Ben Wikler, the outgoing chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, says he's hoping to write a book that will offer lessons to national Democrats.

The post Ben Wikler hints at book project after tenure leading Wisconsin Democratic Party appeared first on WPR.

Wisconsin Democrats on Wednesday announced legislation aimed at proactively responding to measures out of Washington that they say will hurt Wisconsinites, including potential changes to federal funding for state programs.

The post Democratic bills in Wisconsin would withhold payments to federal government, protect state data appeared first on WPR.

After critics of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos tried twice to recall the powerful Republican, GOP lawmakers are pushing a bill that would tighten the rules for circulating recall petitions. Under the bill, people circulating recall petitions would need to live in Wisconsin.

The post Following failed Robin Vos recalls, rules for petition circulators could change in Wisconsin appeared first on WPR.

Arguments began Monday in a lawsuit that could change Wisconsin’s participation in a national group that helps maintain state voter laws.

The post Arguments begin in former Rep. Janel Brandtjen’s lawsuit against ERIC elections database appeared first on WPR.

In one of their first votes on this year's budget, Republicans on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee approved ongoing funding for a handful of positions at the state's licensing agency.

But the number of jobs funded at the Department of Safety and Professional Services by Thursday's vote fell well short of what Gov. Tony Evers' administration was asking for.

The post Wisconsin’s budget process underway with votes on licensing agency funding appeared first on WPR.

A budget bill that would form the cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s agenda passed the U.S. House last week with support from all six of Wisconsin’s Republican congressmen. But Wisconsin Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is now leading opposition to the legislation as it makes its way through that chamber.

The post Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson leads Senate Republican opposition to Trump’s signature budget bill appeared first on WPR.

Wisconsin would lose about $314 million in food assistance from the federal government under the massive budget bill passed by the U.S. House last week, according to an analysis of the proposed cuts by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

The legislation, which President Donald Trump refers to as the “big, beautiful bill,” would require states to start matching federal funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. It would also impose new work requirements on families with young children and older people, and it would require regular paperwork to prove exemptions from such requirements for some groups, such as families with special needs children.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Wisconsin Medicaid Director Bill Hanna said those changes amount to new red tape that could cause 90,000 Wisconsinites to lose some or all assistance.

He said that would put new pressure on nonprofits like food pantries and have ripple effects at the retailers where people spend what’s commonly known as food stamps.

The proposal would push many costs onto the state, where lawmakers and the governor are in the process of deciding the next two-year budget.

“There’s going to be more demand to put state money into a program that has been 100 percent federally funded for really its entire existence, which will strain the state’s ability to put its state dollars towards other things like education, our health care system and other important aspects of what we do with our state dollars,” Hanna said.

Those state costs are calculated based on a given state’s error rates, which tend to occur when a person’s income or residence changes unexpectedly. Hanna said that Wisconsin has a low error rate but is lumped into a bracket with states with much higher error rates, and charged accordingly.

“These errors are not fraud,” DHS wrote in a statement. “For the first time ever, Congress is proposing an extreme, zero tolerance policy for payment errors harming states like Wisconsin that consistently keep error rates low.”

States would also be responsible for covering new administrative costs and for providing job training to people newly obligated to fulfill work requirements.

All six of Wisconsin’s Republican congressmen voted for the bill. Both of Wisconsin’s Democratic House members voted against it.

Over the weekend, U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, argued that anyone “legally receiving SNAP benefits should not see a single reduction in their SNAP.”

Hanna argued that’s because the federal government is “changing the definition of ‘legally receiving SNAP.’”

“They are adding additional red tape to folks to meet that by expanding those work requirements,” he said. “There certainly will be people who get caught up in the new red tape that they have to meet in order to achieve the benefits.”

Currently, about 700,000 Wisconsin residents — or an eighth of the state — receive SNAP.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Trump bill would cost Wisconsin $314 million in federal food aid 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.

Wisconsin would lose about $314 million in food assistance from the federal government under the massive budget bill passed by the U.S. House early Thursday, according to an an analysis of the proposed cuts by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

The post Wisconsin would lose $314M in federal food assistance under ‘big, beautiful bill’ appeared first on WPR.

Hundreds of nurses at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital in Madison say they'll go on strike next week, after months of contract negotiations.

The post Nurses at Madison’s Meriter Hospital plan strike, citing contract negotiation stalemate appeared first on WPR.

Gov. Tony Evers says he’s “hoping” the next state budget will be completed on time, even as the state of federal funding remains largely unknown.

The post Gov. Tony Evers is optimistic state budget is on track despite federal funding uncertainty appeared first on WPR.

As Republicans in Congress hammer out the details of a massive tax bill that would form a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s agenda, federal funding for food assistance could end up shifted to the states.

The post Wisconsin Republicans in Congress back Trump spending bill as advocates warn of food assistance cuts appeared first on WPR.

Students at UW-Platteville were ordered to shelter in place late Monday afternoon, with reports from police of an "emergency situation." The order was lifted at about 5 p.m., and the university issued an alert saying that there is "no active threat to the campus community."

The post UW-Platteville briefly under shelter-in-place order after ‘isolated’ emergency incident appeared first on WPR.

Republican activists gathered in Rothschild for their annual state party convention this weekend. While speakers celebrated President Donald Trump's agenda, the event also underscored divisions within the party after a bruising defeat in April's Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

The post Wisconsin Republicans stress unity at state convention amid infighting appeared first on WPR.

There have been reports of huge swarms of insects in Madison and Milwaukee. They're midges, and a "perfect storm of conditions" has led to a huge hatch this year.

The post Wondering about those pulsing insect clouds by Wisconsin’s lakes? appeared first on WPR.

Days after a deadly fire ripped through a Milwaukee apartment complex, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, says lawmakers will tread carefully when considering changes to building codes.

The post Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says changes to sprinkler laws unlikely after Milwaukee fire appeared first on WPR.

As written, the bill would allow a pharmacist to dispense hormonal birth control, rather than require a user to first get a prescription from a doctor.

The post Wisconsin pharmacists could prescribe birth control under bipartisan Assembly bill appeared first on WPR.