Eight Republican state Assembly lawmakers announced at 9:45 p.m. Wednesday that gridlock is ending on bills to provide a year of Medicaid coverage to postpartum mothers and ensure cancer screenings for women with a high risk of breast cancer, and both will receive a vote in the Assembly this week. 

The bills had been held up this legislative session despite widespread bipartisan support due to opposition from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), who once said he didn’t want to expand “welfare” in relation to the postpartum coverage and said recent federal changes made changes on breast cancer screening coverage unnecessary. He declined to comment to the Wisconsin Examiner on what changed his mind. 

Vos was not at the press conference led by Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) and seven other Assembly Republicans, who represent purple districts across the state and had been advocating for the bills.

“It hasn’t been fun,” Novak said about the process. “I truly appreciate a caucus who is willing to listen to us bring the stories from our district… and get them to a point where they are willing to take a vote tomorrow.”

The lawmakers said that they sent a letter to Vos on Feb. 3 urging him to allow for a vote on the bill. The letter stated that the measure aligns with “core Republican priorities” including “protecting life and supporting families,” “fiscal responsibility” and “reducing government dependency.”

SB 23 would extend Medicaid coverage for postpartum mothers to a year. Wisconsin is one of two states in the U.S. that has not taken the federal extension, which was first offered to states five years ago in the American Rescue Plan Act.

People in Wisconsin are typically only eligible for Medicaid coverage if they make up to 100% of the federal poverty level, but pregnant women can receive Medicaid coverage if they have an annual income of up to 306% of the federal poverty level. Currently in Wisconsin, a newborn whose mother is a Medicaid recipient receives a year of coverage, but mothers risk losing their coverage after 60 days if they don’t otherwise qualify for Medicaid.

The bill passed the Senate in April 2025 on a 32-1 vote. It also previously passed the Senate in 2023-24 legislative session, but died in the Assembly.

SB 264 would require health insurance policies to provide coverage for diagnostic breast examinations and for supplemental breast screening examinations for an individual who has dense breast tissue. The bill would require coverage to include no patient cost-sharing. 

The bill is named “Gail’s Law” in honor of Gail Zeemer, a Neenah woman who advocated for the legislation and who died from breast cancer in 2024. Women with dense breast tissue have a higher risk of breast cancer and dense breast tissue can make it harder for radiologists to see cancer on mammograms, according to the American Cancer Society. 

The bill received a nearly unanimous vote in the Senate in October.

Republican lawmakers also railed at Democratic lawmakers, who had been urging the Assembly to vote on the bills for months and planned to hold up votes during Wednesday’s floor session by introducing amendments on every bill to advocate action on the issues.

“I’m very angry at what happened today — very angry,” Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Weston) said, adding that he had been speaking to his Republican colleagues about why it was important to join the majority of the country in extending coverage. “I talked to my Democratic colleagues and told them that I was close, that it was going to get done, but then they throw this crap at us today. It almost blew it up.”

At a press conference at 1 p.m., Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) announced that she and her husband are expecting their first child this summer while urging the Assembly to take a vote on the bills that would increase health care coverage for women.

“I wasn’t really planning to talk about this today, but I am pregnant,” Neubauer said, adding that she is due in June. “We could not be more excited. During this pregnancy, I have been reflecting and I’m very lucky. I’m lucky to have quality, affordable health care coverage for myself and my baby when they arrive. For too many Wisconsin families, that health care coverage is cut off far too soon… This needs to end. We must pass postpartum Medicaid expansion now.” 

As the Assembly began acting on bills in the floor session that followed, Democrats took turns interrupting with speeches demanding that GOP lawmakers take up their amendments to put the Medicaid and breast cancer bills on the floor. Shortly after 3 p.m. Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) called for a partisan caucus, and the session was paused. The Assembly did not return to the floor until 10 p.m. 

Republican lawmakers said they spent the time in caucus talking about the issues.

“I’m in it for the women that need this protection. They’re in it for politics, and that’s sickening,” Snyder said, adding that it would be hard for him to trust his Democratic colleagues in the future. “I don’t know what they were trying to do, but lobbyists told them to wait at least till Thursday, and they didn’t.”

Novak said his voice was hoarse after the caucus. He said lawmakers who were on the fence about the bill were angered by the Democratic amendments and it set back their progress on the discussions.

“I actually put my seat on the line. I said I wanted this bill to pass or I don’t know I could run again,” Snyder said. “How many Democrats put their seat on the line for anything if there’s something they’re passionate about? That’s why it’s about people, not about the politics.” 

At a press conference after, Neubauer was unapologetic for the Democratic lawmakers’ actions. 

“It seems that the bills are going to the floor after years of Rep. Pat Snyder telling us that these bills were going to be passed and them not being passed, so it does seem like our actions made a difference today,” Neubauer said. 

Neubauer rejected the assertion that Democrats were just engaging in politics and said the job of the minority party is to ensure that important issues get air time and get votes.

“Republicans refusing to vote on [the amendments] is their own choice. We have a responsibility to our constituents and the women of this state whose lives depend on these policies being passed,” Neubauer said. “We were going to stop at nothing to get a vote on these bills. We hope that that’s what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R-River Falls) said that the development is “proof that minds can be shifted.”

“I appreciate, certainly, the speaker’s willingness to hear us out. I appreciate all of my members in my caucus,” Zimmerman said. “The outcome that we have reached today is one that will have a positive impact on the lives of many in the state of Wisconsin.”

Vos and Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August (R-Walworth) were not at the caucus the entire time. In the early evening, the caucus leaders were at what Vos called a “thank you reception” hosted by the Jobs First Coalition — a nonprofit advocacy group that has a history of spending to help elect Republicans. 

Michelle Litjens, Vos’ wife and a former Republican member of the Assembly, has worked as a fundraiser for the organization. She told reporters the group was thanking legislators and that they often bring guests to speak on issues to their members.

When asked about why they were at the event while lawmakers were said to be in recess for caucus, Vos said “people are caucusing.” 

“This is the way it was for, like, 50 years before I became speaker,” Vos said. He added that people would leave floor sessions to go to receptions “all the time.” 

The Republican lawmakers who announced the deal to bring the bills to the floor said they were able to “win over hearts” in their caucus and shared personal stories about breast cancer. 

“Probably every person in this room has been touched in some way with someone in their family with cancer,” Kaufert said. “In my particular case, my mother when I was 17 years old in high school, she had breast cancer, and they didn’t have technologies that they do now, and at age of 19, my mother passed away due to that breast cancer.”

Rep. Bob Donovan (R-Greenfield) said his wife was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

“Sadly, had this bill been in place back then, it may have impacted her particular situation. I’m very proud of the way she has dealt with this in front of my family and how they’ve stepped up to the plate to deal with it,” Donovan said. “Our situation is what it is, but I can’t tell you how pleased I am to have played a small part in helping this bill move forward.” 

Novak also said Vos is a “tough negotiator,” but that he “really felt what we were saying,” and that other GOP lawmakers also had some concerns.

The reversal comes as Assembly lawmakers are racing to finish their work. August said the Assembly GOP leaders plan to be finished this week. The Assembly has scheduled a floor session for Thursday. 

The lawmakers said they want the bills to go to Gov. Tony Evers by Monday, adding that Evers has committed to signing them without any line-item vetoes as long as they are unchanged.

“They’ll be clean,” Novak said.

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The Wisconsin Senate passed a bill Wednesday to solicit proposals from organizations seeking to run the state’s public affairs network, which livestreams and archives state government proceedings. 

The job since 2007 has been done by WisconsinEye, a nonprofit organization, but Senate lawmakers want to explore other options after the group abruptly stopped its coverage for over a month due to fundraising difficulties and started seeking more substantial state support for its operations. 

The state Assembly has proposed that the state place $10 million, which was already set aside in the state budget for WisconsinEye, into an endowment fund and allow WisconsinEye to use the interest to help support its operations. The organization’s current annual operating budget is nearly $1 million, and even with the interest, WisconsinEye would likely still need to fundraise hundreds of thousands each year.

Senate Republicans and Democrats agreed that they shouldn’t just hand state funds over to the organization for the long term, expressing concerns about WisconsinEye’s management and transparency. 

The Senate bill, approved on a voice vote, would provide a year of short-term funding and initiate a process to solicit bids for the job. The lawmakers said their proposal would allow them to explore all of their options to continue to livestream government proceedings.

Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit) called it a “travesty” that WisconsinEye went dark for over a month earlier this year. He noted that for that time WisconsinEye was in breach of its contract with the Legislature. He said the Senate bill would allow lawmakers to explore all options, noting that he had initially proposed that the state take over the work of livestreaming by creating a state public affairs network. 

