A sign acknowledging Stewardship program support at Firemen's Park in Verona. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)

A Wisconsin Assembly committee deadlocked 6-6 Wednesday on a Republican-authored bill to prevent the broadly popular Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program from lapsing next year. 

The program, which allows the state Department of Natural Resources to purchase, conserve and maintain public land enjoys bipartisan support among Wisconsin residents. However a subset of Republican legislators have soured on the program’s intentions, arguing too much land has been pulled off local property tax rolls in northern Wisconsin. Republicans have also complained that a state Supreme Court decision removed their authority to conduct oversight of the program. 

Previously, members of the Joint Committee on Finance had the ability to anonymously hold up stewardship projects. 

Republicans in the Legislature stripped money to re-authorize the program out of the state budget earlier this year and both parties have proposed competing pieces of legislation to keep it running beyond 2026. 

On Wednesday, the Assembly Committee on Forestry, Parks and Outdoor Recreation took up the Republican bill, authored by Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc). Democrats and environmental groups have been unsupportive of the Kurtz bill since its initial release because it requires that any attempt by the DNR to acquire land at a cost of more than $1 million be approved by the full Legislature through standalone legislation. 

Critics have argued the full legislative process is the opposite of what the Court intended when it took the anonymous hold power away from JFC, that the Legislature could never move quickly enough for the speed at which real estate transactions must sometimes take place and the public nature of legislation could scare off potential sellers. 

Earlier this week, Kurtz released a proposed amendment to his bill that would lower the threshold requiring legislative approval from $1 million to $250,000. 

A Democratic proposal, which was introduced as a separate bill this summer and offered as an amendment to the Republican bill this week, would create an independent board, nominated by members of both parties, to oversee the program outside of the legislative process. 

On Wednesday, the committee voted 7-5 in favor of accepting Kurtz’s amendment to his bill. Rep. Paul Melotic (R-Grafton) voted with the committee’s four Democrats against the amendment. 

But on the vote to advance the bill out of committee, Reps. Calvin Callahan (R-Tomahawk) and Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander) joined the Democrats to vote no, resulting in the 6-6 tie.

When an Assembly committee votes for a bill, it reports the bill to the full Assembly floor and recommends that it be passed. According to Assembly rules, when a committee ties on a vote, the chair of the committee has the discretion to report the bill to the full Assembly “without recommendation.” 

The bill has already been reported to the full Assembly for a potential vote, according to the office of Rep. Jeff Mursau (R-Crivitz), the committee’s chair.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Rep. Vincent Miresse (D-Stevens Point), a co-author of the Democratic proposal, said “Wisconsin Democrats are united in their support and vision for Knowles-Nelson,” while “Republicans cannot seem to agree on a path forward.”

Charles Carlin, the director of strategic initiatives at the non-profit land trust organization Gathering Waters, told the Wisconsin Examiner that Wednesday’s vote shows the only way to save the program is with a bill that can get support from both parties. 

“Today’s hearing was a missed opportunity for bipartisan cooperation on the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program,” Carlin said. “There is ample room for compromise across the aisle. But today’s deadlocked committee vote demonstrates that no reauthorization is going to move forward without buy-in from both parties. The hearing should motivate legislators on both sides of the aisle to come together and work out a compromise that keeps Knowles-Nelson working for Wisconsin.”

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Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August (R-Walworth) attacks the Assembly Democrats in a floor speech on Tuesday, Oct. 14. (Screenshot/WisEye)

During an Assembly floor session in which most of the bills passed on voice votes that were unanimous or nearly so, the chamber’s Democrats took the occasion Tuesday to make pointed arguments with amendments that were quickly quashed.

Republican lawmakers lashed back with accusations of politics and grandstanding, while Democrats retorted that they were raising issues relevant to their constituents that the GOP majority has ignored.

On a bill that includes a pilot program for enabling video communications between callers and public safety call centers, Rep. Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) offered an amendment to restrict the video recordings from being shared.

“My amendment tightens the guardrails on the pilot program to clarify that no real-time video could be shared with private contractors or masked federal agents with ICE or any other actors not relevant to the incident being reported,” Phelps told lawmakers.

In recent door-to-door visits with constituents, “most of them have been saying they want to protect and expand Medicaid, public schools, they’re worried about the economy,” he added. “Zero percent said that they want more government surveillance.”

The amendment was rejected 54-42.

“What is the bar?”: Wisconsin Legislature divided as it passes resolution honoring Charlie Kirk 

The official theme of the day — set as always by the Republican caucus — revolved around public safety, and was cued up with the first hour set aside to honor first responders from each of the state’s 99 Assembly districts.

