out of 1,259, 64.6%, were assaulted, according to the data. While California reported a far lower percentage of its officers being assaulted – 16.2% compared to Alaska’s – far more California officers were assaulted, 11,599 out of a total force of 71,668.

After Alaska, the greatest percentage of officers assaulted were in Montana, 34.2%, South Dakota, 32.9%, the District of Columbia, 28.2%, and Arizona, 27.5%.

West Virginia is the only state that reported zero percent. Michigan had the next lowest percentage of 0.8%, followed by Ohio (3.2%), New Jersey (4.2%), Louisiana (4.8%) and Arkansas (7.1%).

“If you break the assaults down by region, the West had the highest rate in the country at 18%,” Christian Worstell, author of a new HelpAdvisor study that analyzed the FBI data, said.

However, the states with the largest populations, California, Texas and Florida, which have the most police officers, also reported the greatest number assaulted.

Florida had the second-greatest number of law enforcement officers assaulted while on the job of 5,711. Of a total force of 41,898 in 2020, those assaulted account for 13.6% of total officers.

Texas had the third-greatest number – 5,359 out of 50,845, or 10.5%.

Assault data pertains to weapons used by offenders that could have caused injury or death of an officer.

The majority of officers were assaulted by assailants’ hands or feet, 73.9%, meaning they were likely hit, punched or kicked. Roughly one-quarter of these assaults resulted in injury.

The next greatest percentage, 19.6%, were assaulted with a dangerous weapon that wasn’t a firearm.

About 4.6% were assaulted with a firearm; and about 2% with a knife or other cutting instrument.

“Officers assigned to one-deputy patrol vehicles are at the greatest risk of an assault,” HelpAdvisor notes. Nearly two-thirds of those assaulted, 63.4%, were assigned to a one-deputy patrol car at the time of their assault.

The next greatest percentage of those injured while assaulted, 16.8%, were assigned to other duties, followed by those assigned to a two-deputy patrol vehicle, 16.2%, and those performing detective duties or special assignments, 3.6%.

The majority of officers assaulted weren’t injured, but 31% were. Among them, 25.8% were injured by assailants’ hands and feet; 16.8% by a dangerous weapon other than a firearm, 9.7% by a knife or cutting instrument, and 6.1% by a firearm.

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program collects data monthly about assaults on duly sworn federal, state, local, tribal, university and college, and county law enforcement officers. Information is submitted by respective agencies through their state programs or directly to the FBI.

The 2020 data was provided by 9,895 law enforcement agencies whose officers serve more than 235.5 million people, or 71.5% of the population.

(The Center Square) – A movement of truckers protesting vaccine mandates in Canada has garnered international attention and now is spreading to the U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin to local law enforcement this week, telling them protests from truck drivers could disrupt the Super Bowl this Sunday and President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on March 1.

The “Freedom Convoy” began in Canada after the nation last month implemented a vaccine mandate to cross the U.S.-Canada border, a trip truckers make regularly. The DHS memo was first reported by Yahoo News.

DHS told law enforcement officials the agency has “received reports of truck drivers potentially planning to block roads in major metropolitan cities in the United States in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates. The convoy will potentially begin in California early as mid-February, potentially impacting the Super Bowl scheduled for 13 February and the State of the Union address scheduled for 1 March.”

Meanwhile, the “Freedom Convoy” has continued to pressure politicians along the U.S.-Canada border. Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on Canadian authorities “to quickly resolve the ongoing Ambassador Bridge closure,” which has been blocked by the truckers and connects Ottawa to Detroit.

“It is imperative that Canadian local, provincial, and national governments de-escalate this economic blockade,” Whitmer said in a statement. “They must take all necessary and appropriate steps to immediately and safely reopen traffic so we can continue growing our economy, supporting good-paying jobs, and lowering costs for families.”

The Freedom Convoy gained more attention with an online fundraiser through the site, GoFundMe, which raised more than $10 million. GoFundMe, though, sparked backlash when they said the funds would be redirected to another charity because of controversy surrounding the trucking movement.

That announcement drew criticism and threats of legal inquiry from attorneys general in both Florida and Texas.

Soon, GoFundMe changed their decision, announcing they would refund all donations. GoFundMe claimed the protest had become violent, though media in Ottawa reported few violent incidents.

"GoFundMe supports peaceful protests and we believe that was the intention of the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser when it was first created,” the company said. “We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday his office will investigate the online fundraising company over the incident and demanded a litany of documents from the company by the end of the month.

“The Office of the Attorney General is investigating the past and present practices of GoFundMe Inc,” the AG office said in a letter to GoFundMe. “The general subject matter of the investigation is to determine whether this entity is engaging in practices that may violate the Deceptive Trade Practices Act…”