“This is a bipartisan bright spot where we actually came together and had conversation with many,” Spreitzer said. 

Specifically, the Senate proposal asks the Department of Administration (DOA) to solicit bids for the operation of a statewide public affairs network that would provide unedited live video and audio coverage of state government proceedings. Those proceedings would include Senate and Assembly floor sessions, legislative committee meetings, state agency meetings, state Supreme Court and other judicial meetings. The bill states that if “practicable,” the network can also cover eligible news conferences and civic events. 

An amendment to the bill implements a deadline for submitting proposals of June 30, 2026. The Department of Administration will then need to submit each proposal to the Legislature and may include its own recommendations. 

The amendment also includes a provision to have WisconsinEye and the DOA secretary submit a request for temporary funding to the Joint Committee on Finance. The grant for temporary funding would be $585,630.60 and if approved by JFC would be paid out to WisconsinEye in monthly payments of $48,802.55.

The payments would cease if WisconsinEye stops providing live coverage and online access to its archives or if another organization is selected during the proposals process to take over as the state’s public affairs network.

The amendment also includes a provision, originally included in the Assembly proposal, requiring WisconsinEye to appoint new members to its board of directors including one designee each for the Assembly speaker, Assembly minority leader, Senate majority leader and Senate minority leader. 

Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin), the lead author on the bill, said he hoped the Assembly would take up the proposal. 

“Transparency is the most important thing,” Bradley said, adding that it is “awesome that we were able to get this done.”

Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) noted that she had concerns leaving conversations with her fellow caucus leaders about the proposal.

“It was clear walking out of that meeting that we weren’t on the same page as the state Assembly,” Hesselbein said.

WisconsinEye restarted its coverage this month after the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization voted to provide $50,000 to the nonprofit to cover its month of expenses. 

The Assembly proposal, which was announced in a joint press conference with Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine), passed in a 96-0 vote. 

“Donors view this approach with confidence, knowing that while WisconsinEye must continue to raise private dollars, that requirement becomes an achievable goal to meet because it is coupled with a solid state commitment of financial partnership,” WisconsinEye said in a statement.

WisconsinEye said in an update this week that without an additional infusion of $50,000 in state funds for the month of March that it won’t be able to continue its coverage throughout the remainder of the legislative session. The state Assembly plans to wrap its work up this month, but the Senate plans to continue its work next month. 

The organization said it would also be “happy” to submit a proposal to the DOA should that be the path that lawmakers choose. But the statement said a request for proposal would take “considerable time” and there is “also the question from what appropriation an eventual contract might be funded.” 

“Further, WisconsinEye has funding to carry operations through February. An outstanding question is whether WisconsinEye would be in a position to maintain operations for any time period through which an RFP process might require,” WisconsinEye stated. 

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Gov. Tony Evers urged Wisconsin lawmakers to work through the rest of this year during his final State of the State address Tuesday evening — rejecting a Republican tax cut and school funding proposal and calling for lawmakers to invest in schools. 

Evers, who decided not to run for a third term in office, told lawmakers that the people of Wisconsin are expecting them to get more done this year. The Assembly plans on wrapping up its work for the session by the end of the week. The state Senate plans to work into March, but with the Assembly’s self-imposed deadline, this month is the last chance to pass bills that could get to Evers’ desk before the next legislative session.

“I know many lawmakers are antsy to end the legislative session and pack up to get back on the campaign trail — by the way, if anyone running wants advice from someone who’s won five statewide elections, let me know,” Evers said. “I know many of you are up for election, but here’s the deal: after years of delivering historic, bipartisan wins for our state, Wisconsinites have high expectations for the work we can do together over the next 10 months.” 

Wisconsin’s upcoming 2026 November elections will produce a new governor and could lead to new leadership in the state Assembly and Senate where the balance of power is at stake.

Republican lawmakers were not enthralled by Evers’ address, shaking their heads when they disagreed, making side comments to their fellow lawmakers and pulling their phones out during portions of the address. Democratic lawmakers stood to applaud throughout the address with some Republican lawmakers joining the applause at times while remaining seated. 

Evers touted a number of his accomplishments in the more than 800 bills he has signed throughout his last seven years in office. He noted that 97% of those bills were bipartisan. 

Some of the accomplishments he highlighted included $2 billion in tax cuts, securing $360 million to support child care in the state improving and repairing over 9,600 miles of roads and over 2,400 bridges across Wisconsin, bolstering support for public defenders and district attorneys and passing a law to ensure education about Hmong and Asian American history in school. 

Evers added that he is not done yet.

At the top of Evers’ to-do list for his final year in office is getting a deal to reduce property taxes and provide schools with additional funding.

Over the last couple of weeks, Evers has been negotiating with lawmakers on how to use the state’s projected $2.5 billion budget surplus.

“I’m hopeful we can continue building upon those efforts this session, including reaching bipartisan agreement on a plan to get meaningful resources to K-12 schools and provide property tax relief, and it must balance these important obligations a heck of a lot better than the plan Republican leaders sent me this week,” Evers said. 

The most recent proposal put together by Republican leaders and delivered to Evers on Sunday included funding for special education and the school levy tax credit to reduce property taxes for local communities. It did not include funding for general school aid.

In the recent state budget, Republican lawmakers did not provide additional state funding to general school aid in part because of their frustration with Evers’ 400-year veto, which extended an annual $325 per pupil school revenue limit increase well beyond the last budget cycle. Without state funding, schools in Wisconsin can only use the authority Evers gave them to increase property taxes. 

“I get Republicans want to blame my 400-year veto for property taxes going up. Why? Politics, of course. Republicans running under fair maps need someone else to blame for failing to fund our schools at the levels I’ve asked them to for about two decades of my life,” Evers said. “Here’s the truth: funding our schools is a responsibility that the state and local partners share. Local property taxes go up when the state fails to do its part to meet its obligation.” 

Evers also noted that his 400-year veto is not an automatic property tax increase, but rather schools opt into exercising the additional authority and if there was additional state aid, then districts would not raise property taxes.

“The Legislature has rejected over $7 billion for K-12 schools that I requested over the last four state budgets,” he said. “If lawmakers want to have an honest conversation about property taxes, start there.”

“We have a constitutional obligation to fund our schools in this state,” Evers said. “The Legislature must approve the level of funding necessary to meet the percentages our kids and our schools were promised in the last budget. We can’t afford for lawmakers to lose focus on the future we’ve been working hard to build together just because it’s an election year. I know the Legislature would rather hit the road and take the rest of the year off, but I’m going to ask lawmakers to stick around until our work here is finished.” 

GOP leader wants sit down negotiations

After Evers’ address, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) told reporters that Evers was taking credit for bipartisan work that was only possible because of the Republican-led Legislature. 

Ahead of the address, Vos made similar comments to reporters, saying that “every success that Gov. Evers has had on policy has only been because the Legislature worked with him on the vast majority of those things to get them done.” Evers’ two terms in office have been marked by an often contentious relationship with Republicans, who have held the majority in the state Senate and Assembly during his entire tenure. Still, lawmakers and Evers have been able to pass four state budgets and get various bipartisan bills signed into law.

Vos said lawmakers had received a reply from Evers to their property tax  proposal that evening. 

“It sounds like he is willing to draw bright lines in the sand. That is not something I’ve ever found to be productive. You need to be able to sit down and talk about things that are important to both the Legislature, the taxpayers and the governor,” Vos said. “It should not be a ‘my way or the highway’ type negotiation.”

Vos said he was disappointed that Evers hadn’t reached out to speak with lawmakers on Monday or Tuesday, but is optimistic that lawmakers can speak with Evers Wednesday.

“It seems to me we tried very hard to reach in the middle. Now, it’s the governor’s job after a pretty partisan speech to actually figure out how he’s going to get to the middle like we did,” Vos said. 

Vos claimed the GOP plan invests more money into public education than Evers proposed. The GOP plan includes $500 million for property tax relief through the school levy tax credit and $200 million for special education reimbursement. It does not include any money for general school aids.

Evers’ proposal included $200 million for special education funding, $450 million for general school aids to buy out the projected statewide school property tax levy and in exchange, he proposed that Republicans would get $550 million towards the school levy tax credit.

Asked to clarify, Vos said Republicans had not asked for the $550 million for the school levy tax credit.

“We didn’t ask for that. It’s like me saying, you want money for child care? Well, that’s not even part of the discussion,” Vos said.

Democratic lawmakers also called on the Legislature to keep working this year. 

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) criticized Republican lawmakers at a press conference Tuesday morning for planning to “gavel out of session for the next 10 months” at the end of this week, saying they were giving “themselves a vacation while folks in our districts are left wondering how they are going to make ends meet.” She said Evers and Democrats were planning to continue working hard to deliver for the people of Wisconsin.