On the floor, the Assembly passed bills to ban gadgets that can automatically hide or swap out a driver’s license plate (SB 66); increase the penalties for impersonating police, fire fighters and other emergency service personnel (AB 136); punish people who harass search and rescue dogs (AB 239); increase the penalty for human trafficking (AB 265); and require drivers to move over for disabled vehicles on the highway just as they must already give a wide berth to a stopped emergency vehicle (AB 409).

The body also concurred — on a voice vote and without debate — with a Senate bill that split lawmakers on party lines in the 2023-24 legislative session and was vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers.

The legislation, SB 25, would shield police officers involved in the fatal shootings of civilians from judicial investigations under Wisconsin’s John Doe law if prosecutors decline to issue charges unless new evidence is produced. The bill passed a divided Senate in March.

Amendments as talking points

On Tuesday, disagreement only broke open when Democrats used the amendment process to highlight some of their policy priorities that weren’t otherwise up for discussion.

Each time, Rep. Kevin Petersen (R-Waupaca), filling in in the speaker’s chair, ruled the amendments out of order, and the Assembly Republicans agreed in party-line votes.

The first of the Democratic amendments was on SB-183, which came to the Assembly after passing the Senate earlier Tuesday.

The legislation increases the Medicaid reimbursement for emergency medical services when drivers arrive to pick up a patient but the person ends up forgoing a trip to the hospital.

Rep. Alex Joers (D-Waunakee) offered an amendment to increase the state budget by $69.2 million to offset increases in the state’s cost to run the federally funded FoodShare program.

Rule changes that Republicans enacted in the tax-cut and spending-cut megabill that President Donald Trump signed July 4 set an “impossible standard” for Wisconsin to meet, he said. “We want to prevent another multi-million dollar heist by Trump and his followers.”

When the vote came on the bill itself — which passed by a unanimous voice vote — the bill’s Assembly author, Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) angrily scolded the Democrats.

“I’m a little bit taken back by the amendment that was thrown on to this bill,” Kurtz said. “I understand you want to get your political points, that’s fine. But there’s other bills you can do that with. This was a disrespect to those first responders that were here today.”

The next bill to get that treatment was SB 309, giving dispatchers and 911 call center operators immunity from any civil liability if they transfer a caller to the national 988 suicide and crisis line. That bill also passed with a unanimous voice vote.

First, however, state Rep. Joan Fitzgerald (D-Fort Atkinson) proposed an amendment to restore $25 million a year for the current two-year budget that would go to municipalities to improve or expand their EMS operations. The money was included in Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal but removed by the Joint Finance Committee’s Republican leaders.

“Today, you have the opportunity to change that and do the right thing and make sure municipalities get the money they need to fund these essential services,” Fitzgerald said. The Assembly voted 54-42 against the amendment. 

Raising Epstein

A few bills later came SB 76, requiring prosecutors to get a judge’s approval before dismissing or amending charges for a broad group of crimes. That bill passed on a 53-43 party-line vote, with only Republican support.

There was no discussion of that bill’s content, however. Instead, Democrats offered an amendment requiring the governor to issue a formal notice calling for the release of the federal files on deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Even before Epstein’s name was uttered in the chamber, Majority Leader Rep. Tyler August (R-Walworth) launched a broad verbal attack on the Democrats.

As with the other amendments, August raised a “point of order,” objecting to the amendment’s relevance to the legislation. He accused Democrats of “political gamesmanship” and pursuing “gotcha votes” to embarrass Republicans, and charged that “they just flat-out lie” in political campaigns.

“And so this is just another embarrassing moment for Assembly Democrats,” August said. “And then they wonder why they’re never going to be in charge of this place.”

Rep. Clint Anderson (D-Beloit) retorted just as sharply.

“You know what’s embarrassing is getting mad about us talking about holding a pedophile accountable,” Anderson said. “I think it is time that we send a message that we think no matter how powerful, how wealthy, and how politically connected you are, you will be held accountable if you traffic children.”

Rep. Lee Snodgrass (D-Appleton) argued that the amendment was relevant because the original bill was about restricting deferred prosecution.

“We all just voted unanimously to increase penalties for human trafficking and extend the statute of limitations,” Snodgrass said. “You simply cannot vote for that and then vote down this amendment.”

When Rep. Randy Udell (D-Fitchburg) began recounting some of the names of Epstein’s reported victims, Petersen interrupted.

“How do any of these names relate to Wisconsin?” Petersen said.

Udell: “They are all victims of Epstein and these files should be released.”

Petersen: “Did they happen in Wisconsin?”

Udell (who represents the 47th Assembly District): “We don’t know. The files haven’t been released.”

Petersen: “Representative from the 47th, on the point of order — not on national politics.”

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