Capping off a contentious week of floor sessions that saw tempers flare as lawmakers raced to adjourn for the year, the state Assembly passed two measures tied to hard-fought deals about food assistance and cleaning up PFAS.

The post Wisconsin Assembly passes deals on PFAS, SNAP funding appeared first on WPR.

Wisconsin voters will be asked whether the state's constitution should be amended to prevent the governor's powerful partial veto from increasing taxes or fees.

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The Wisconsin state Assembly approved two women’s health bills Thursday, after years of failed attempts and a surprise announcement the previous evening that Republicans would allow them to move forward.

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Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly say they'll pass two bills related to women's health Thursday, a surprise move that comes after years of blocking the legislation.

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In his eighth and final State of the State address Tuesday night, Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday night said Republicans have chronically underfunded Wisconsin schools and blamed them for increased property taxes after negotiations for a tax cut stalled this week.

The post In final State of the State, Evers pushes for school funding, end to gerrymandering appeared first on WPR.

In moves they described as efforts to make the state's higher education system more meritocratic and safe for conservative students, Assembly Republicans voted Thursday to change eligibility for certain financial aid programs, and make it easier to sue universities for free speech violations.

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Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced bills for the past 13 years to legalize marijuana. They never pass. But why?

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With just a few weeks left in Wisconsin’s legislative season, GOP leaders and Gov. Tony Evers are discussing a possible deal on lowering property taxes. But a split among GOP leadership could sink any agreement.

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The University of Wisconsin-Madison saw a 17 percent decrease in federal research funding since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to outgoing Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin.

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As a proliferation of free and easy artificial intelligence tools transform how people learn, work and socialize, Wisconsin lawmakers heard testimony Wednesday on a proposal that seeks to regulate kids’ use of human-esque chatbots.

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In a bid to capitalize on recent bipartisan pushes to regulate the state's hemp industry, Wisconsin Democrats have introduced a bill to fully legalize marijuana. But the plan is doomed in the Republican-led Legislature.

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President Donald Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, in his bid to be the next governor of Wisconsin.

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Assembly Republicans have proposed a Wisconsin match to a federal program that would create investment funds for newborns.

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Tom Tiffany said the blame lays at the feet of Democratic leaders, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who don’t cooperate with immigration enforcement efforts.

The post US Rep. Tom Tiffany, GOP candidate for governor, blames Democrats for Minnesota shooting appeared first on WPR.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Dillon Beyer woke up Monday morning to a flurry of text messages.

A co-owner of Tree Huggers Cannabis, which is based in La Crosse with locations in Wisconsin and Minnesota, Beyer and his colleagues in Wisconsin’s hemp industry were beginning to learn that, tucked into the U.S. Senate bill to reopen the federal government, was a provision that could outlaw much of their industry.

That clause, inside the continuing resolution that the U.S. House approved and President Donald Trump signed Wednesday, would ban the “unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based or hemp derived products.”

That left Beyer “freaking out a little bit.” His company employs 25 people, developing and distributing drinks and other products that contain the psychoactive ingredient THC.

“It would force us to close our doors, because it would make all of the products that we sell noncompliant,” Beyer said ahead of the U.S. House’s vote.

In Wisconsin, where medical and recreational marijuana are illegal, a long-standing federal loophole has allowed one related industry to flourish.

The 2018 federal Farm Bill removed hemp from the list of controlled substances. As a result, products containing low doses of the psychoactive ingredient THC — like vapes, oils, gummies and beverages — are legal.

That’s true even in states like Wisconsin that don’t otherwise allow for other forms of marijuana production or sales.

Phillip Alberti is a research program manager specializing in hemp at an alternative crops lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He said hemp has wide uses beyond its connections to marijuana — for example, as an agricultural and fiber product.

But he said it’s unclear exactly how big the Wisconsin hemp industry is.

“I’ve been looking forever to find those numbers … because I really think it’s important at the university to understand the impacts. Then we can see where there might be a need,” said Alberti. “All I know is that I cannot go anywhere without seeing those products. I can’t go to breweries. I can’t go to gas stations.”

Overall nationwide, it’s a booming, multibillion-dollar industry — one that critics say is insufficiently regulated. They say it’s too easy for kids to get their hands on the products, which are sometimes packaged to look like fun snacks or candy, and that it should be treated the same as other forms of marijuana.

Supporters, including those in the industry, say these products offer an alternative to alcohol, or provide benefits like stress relief.

Alla Tsypin and Richard Bowman co-own RA! Wellness, a THC beverage company based in Madison. Tsypin said they welcome more regulation for their products, but they shouldn’t be banned.

“We should all be held to the same standard, as far as our ingredients, our (lab testing), our transparency, things like that,” she said. “But to take it away as a whole as an option for millions of people is pretty crappy.”

Wisconsin business owners say they’re figuring out next steps. The legislation gives companies 365 days to find themselves in compliance.

For Tsypin and Bowman, that’s a year to get over the “shock” and potentially pivot their business. They also hope that this sudden move will spark a conversation that will draw more public support for their industry — and potentially lead to changes in state or federal law.

“The biggest takeaway from all of this is, really, how much this has affected not only us, but also the families, the growers, the consumers, the people … that rely on this as medicine,” said Tsypin.

Beyer, of La Crosse, said he thought bad actors in an underregulated field have given his products a bad name. His company checks customers’ IDs, and packages their products in dark colors that make it clear they’re not for kids.  

He said he thinks the next year gives both industry workers and consumers time to push for bigger changes to the law — a vaster opportunity than the loophole they’ve worked within for years.

“We are confident, and we are hoping to work with our supply chain of distributors, retailers, our consumers to really raise awareness and sound the alarm,” he said.

‘It would force us to close our doors’: Law to end shutdown could disrupt Wisconsin’s THC, hemp industries is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.