Other issues on Evers’ to-do list

Evers also laid out several other issues areas he wants addressed in his final year. 

Evers urged lawmakers to send him bills that would codify the Office of Violence Prevention into state law and provide $66 million for the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) programs. 

“Do the right thing and get this done,” Evers said. 

He also announced that the state has plans to partner with the Milwaukee Bucks, the state’s professional basketball team, on a campaign to combat domestic violence. 

Evers also noted his previous attempts to advance gun control measures but didn’t urge Republican lawmakers to do anything this year. 

“There’s no issue Republicans have done less about than guns,” he said. “This much is clear: If Wisconsinites want to get something — anything — done about gun violence, we must elect legislators who will do a damn thing to change it.” 

Evers said that he is also hoping that lawmakers will work to pass a bill to close the Green Bay Correctional Institution. 

“It’s been over a year now, and Republicans have neither enacted my plan nor proposed a plan of their own,” Evers said. “I’m still hopeful we can work together to pass a bipartisan bill this year on comprehensive corrections reform to set an achievable goal for GBCI to close, convert Lincoln Hills, and revamp Waupun.”

On artificial intelligence and data centers, Evers said Wisconsin must “embrace a future where we don’t have to choose between mitigating climate change and protecting our environment or creating good-paying jobs and having a strong economy.”

Evers also urged lawmakers to pass a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program that “both supports land acquisition and management of Wisconsin’s valuable natural resources and public lands,” as well as a bill combating PFAS so the $125 million that was approved over two years ago can be released to Wisconsinites. 

Federal government concerns

The outgoing governor also spoke to “what worries me about our future and keeps me up at night,” focusing on his concerns about actions by the Trump administration. 

Evers said he is worried about the “reckless decisions being made in Washington,” saying he thinks they “will have disastrous consequences for Wisconsinites, taxpayers and our state budget moving forward.” He said he is also worried about federal workers who have been laid off. 

According to WPR, 2,4000 federal workers in Wisconsin have lost their jobs under the Trump administration. 

“I’m also angry when I think about our neighbors — young kids and families across our state — who aren’t going to school or work or anywhere else, because they’re scared leaving their home may mean their family will be torn apart,” Evers said, referring to fears about aggressive federal immigration enforcement. “I worry about our kids who are being traumatized by violence on social media, in the news, on our streets and in our neighborhoods, and I worry about what all of this means for America’s Dairyland, which has depended on the hard work of immigrants for generations.”

“Wisconsinites are feeling the squeeze due to tariff taxes and erratic trade wars,” Evers continued. “Prices are going up on things like school supplies, groceries, clothes, gas and more.” 

Evers also said he is worried about the effects of the federal tax and spending bill signed by Trump last year. He noted that Wisconsin could face penalties if the state’s payment error rate for the SNAP program doesn’t remain below 6%. 

The Evers administration has estimated that a penalty could cost the state up to $205 million, and that $69 million and 56 additional administrative positions for DHS are needed to ensure that the state’s error rate remains below 6%.

“The sooner the Legislature invests in FoodShare quality control efforts, the more time the state has to keep FoodShare error rates down. It’s pretty simple,” Evers said. “We can save Wisconsin taxpayers potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in penalty fees a year we could have to pay the Trump administration if we don’t. I’m not negotiating with Republicans about a $70 million investment the state must make right now to save Wisconsin taxpayers as much as $200 million in penalty fees later. We’ve been asking for this for months, and it has to get done. If the Legislature fails to provide the funding the state needs, Republicans will be to blame for the penalty fees taxpayers will be forced to pay.”

Evers also announced that he plans to sign an executive order to have Wisconsin join the World Health Organization’s Global Response Network. 

Wants constitutional amendment on nonpartisan redistricting 

Evers said he plans to call a special session in the spring to pass a constitutional amendment banning partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin’s current legislative maps were adopted by the Republican-led Legislature and Evers after a state Supreme Court decision found that the previous maps were unconstitutional. The maps have made  Wisconsin’s legislative races newly competitive. However, lawmakers did not change the map drawing process. 

“Wisconsin is as purple as ever, but we’ve shown we can put politics aside and work together to get good things done… A big part of that is the fact that, today, lawmakers are elected under the fair maps I signed into law.  But here’s the problem, Wisconsin: New maps are redrawn every 10 years,” Evers said, adding that without a nonpartisan redistricting process there is “no guarantee Wisconsinites will still have fair maps after the next U.S. Census.” 

Evers noted that Republican states, under pressure from the Trump administration, have adopted election maps that seek to further favor Republicans. He said that “as a result, Democratic legislatures have been put in the unthinkable position of having to respond by trying to restore balance to our elections.” 

“Politics could get in the way of creating a nonpartisan redistricting commission that everyone can support, but there’s one thing that we should all be able to agree on, which is that politics should stay out of redistricting from start to finish,” Evers said. 

Constitutional amendments in Wisconsin must pass two consecutive sessions of the Legislature before going to voters for a final vote that decides whether a change is made. They do not require a signature from the governor. 

Vos said he is open to proposals for nonpartisan redistricting, but noted the failure of a previous GOP proposal to implement a nonpartisan redistricting commission.

“Frankly, all the Democrats across the country are rushing the gerrymander. I hope he’s sincere in saying he doesn’t want that, but call me skeptical,” Vos said. 

Evers added that he “won’t hesitate to bring the Legislature into special session later this year in August or September or October.” 

“Heck, I’m old enough to remember when the Legislature was willing to meet in December,” he said. 

“Year of the Neighbor” 

Each year during his State of the State address, Evers has declared an overall theme for the year. For his final year he announced the “Year of the Neighbor.”

“I want us to focus on our Wisconsin values of kindness, respect, empathy, and compassion,” Evers said. “We could all use a good neighbor, and we could all be better neighbors, and we’re going to spend the next year celebrating the neighbors who make Wisconsin the great place it is to call home.” 

Some of the “neighbors” Evers highlighted in his address included “the first responders who answer our call in our darkest hour,” “the librarians who help us find our new favorite book,” “the teachers who comfort, inspire and educate our kids,” “the state worker who helped us find and apply for health care or job training” and the “veteran who served our country.” 

“Wisconsinites are helpers by nature; it’s in our DNA. When things are tough, we roll up our sleeves and get to work. We shovel a driveway or bake a casserole, and we show up for our neighbors,” Evers said. “Whether it’s unpredictable weather or the unpredictable nature of politics, we’re all in this together, and we’re going to get through it together, not by alienating our neighbors, but by getting to know them, by looking out for one another and by maintaining our Wisconsin values of kindness, empathy, compassion and respect.”

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Tuesday lawmakers are in negotiations with Gov. Tony Evers on a bill package to provide property tax relief before the end of the legislative session. 

Vos made the comments ahead of an Assembly floor session during which lawmakers passed a bill to provide long-term financial support to WisconsinEye, the state’s version of C-Span. Vos said the state Senate may have its own bill in the works.

Vos said that lawmakers have been discussing a property tax-reduction package for weeks, and had intended to announce it last week, but delayed due to discussions with Evers. Republicans want to  tap into Wisconsin’s budget surplus, estimated at over $2 billion, to fund a property tax relief package. 

“We have been trying to negotiate with Gov. Evers to have a bipartisan package that can get through both chambers, hopefully, and to his desk,” Vos said. “The goal would be to try to return a sizable chunk of the surplus back to Wisconsinites to help deal with rising property taxes.” 

Property tax bills jumped significantly in December, fueled by a state budget that increases  school revenue limits while keeping state general aid flat — pushing education costs onto local taxpayers — as well as voter approval of school district referendum requests. Further property tax hikes are expected in coming years without action from policymakers.

Republicans, angry about a line-item veto by Evers in the last budget, refused to give any state aid to schools in the current two-year budget.  Evers’ partial veto extended a $325 per-pupil increase in revenue-raising authority granted to school districts in the last two-year budget cycle for the next 400 years. Without state funding to backfill the revenue limit increases, school districts only had the option to raise property taxes or to forgo additional revenue. Vos had earlier said he wanted to see a repeal of Evers’ partial veto in any property tax package, but he backed off that demand Tuesday.

“Certainly want to see if we can have reforms in there, but the most important thing for us is to get relief, so some of the politics might have to wait until the election cycle,” Vos said. 

There is an open race for the governor’s office and control of the state Legislature is up for grabs in November. Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany is seeking to make property taxes a major point of his campaign — promising to freeze property taxes and repeal Evers’ partial veto if he is elected.

WisPolitics reports that Evers is proposing a $1.3 billion package that would pair school funding with tax relief, according to  emails from Zach Madden, Evers’ legislative affairs director, to Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) the news outlet obtained. 

According to WisPolitics, the deal put forth by Evers would include $200 million towards special education funding and $450 million for general aid to schools in 2027 to lower the amount of revenue that districts would raise through property taxes. Evers would in exchange support providing $550 million toward the School Levy Tax Credit and $97.3 million in 2027 to exempt taxes on cash tips.

Assembly passes bill to create endowment for WisconsinEye

The Assembly passed a bill Tuesday to provide a long-term funding solution for WisconsinEye, the nonprofit organization that livestreams and archives government proceedings, but the bill likely faces difficulty in the Senate.

AB 974 would eliminate the match requirement on $10 million, which was initially set aside for WisconsinEye in the state budget, and place it in an endowment fund to help provide a stable form of income to the organization. WisconsinEye would receive the interest from the endowment for its operations, though the revenue is not expected to cover all of its costs so the nonprofit would still need to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. 

Lawmakers have been working on a way to support the organization after it said it was dealing with fundraising difficulties and had to shut down its coverage. WisconsinEye resumed its coverage on Feb. 2 after over a month offline after the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization approved $50,000 for it to do so. 

“They need around $50,000 a month to be able to continue operations as they work toward their long-term goal of having a partnership with the state and through their private fundraising,” Vos said. “I think the goal would be that the Legislature and the executive branch hopefully will be able to provide a longer term contract to at least get us through the balance of this year.”

The bill would require WisconsinEye to focus its coverage primarily on official state government meetings and business, provide free online public access to its live broadcasts and archives as well as submit an annual financial report to the Legislature. It would also require WisconsinEye to add additional members to its board of directors.

The bill states that if WisconsinEye ceases operations and divests its assets, then it must pay back the grants and transfer its archives to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

An amendment to the bill will require WisconsinEye to open all meetings of its board of directors to the public, broadcast those meetings and archive them and stipulates that the state will own all video cameras, audio equipment, connecting cables and wireless transmission equipment that is operated or maintained by WisconsinEye in the Capitol.

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine), the lead coauthor on the bill, said she is glad WisconsinEye is back online.

“Without it, however briefly, the Legislature was less transparent and accessible to all of our constituents,” Neubauer said. “Thankfully, we’re here to fix this issue today… I certainly hope that this bipartisanship will continue with the Senate, and they will pass this bill so that we can ensure that WisconsinEye has a path to long-term sustainability.”

The bill passed 96-0 in the Assembly.

Vos said that lawmakers have had “brief discussions” with the Senate, but he believes that Senate Republicans are working on their own bill related to WisconsinEye. 

LeMahieu’s office has not responded to a request for comment from the Examiner.

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WisconsinEye Board of Directors Chair Mark O’Connell called WisconsinEye “a worthy, appropriate use of state funds” for people to know how their elected officials are “controlling and charting the course of our future.” (Screenshot via WisconsinEye)

An Assembly committee voted Tuesday to advance a bill to provide long-term support to WisconsinEye, the state’s nonprofit news organization that livestreams and archives government meetings and legislative sessions.

WisconsinEye resumed its coverage in February — after more than  a month offline — with the help of a $50,000 cash infusion approved by the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization Monday.

Mark O’Connell, chair of the WisconsinEye Board of Directors, explained the organization’s financial difficulties to lawmakers during the Assembly State Affairs committee hearing. 

After going off air, O’Connell told lawmakers on the committee that WisconsinEye had reduced some salaries and cut back on expenses as much as possible. It also turned to state lawmakers, who had already set aside $10 million to be used for an endowment for the organization, but with match requirements that WisconsinEye could not meet. The organization also started to boost its fundraising efforts among small-dollar donors. A GoFundMe has raised over $56,000 as of Tuesday.

“While you allocated $10 million to WisconsinEye and said, ‘If you can raise $10 million, we’ll give you matching dollars up to $10 million,’ — that was incredibly gracious of you — but that was hard, hard to the point where it couldn’t be done in a very difficult fundraising environment,” O’Connell said. “That has resulted in where we are today.” 

O’Connell called WisconsinEye “a worthy, appropriate use of state funds” for people to know how their elected officials are “controlling and charting the course of our future.”

Under the Assembly proposal, which was first announced by Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) last month, the match requirements for the $10 million would be eliminated and the money would go to establishing an endowment fund for WisconsinEye.

“WisconsinEye will still have to put in quite a bit of work and raise the remainder of their operating budget each year,” Neubauer told lawmakers Tuesday. “If we assume a rate of return of about 4 to 7% on the endowment, WisconsinEye will still have to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to be able to maintain something close to their current budget, which is $950,000 annually.” 

Neubauer said the organization has said that maintaining that budget is necessary to operate at its current level and to meet its contractually obligated services. She added that she hopes that one day WisconsinEye would be able to cover every committee meeting and hearing in the state Capitol, though that would “require strong private fundraising from them.”

“If we… bring in about $600,000 from the endowment each year, they would need to raise about $350,000. They have communicated that they think that that’s possible,” Neubauer said. “They would live off the interest. The endowment stays with the state of Wisconsin.”

O’Connell told lawmakers that approving the bill would help secure additional funding from donors. 

“We are going to continue to raise funds as best we can. We currently have seven entities that contribute $25,000 per year. We have one entity that contributes $50,000 per year. We have a handful of folks that, to the tune of about $175,000, that are waiting to see if this commitment from the state is solid, and if it is, then we’re going to see those funds come in,” O’Connell said. “I am very optimistic that if we can come to a resolution on this piece of legislation, that we are going to be in a relatively strong position to have a solid base with the partnership with the state as we continue to do fundraising in the private sector.” 

The proposal would require WisconsinEye to add four additional members to its board of directors who would be appointed by each legislative caucus leader, focus its coverage primarily on official state government meetings and business, provide free online public access to its live broadcasts and digital archives as well as submit an annual financial report to the Legislature and the Joint Finance Committee. The board appointees would not be allowed to be current legislators.

The bill also states that if WisconsinEye ceases operations and divests its assets, then it must pay back the grants and transfer its archives to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

O’Connell said there are some other details that need to be worked out with the bill. He said WisconsinEye will need “bridge financing” to help the organization function until interest from the trust fund begins to come in. 

“We’ve got to operate between now and whenever that return comes in, so we’ll need some kind of bridge. We’ll work with the Legislature on that,” O’Connell said. “We will need to work on the trust fund language. We would like the state of Wisconsin investment board to be aggressive… There are some issues we’ll have to address, but we are incredibly appreciative of the state of Wisconsin… saying [to] the citizens of Wisconsin, it is important for us in the Legislature for you to know what we are doing.”

The committee approved the bill unanimously immediately following the public hearing, setting it up for a vote in the full Assembly in the near future.

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The Wisconsin State Capitol. Control of the state Assembly and Senate will be at stake in the 2026 November elections. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

It is still early in a significant election year for Wisconsin, but the story of its state legislative races is “beginning to emerge,” John Johnson, a research fellow in Marquette Law School’s Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education, told the Wisconsin Examiner in a recent interview. Among  the developments helping to shape it are recently announced retirements of two Senate Republicans and campaign finance reports that show a Democratic advantage in the Senate and a Republican advantage in the Assembly. 

State Senate retirements and fundraising 

Republicans currently hold an 18-seat majority in the 33-seat state Senate, where the 17 odd-numbered seats will be up for election this year. Democrats need to win two additional seats in the state Senate to flip control of the body.

Lawmakers have slowly started to announce their plans. On Monday, Sen. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), who has served in the Legislature since 1991 and is one of the most conservative lawmakers in the state Senate, announced he will not run for reelection. He said in a statement that the “time has come for a new fighter to take on the mission of preserving life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” for residents of Senate District 11. 

“It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve in the Wisconsin State Legislature representing the people of Southern Wisconsin,” Nass said. “I have always been bipartisan in my scorn of fiscal mismanagement and bureaucratic overreach regardless of whether the Republicans or Democrats were in charge, since the affliction of Big Government is a disease that infects both parties in Madison.”

His district leans Republican. The three Assembly districts within his are represented by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) and Rep. Tyler August (R-Walworth). 

Nass is the second Republican legislator to announce his  retirement in recent weeks. 

The State Senate Democratic Committee (SSDC), the fundraising arm of the caucus, said in a statement that his announcement “is yet another proof point that Republicans are expecting to lose control of the Senate in November” and are confronting the “reality of a Democratic majority.”

The SSDC has been laying the groundwork to flip the chamber over the last year, especially over the summer. In its recent campaign finance report, the SSDC reported raising $771,870 — more than two times what its Republican counterpart brought in — between July 1 and Dec. 31. According to the SSDC, that’s the most the committee has ever raised in a non-election year.

“Senate Democrats have the message, the fair maps, and the candidates to win a majority in November, and these fundraising numbers are proof of that,” the SSDC said in a statement. It ended the period with a $446,605 cash balance. 

The Committee to Elect a Republican Senate (CERS) reported raising $306,674 during the fundraising period. It spent $21,249, and ended the period with $728,682 cash-on-hand. 

The first Senate retirement announcement this year came from Sen. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield), who represents Senate District 5. The district includes portions of Milwaukee County, encompassing West Allis and Wauwatosa, and Waukesha County, including Pewaukee, Brookfield and Elm Grove. 

Hutton’s exit is significant, Johnson says.

“That’s an essential target for Democrats to win if they want to take a majority of the state Senate,” Johnson said. “The Democrats have also recruited a quite strong challenger there.” 

Hutton said in a statement that the decision was “very difficult” but that “increasing personal and professional obligations have made it clear that stepping aside is the right decision at this time.” 

“I look forward to continuing to work hard in this final year and beyond to push for more needed reforms that streamline government, address affordability for families, support law enforcement and increase access to quality education, healthcare and economic opportunity for all Wisconsinites,” Hutton said. 

Hutton had reported raising $24,325 in his December campaign finance report, which included a $20,000 contribution from himself. 

The Democratic candidate running for Hutton’s seat, State Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa), who has served in the Assembly since 2019, raised $98,913 since her Senate campaign launched in July and had $114,471 cash-on-hand, according to her campaign finance report.

Vining raised $83,403 from individual contributions. The SSDC provided over $30,000 in in-kind contributions, including wages for campaign staff, consulting and printing. She is the only candidate in the race since Democrat Sarah Harrison, a Brookfield businesswoman, dropped her bid due in part to poor fundraising. 

Johnson said Vining is a strong candidate for Democrats because she is an Assembly incumbent, who has represented one-third of the state Senate district and has a proven track record of winning parts of the district.

Johnson tracks races across the state, but said “most of them don’t quite have the clarity of the 5th Senate District in terms of who the candidates will be.”

Incumbents Johnson said, have about a 4-point advantage in reelection races.

“A seat that would otherwise be like 50-50, you’d expect the incumbent to maybe get 52% in the last cycle,” Johnson said – resulting in a 52-48, 4-point win for the incumbent. “In 2024, it was worth a little bit more for Republicans than it was for Democrats.”

There are three other Senate districts considered targets.

Senate District 21 encompasses part of Racine County, including the northern part of the city, and part of Milwaukee County, including Franklin, Hales Corner, Greendale and Greenfield.

The incumbent, Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine), has served in the Senate for the last decade. He hasn’t announced yet whether he’ll run for reelection. 

After the recent retirement announcements of other Republican lawmakers the SSDC began pushing for Wanggaard’s  retirement: “Good news comes in three… C’mon @Vanwanggaard, you can do it!” the SSDC account posted on X. 

Johnson says that of all the Senate districts, SD 21 changed the most — meaning Wanggaard’s incumbency advantage is smaller than that of other incumbent candidates. 

“He has the fewest constituents who were previously represented by him and his district, which means that his incumbency advantage is worth less than it would be under his district as it previously existed,” Johnson said.

In recent campaign finance reports, Wanggaard reported raising $36,461 in the latter half of 2025 and having $46,319 in cash on-hand.

The Democratic challenger in the district is Trevor Jung, who is the city of Racine’s transit director. He reported raising $133,512 and ending the period with $129,265 in cash on-hand.

Another key district is Senate District 17, which encompasses Iowa, Lafayette, Green, Crawford and Grant counties as well as parts of Dane County and where longtime Republican incumbent Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) is outraising his SSDC-endorsed challenger.

Marklein, who is the co-chair of the powerful Joint Finance Committee and has served in the Senate since 2014, reported raising $194,137 during the recent campaign finance filing period, of which $148,549 came from individual contributions. He reported spending $23,441 and having $741,753 in cash on-hand.

Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D-Oregon), who was first elected to the Assembly in 2022, reported raising $118,243, spending $4,741 and having $113,888 in cash on-hand at the end of the period. 

There are also two other Democratic candidates running: Corrine Hendrickson, who raised $13,081, spent $10,021 and had $3,059 in cash on-hand, and Lisa White, who reported raising $12,202, spending $15,966 and having $2,764 in cash on-hand. 

Senate District 31 is also considered a key district for legislative control. There, Democrats are seeking to protect incumbent Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick), who has served in the Senate since 2018. The district represents the entirety of Eau Claire County and parts of Dunn, Trempealeau and Chippewa counties.

Smith faces a challenge from Sen. Jesse James (R-Thorp), who was elected to the Senate in 2022, moved to stay in his district when legislative maps were redrawn and recently moved back to the area that is now represented by Smith. Smith reported raising $86,123 during the latter part of the year and having $153,493 in cash on-hand. James reported raising $42,817 during the period. He spent $3,355 and has $61,234 in cash on-hand.

“I would say the edge is still to Jeff Smith in that race, but less so than if he were against someone who is a political unknown,” Johnson says. 

Johnson also says he thinks total spending in each contested Senate race this year could easily reach $1 million.

Assembly GOP bring in $4 million haul as Dem challengers start emerging

Republicans currently hold a 54-seat majority in the 99-seat state Assembly. Democratic lawmakers need to hold all of their current seats in the Assembly and pick up five additional seats to flip the Assembly. 

Johnson says Democrats have a path but only if they “run the table” of competitive races. 

“There are demonstrably enough voters in those [key] districts who will vote for a Democrat, so that’s the optimistic case for Assembly Democrats. The optimistic case for Assembly Republicans is that Assembly Republican candidates tend to be more popular than other kinds of Republicans, and so that’s what they’re going to be counting on,” Johnson said. 

The Republican Assembly Campaign Committee (RACC) outraised its Democratic counterpart, bringing in over $4 million during the most recent reporting period, with the majority of the total coming from two GOP megadonors. 

The committee reported raising a total of $4,210,809 and spending $42,351 and ending the year with $5,241,793 in cash on-hand. Billionaire donor Diane Hendricks gave over $1 million to the RACC in the latter half of 2026 and another billionaire, Elizabeth Uihlein, donated $3 million. 

The Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee (ADCC), the fundraising arm of the Assembly Democratic caucus, raised $1.44 million during the reporting period. According to the ADCC, the overall total it raised in 2025 — $1.78 million — is the most the committee has ever raised in an off-election year. 

The ADCC’s top donors included venture capitalist and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Garrett Hoffman, who gave $175,000, David Hall of Pewaukee, who gave $150,000, and Lynde Uihlein, who gave $100,000 (She also gave $100,000 to the SSDC).

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said in a statement that the fundraising numbers show that “voters are fed up with the partisan games from Legislative Republicans and ready for change” and a Democratic trifecta is within reach. She said they are working to make investments, hire on-the-ground staff and invest in incumbents’ campaigns to set Democrats up for success this year. 

With all 99 seats up for election in the Assembly, the candidate fields are also still taking shape. 

Democrats are investing early in the districts they need to protect. State Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska) reported raising $1,007,842 and $1 million of that was contributed by the ADCC.

“Just kind of shocking,” Johnson said of Doyle’s campaign finance report. “But he’s the most vulnerable Democrat.”

Doyle was first elected to the Assembly during a May 2011 special election and has been reelected since. He won another term in office in 2024 by just 223 votes against the Republican candidate.

One key district to watch is Assembly District 51, where incumbent Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) recently announced that he will run for reelection.

Johnson said Novak is a candidate who “really, punches above his weight as a Republican in that district.”

“There have been a lot of years that Democrats thought they could win it, and Democrats all across the rest of the ticket won in that district, but Novak keeps on winning there,” Johnson said, adding that Novak is “probably one of the most moderate Republicans in the Assembly.” 

According to his campaign finance reporting, Novak raised $22,475 during the period and had $29,934 in cash on-hand. The majority of the funds — $20,000 — came from a contribution made by the RACC on Dec. 31.

Novak highlighted his work with Democrats in his press release, including with Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, to secure permanent funding for the Office of School Safety and to secure mental health funding for the UW system. He said that in another term in office he would work to address “affordability, budget responsibly and reduce tax burden, improve healthcare access and costs, and continue supporting our schools.” 

“Working across the aisle for common sense solutions is how I’ve always approached governing. We’ve been able to accomplish a lot to help address affordability, reduce the tax burden, support education, and reduce healthcare costs,” Novak said in a statement.

Johnson says the thing that may tip elections in these close seats are candidates’ personal connections to voters.

“There’s not a lot of daylight between members of the same party on any election these days, but these seats are close enough… that even a little bit of daylight — even a little bit of a, well, I’m mad at the Republicans, but I know Todd Novak. Like, we go to the same events. I see him talk. I trust him personally’ — even if that’s just a few 100 people, that can be the difference,” Johnson says.

With the support of the ADCC behind him, Ben Gruber, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Conservation Warden and President of AFSCME Local 1215, launched his campaign to challenge Novak last week. 

He criticized Novak and Marklein at his campaign launch, saying that Republican lawmakers’ decisions to not provide adequate funding to schools in the area have hurt the community. 

“I grew up here, and we’re raising our kids here. I want our kids to have the same opportunities we did growing up. The reality is because of incumbents like Todd Novak and Howard Marklein they don’t have those opportunities,” Gruber said when he announced his campaign. “In 2019 when my oldest daughter was ready to go to kindergarten, she was faced with a 90-plus minute bus ride to get to kindergarten twice a day because the incumbents defunded our public education in Wisconsin and our local elementary school closed in 2018.”

Gruber said he would advocate for working class families if elected to the Assembly. 

“We see the same story play out across this district every single day,” Gruber said. “Our communities are hurting. Schools are closing. Our ambulances are often unstaffed and our police departments are closing. We can do better for our communities.”

The ADCC has announced several other Democratic challengers in recent weeks including: 

• Marathon County Board Supervisor John Kroll is running for AD 85. The district is currently represented by Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Weston) won the district with 53% of the vote in 2024. 
• Oak Creek Mayor Dan Bukiewicz launched a campaign for AD 21. The district is currently represented by Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek), who won the district with 51% of the vote in 2024.
• De Pere School Board Member Brandy Tollefson is running for AD 88. The district is currently represented by Rep. Benjamin Franklin (R-De Pere), who won the district by 220 votes in 2024. 

While Johnson said he thinks incumbency and fundraising will matter in the races, he said one of the biggest factors that will sway state legislative races will be a person who won’t be on the ballot at all.

“The most important thing will be, if the candidate has a D or an R after their name,” Johnson said. While candidates’ relationships with voters in their districts are important, many people don’t have that kind of personal contact and will be “making their mind up about …what they think about Donald Trump, and they’re going to go in and they’re going to vote based on that feeling, I’m confident.”

State legislative races will appear on voters ballots in November alongside an open race for governor, congressional races as well as other statewide and local races.

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WisconsinEye livestreamed a press conference on Monday morning. (Screenshot via WisEye)

WisconsinEye, the state’s nonprofit that livestreams and archives government meetings and legislative sessions, restarted its coverage Monday after lawmakers approved a $50,000 cash infusion for the short term and as they continue to work on a longer term deal. 

The organization, which has been providing streaming services in the Capitol for nearly two decades, halted its coverage about seven weeks ago due to financial and fundraising difficulties. Its leaders turned to state lawmakers for help. The Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers had already set aside $10 million for WisconsinEye, but with a fundraising match requirements the service was unable to meet.

WisconsinEye is now back online, broadcasting a Monday morning press conference and with plans to stream Tuesday legislative activity after the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization (JCLO) voted unanimously via paper ballot to provide $50,000 to the organization to resume its February coverage. According to a memo on the vote results, the costs will be divided equally between the Senate and the Assembly.

“WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network is operational for the month of February. We invite you to enjoy the benefits of State Capitol coverage and the program archive,” a message on the website states.

An Assembly committee is also preparing to consider a bill Tuesday that would provide a longer term solution for the organization. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) announced that they had found a bipartisan legislative solution, which had yet to be considered by the Senate, about two weeks ago.

Under the Assembly proposal, the match requirements for the $10 million would be eliminated and would go to establishing an endowment fund for WisconsinEye. The interest from the endowment would help pay for the organization’s operational costs. Lawmakers said that since the interest won’t cover all of its costs, WisconsinEye will still be responsible for raising some money for its operational costs.

According to the bill draft, WisconsinEye would need to add four additional members to its board of directors who would be appointed by each legislative caucus leader, focus its coverage primarily on official state government meetings and business, provide free online public access to its live broadcasts and digital archives as well as submit an annual financial report to the Legislature and the Joint Finance Committee. The board appointees would not be allowed to be current legislators.

The bill also states that if WisconsinEye ceases operations and divests its assets, then it must pay back the grants and transfer its archives to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The Assembly State Affairs Committee plans to consider the bill during a public hearing Tuesday afternoon and is scheduled to vote on it immediately following the hearing.

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer announced the agreement on WisconsinEye during a joint press conference on Thursday. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) announced a tentative agreement on providing state funding to WisconsinEye, the nonprofit that provides livestream coverage of state government. 

It’s been a little over a month since WisconsinEye, which launched in 2007, halted its coverage of legislative hearings, floor sessions and other state government business due to financial difficulties. Since WisEye shut down, the state Capitol has held dozens of committee hearings without any being livestreamed and archived, and members of the public have been prohibited from recording or livestreaming. Only credentialed media has been allowed to record activity. 

Vos and Neubauer announced the agreement during a joint press conference on Thursday. According to Neubauer, the agreement will include an endowment, funded with the $10 million that lawmakers first set aside for WisconsinEye in 2023, as well as requirements that WisconsinEye fundraise to cover some operational costs. 

“The interest will go to WisconsinEye each year so that they can fund the majority of their Capitol operations,” Neubauer said. “This is a really good start. It’s very important for the public to have access, and so we’re optimistic that we’re going to reach a bipartisan solution here soon.” 

Vos said legislators also want to sign a short-term contract with WisconsinEye so the organization can broadcast the February floor period. 

“We’ll hopefully turn that into a longer term contract where we provide them limited funding,” Vos said. “I think it’s a win-win for all.”

As of Thursday, the Assembly will have met four times on the floor without livestreamed or  archived coverage of the sessions. The Senate has met once with a livestream facilitated by the Legislative Technology Services Bureau. 

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has announced plans to livestream its upcoming oral arguments on the Wisconsin Court System’s website.

“The idea of having one network and one operation for the courts and another for the Legislature, another for the executive branch, certainly is going to cost more than any amount we would give WisconsinEye,” Vos said. “They’ve already done a pretty good job. We’re going to make sure that they’re financially stable, and hopefully they continue doing the work that they’ve already done.”

Vos said that under the tentative agreement, $10 million in state funds would go into a trust fund and the interest accrued from it would be given to a “revamped” board of directors. He said it would be “still transparent and private.”

The $10 million in state funds was initially set aside in the state budget for the organization to use to build a permanent endowment, but it came with a requirement that WisconsinEye raise equivalent matching funds. The organization hasn’t raised enough money to access the funds. In the weeks since shutting down, WisconsinEye launched a GoFundMe that has raised nearly $50,000 from more than 260 donations.

Neubauer said that the interest from the trust fund is not expected to cover the organization’s nearly $1 million annual budget, so there is an expectation that it would raise a few hundred thousand dollars each year.  

“They have said they are able to do [that] and are optimistic,” Neubauer said. 

Neubauer said there will also be a few other provisions related to additional transparency in the organization’s operations and reporting to the Legislature. 

The agreement would also need support from the state Senate. Vos said there was a good discussion on Thursday morning, that Assembly leaders “probably are more in sync” than their counterparts in the other house of the Legislature.

“I think they’re still working through some of the details of how they’d like to work, and that’s why we don’t have a finalized agreement,” Vos said. “We wanted to get the bill out there, start the idea. If they have a different concept, we’ll certainly go through to finalize it, but I think at least based on my discussions this morning, I feel like all four of us are in a similar place. I think our caucuses, we’d like to have some kind of access, it’s just what’s the best vehicle to do it.”

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) told reporters on Wednesday that his caucus believes “that giving the public access to see what we’re doing is important, but… just blindly giving money to an organization that’s asking us for money, but not giving us any answers, is certainly not the solution at this time.” Lawmakers had sent questions to WisconsinEye requesting information on its operations and didn’t receive answers until about 12 days after the deadline. 

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the Senate Committee on Organization approved a livestream that will be facilitated by the Legislative Technology Services Bureau. The Wisconsin Senate votes on the state budget in July. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

With WisconsinEye, the state government video streaming service, still offline, the state Senate is planning to livestream its floor session Wednesday when it votes on constitutional amendment proposals as well as bills related to income tax breaks and education. 

According to a Friday memo from the office of Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg), the Senate Committee on Organization approved a livestream that will be facilitated by the Legislative Technology Services Bureau.

The memo states the goal of the stream is to enhance transparency and public availability, and that any use or distribution of the livestream is prohibited. Wednesday will be the first time since WisconsinEye went offline that the full Senate will meet to vote on legislation.

The absence of WisconsinEye, which halted coverage in December due to financial difficulties, means that for the first time since 2007 no organization is livestreaming and archiving meetings in the Legislature. Since Tuesday morning, WisconsinEye has raised more than $40,000 towards the $250,000 goal of  its GoFundMe campaign to cover three months of operating expenses. 

After WisconsinEye ceased coverage, Republicans began enforcing rules banning members of the public from recording committee proceedings. Democrats have criticized that move, saying the Legislature needs to be more transparent. One Republican committee chair told the Examiner that the enforcement of recording rules was in part due to concerns over the use of recordings for political purposes.

The state Assembly has met three times this year, including Tuesday, without sessions being livestreamed. It also has another floor session scheduled for Thursday. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said during a press conference that the presence of journalists at the floor session is why the Assembly is not doing something similar to the Senate in the absence of WisconsinEye. He said he didn’t see the need to try to recreate the service.

“People are reporting on [the floor session]. We are still trying to figure out if there’s a way for us to get WisconsinEye — we’ve had good meetings,” Vos said, adding that he has met with Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) and Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) on the issue. “I think, in the end, we’ll find some kind of an answer.”

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“This bill is not coming from left field… This is something we've been talking about," Rep. Shannon Zimmerman said about his data center regulation bill. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

The Assembly passed a Republican bill Tuesday to implement state regulations on data centers being built in Wisconsin. Democratic lawmakers said the measure wouldn’t effectively hold companies accountable, hold down electric rates for Wisconsinites or protect the environment.

Data center development is booming in Wisconsin. Microsoft this week proposed adding 15 data centers to a project in Mount Pleasant. Some projects in development has triggered pushback from area residents. According to datacentermap.com, there are at least 40 data centers currently in the state and more in development. Local governments, including in Madison, where the city council became the first in the state to pass a one-year moratorium on approvals for data center projects, are considering their roles in regulating or pushing forward projects. 

AB 840, coauthored by Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R-River Falls) and Sen. Romaine Quinn (R-Birchwood), establishing regulations of data centers, passed 53-44. Rep. Joy Goeben (R-Hobart) joined Democrats voting against the bill, while Rep. Steve Doyle and Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) voted with Republicans in favor of the bill.

“This bill balances the strategic and economic benefits of AI and data centers to the state while balancing concerns that ratepayers may have over energy, and that some may have over environmental implications,” Zimmerman said at a press conference ahead of the floor session.

Democratic lawmakers were critical of the bill, saying it doesn’t go far enough to protect Wisconsinites. 

“We need to take action to regulate data centers, but we need to get it right. Unfortunately, the GOP bill that we’re voting on today will not do what it promises,” Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) told reporters ahead of the floor session, adding that the bill process was “rushed.” The GOP bill was introduced on Jan. 9, and received a public hearing on Jan. 14. 

“It will not hold corporations accountable in the way that we should, and it doesn’t protect our communities entirely from the higher energy costs that are being discussed,” Neubauer said.  She asserted that Republican lawmakers “don’t actually want to regulate data centers or large corporations.” 

Zimmerman said the bill is responsive to concerns from constituents.

“Hands down the concerns are concern over ratepayer protection, concern over water, concern over land, and protection of those sort of things,” Zimmerman said. “This bill is not coming from left field… This is something we’ve been talking about.”  

Whether the bill becomes law is up in the air. It must pass the Senate and be signed by Gov. Tony Evers, who has expressed some skepticism about it.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Evers’ spokesperson Britt Cudaback said on Jan. 14 that “the one thing environmentalists, labor, utilities, and data center companies can all agree on right now is how bad Republican lawmakers’ data center bill is.” 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he didn’t know why Evers “would ever consider vetoing this bill, especially considering the fact that it is really based on what the citizens have said.” 

“I don’t think being on the side of not wanting data center regulation is anywhere near the middle, so we have been very thoughtful in what we put forward,” Vos said. 

The Republican bill includes a number of requirements including having the Public Service Commission (PSC) ensure that no costs related to construction of electric infrastructure for data centers are allocated to other customers and requiring that any renewable energy facilities that are primarily serving a data center must be located within the data center site. Democratic lawmakers said the requirement would stifle the development of renewable energy in Wisconsin and expansion of the state’s energy portfolio. 

“Their limits on renewable energy would come at a significant cost to consumers and are clearly a continuation of the GOP’s ongoing allegiance with the fossil fuel industry,” Neubauer said. 

Zimmerman said, however, that requiring renewable sources on site would ensure that a local community is benefiting from jobs that are created. 

Under the bill, water used for cooling purposes in a data center is required to be contained in a “closed-loop cooling system,” or “or any other system that uses an amount of water equal to or less than the amount that a closed-loop cooling system would use.” A closed-loop cooling system uses a fixed amount of water to keep data centers cool.

An amendment to the bill states that the requirements will only apply to large data centers that begin operating or undergo construction after the bill takes effect.

Data center operators also will be required to submit annual reports to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on the total amount of water used in a year. An amendment to the bill also says that data center developers should as much as possible encourage hiring of Wisconsin residents. 

“This bill is not a reaction to any of those data centers acting in various ways. This is just smart legislation to make sure we have the rules of the road going forward,” Zimmerman said. 

The bill also says no one can  operate a large data center unless they file a bond in an amount sufficient to cover the estimated cost of fulfilling any required reclamation with the DNR.

An amendment to the bill also clarifies that if the permit granted for the construction of a large data center expires before the center is finished, then the owner must notify the DNR and local government. It requires that if it isn’t finished by the date then the owner must work to restore the land as much as possible. 

Zimmerman said the provision gives flexibility to local governments for recourse in the case  a project is abandoned. 

According to the Wisconsin Lobbying website, the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin Inc. registered in favor of the bill. There are several more groups registered against the bill, including Wisconsin Conservation Voters and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction Electrician Local Unions. 

Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Angela Stroud (D-Ashland) and Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin (D-Whitefish Bay), have proposed their own legislation to regulate data centers. That bill, AB 722, would place data centers in their own class of “very large customers” to ensure that everyday ratepayers don’t bear the costs of data centers’ energy demands. It would also take steps to regulate data centers and encourage renewable energy use. Lawmakers introduced the bill as an amendment during the floor session, but Republican lawmakers voted it down.

Stroud said the GOP bill is a “concept of an idea.” 

“There’s nothing in the bill that the PSC could actually implement to do the job it says it’s going to do,” Stroud said. 

Stroud said her proposal, while “not perfect,” would “get us as close as possible to the central goal of protecting the public by controlling costs, creating transparency and making sure that we’re keeping as much value in our communities as possible.”

Under the Democratic bill, data center companies would be required to pay an annual fee to the Department of Administration (DOA); revenue which would go towards renewable energy programs. It would also have companies submit quarterly reports to the PSC on the amount of energy being used by data centers as well as information on the source of the energy. Water utilities would also need to publicly report when a single customer will account for more than 25% of the total water usage in the district. 

The bill would require that companies pay workers at construction sites the prevailing wage rate or if the employee is a union member, then the rate in the worker’s collective bargaining agreement — whichever rate is higher. It also says that to qualify for sales tax exemptions available to data centers under current law, companies would need to meet labor requirements and source 70% of their energy from renewable sources.

Vos said that the Democratic bill will “have very little impact on the average person unless you’re a union activist or someone who wants renewable energy everywhere.”

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“This is not about vague feelings or misunderstandings," Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) said of her bill to make child grooming a crime. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

The Wisconsin Assembly, which met for its first floor session of the year on Tuesday, passed two constitutional amendments that could be on ballots in November as well as bills to withhold pay from suspended judges and to make “grooming” to establish a sexual relationship with a child a felony crime.

For the first time in nearly two decades, the floor session occurred without livestream coverage from WisconsinEye, the nonprofit organization that produces live and archived videos of state government similar to C-Span.

Two constitutional amendments advance

The Assembly passed two constitutional amendment proposals. One would bar the closure of places of worship during a state of emergency and the other would  eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs throughout Wisconsin. 

Each proposed amendment is up for the second of two required votes in consecutive sessions of  the Legislature. If they pass the Senate, they will appear on voters’ ballots in November. A majority of voters must approve them before the state constitution can be amended.

AJR 10, which would prohibit the state from ordering the closure of places of worship during a state of emergency, passed 56-43. Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee) joined Republicans in favor of the proposal.

The proposal was first introduced during the 2023-25 session in response to actions taken by the Evers administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. A “Safer at Home” order issued by Evers in March 2020 designated religious entities as essential but said gatherings should include fewer than 10 people in a room at a time and said people needed to adhere to social distancing requirements as much as possible. The order also advised places of worship to have drive-in services.

Only Rep. Ron Tusler, the proposal’s author, spoke about it during the floor session. 

“No more than 10 people at a time, no matter how big the church structure was. What part of never infringe the right of every person to worship almighty God, according to the dictates of their conscience, did Gov. Evers not understand?” Tusler asked, referring to the Wisconsin State Constitution. “Evers was wrong to limit our churches to 10.”

Voters would be asked “Shall Section 18 of Article I of the Constitution, which deals with religious liberty, be amended to prohibit the state or a political subdivision of the state from ordering the closure of, or forbidding gatherings in, places of worship in response to a state of emergency, including a public health emergency?”

AJR 102, which seeks to target diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in state and local governments, passed 54-45 with only Republican support. 

Rep. Dave Murphy (R-Hortonville) said the proposal will restore “merit, fairness and equality to government practices from the state Capitol, all the way down to our school boards and everything in between” including when it comes to hiring, scholarships and contracting.

Rep. Supreme Moore Omokunde (D-Milwaukee), speaking against the proposal, said it represents an opportunity for Republicans “to rev up voters for November and an opportunity to give red meat to the base.” 

Voters across the state could find the constitutional amendment proposals alongside a slate of high stakes races on their ballots in November including a race for governor, congressional races and races for the state Senate and Assembly that will determine control of the chambers in 2027. 

Rep. Margaret Arney (D-Wauwatosa) said the anti-DEI proposal creates a roadblock to helping her community.

“We need to do more to have Black and brown kids succeed in Wisconsin,” Arney said. “This change doesn’t help improve well-being in the district. It gets in the way.”

“This is the kind of fairness that the people of Wisconsin are looking for,” Murphy responded.

The proposal now needs to pass the Senate before it can go to voters. If it passes there, voters will see the following question on their ballots in November: “Shall section 27 of article I of the constitution be created to prohibit governmental entities in the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education, public contracting, or public administration?”

Withholding judge’s pay during temporary suspension

AB 380 would require that if the state Supreme Court temporarily suspends a judge from practicing in the state  pending final determination of proceedings or imposes a suspension as a disciplinary sanction in a case of misconduct then the suspension must be without pay.

The bill passed 57-42. Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D-Oregon), Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska) and Rep. Tara Johnson (D-Town of Shelby) joined Republicans in support of the bill.

The bill was introduced last year after the arrest and suspension of former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who has since been found guilty of felony obstruction of federal immigration agents in December and submitted her resignation from her position in January.

Bill coauthor Rep. Shae Sortwell (R-Two Rivers) told reporters before the session that the bill will ensure that “when a judge is suspended for misconduct, they are not being continued to be paid by the people of Wisconsin.”

“Not only is it an extended vacation, which is what Judge Dugan ended up enjoying while she was not doing her job, but in addition to that, we had to have other judges fill the role and get the job done so that cases could continue to be adjudicated in Milwaukee County,” he added. “If another judge decides to do this, they shouldn’t be able to collect their pay, hundreds of thousands of dollars, while that case is pending.” 

Sortwell also said an amendment to the bill will ensure that should a judge be found not guilty  they would receive backpay. 

During floor debate, Rep. Andrew Hysell (D-Sun Prairie) called it a messaging bill given that it wouldn’t have applied to Dugan. He pointed out that the statute that the bill would change was not used by the state Supreme Court when it suspended Dugan. 

“It would have saved taxpayers zero dollars,” Hysell said. “I understand that certain bills are meant to convey certain messages to the public, but even a messaging bill should have some arguable connection to the underlying problem that it supposedly fixes.” 

Sortwell said that Hysell was right it wouldn’t have affected Dugan, but reiterated that his bill is looking towards the future.

“We do believe in innocence until proven guilty,” Sortwell said. “She was found to be guilty and good riddance to her.”

Grooming a crime

The Assembly also passed AB 677, which would make grooming a felony crime in Wisconsin, in a 93-6 vote. Reps. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee), Angelina Cruz (D-Racine), Francesca Hong (D-Madison), Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) and Angelito Tenorio (D-West Allis) voted against the proposal.

Bill author Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) said the bill will help protect children and noted that she started working on the bill about 18 months ago due to the case of Christian Enwright, a former Kenosha teacher who pleaded guilty last year to over a dozen misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct after he had an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old student.

“Anyone who followed that case and saw the messages that Enright sent would know that his behavior is far more than disorderly. Because of the lack of a criminal definition of grooming, that was all he could be charged with,” Nedweski said. 

Under the bill, grooming in Wisconsin would be defined as “a course of conduct, pattern of behavior, or series of acts with the intention to condition, seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child for the purpose of producing distributing or possessing depictions of the child engaged in sexually explicit conduct.”  

A person convicted of a grooming charge, under the bill, would be guilty of a Class G felony. The charge would increase to a Class F felony if the person is in a position of trust or authority, and to a Class E felony if the child has a disability and to a Class D felony if the violation involves two or more children. A convicted person would need to register as a sex offender.

An amendment to the bill would change the crime to a Class I felony if the person convicted of the crime is a school staff member or volunteer. 

“This is not about vague feelings or misunderstandings. There needs to be a pattern of predatory behavior with the intent to have sexual contact with the victim,” Nedweski said. “This bill came as a result of months of conversations with law enforcement prosecutors, district attorneys, educators and victim advocates.”

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said in a statement that she appreciated the bipartisan effort on the bill.

“We all share a commitment to protecting kids in school and ensuring they can safely learn and grow,” Neubauer said. “This is a critical issue, and I hope we will continue working together to support and protect our kids.”

Phelps told the Examiner in a statement that he voted against the bill because it didn’t seem like a “good-faith effort” to make children safer. He said the behaviors covered in the bill are already illegal.

“Creating redundant crimes to advance a political agenda doesn’t make anyone safer; it just pads the statute books, locks more people in our failed carceral system, and ignores real solutions like prevention and survivor services,” Phelps said.

Assembly’s first time on the floor without WisconsinEye livestream

Ahead of the Assembly floor session, Neubauer called the absence of WisconsinEye as lawmakers continue their business this month an “unsustainable situation.” The nonprofit organization ceased coverage and pulled its archive offline on Dec. 15 due to financial difficulties.

“It is not a good day for accountability to the people who elected us to serve them,” Neubauer said. “Transparency is an essential part of a functioning democracy. Without it, mistrust thrives and multiplies at a time when we need to be building trust in state government. We need to be demonstrating that government can and must be a force for good. This is a step in the wrong direction, and it erodes the public’s trust in this institution.” 

Neubauer said she is open to negotiating with her Republican colleagues to find a solution. She said that lawmakers did not set the organization up for success with the match requirements placed on the $10 million that the state set aside for an endowment. 

“Not sure that a $10 million requirement was ever really realistic for WisconsinEye. We would of course like to see more fundraising,” Neubauer said.

Neubauer and Democrats also questioned why Republican lawmakers were not working more quickly towards a solution as well as why they began enforcing a ban against members of the public who try to record committee proceedings.

“I would ask that you ask yourself what kind of politician doesn’t want for a camera to film what we are doing. What kind of intentions does that politician have? What kind of motivations do they have? What do they have to hide? Why are they doing that?” Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona) told reporters. “We’re doing important work. People ought to be able to see what we’re doing.”

Gov. Tony Evers told reporters on Monday that he is open to exploring options for getting WisconsinEye back online, but isn’t supportive of just giving the nonprofit state funds without a match requirement.

“I think there has to be some skin in the game,” Evers said of WisEye. 

Republican leaders have also said that they support improving transparency but expressed some concerns about  giving the organization state funds. 

In November, before WisconsinEye went dark, the organization’s president Jon Henkes told the Examiner that the board hadn’t raised any money. He said then that the organization had been reaching out to potential donors about providing large-sum contributions 

“We’re not asking for $5,000 gifts right now. We’re asking for gifts in the $50,000 [to] $500,000 range and that’s a limited amount of people out there,” Henkes said in November.

The organization started seeing more small-dollar donations in December. 

“Small gift fundraising… through online and small checks that have been arriving in the mail are helpful. They don’t get us where we need to be, but it’s a statement that it’s not just the lobbyists and elected officials around the state in the news media who are supporting us there,” Henkes said in December. “There are a lot of people who are citizen viewers who recognize the value of WisconsinEye and are taking the time to go online to make a small gift or send a check, and we’re very grateful for that. That’s a huge encouragement to us.”

WisconsinEye has increased its attempts to raise money from small-sum donations, including by launching a GoFundMe campaign on Monday. As of Tuesday, the campaign had raised more than $8,000 from over 100 donations. The goal is $250,000, which would help support three months of the organization’s operational costs.

Update: This story was updated on Thursday Jan. 15 to add comment from Rep. Christian Phelps about his vote against AB 677. 

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