CAPiTOL EYE

Veto showdown

Evers signals he will veto a series of GOP election bills

Gov. Tony Evers signaled he’ll likely

veto more than a dozen GOP election bills scheduled for votes this week in the state Senate and Assembly.

“I have to see them first, but the bottom line is, as I talked about in my State of the State speech, this is a fundamental democratic issue,” Evers said on WISN’s “UpFront.” “Not Democratic Party, it’s our democracy that’s on the line. And if we make it harder for eligible people to vote, then that’s going to be a problem for me.”

Evers, who is seeking re-election in November, defended the Wisconsin Elections Commission and said the agency should continue overseeing elections in the state. Republican opponents Rebecca Kleefisch and Kevin Nicholson have called to eliminate the commission.

“The people that work in the Elections Commission – the Elections Commission themselves are hard working – but the actual state employees that work there are great employees,” Evers said. “They’re just getting pummeled for no apparent reason. And so I think the present system works.”

Evers also pushed back on criticism from Republicans that he’s not focused enough on crime and public safety as he prepares to seek re-election.

“The question is why Republicans have consistently not funded shared revenue for the municipalities,” Evers said. “Most of that money comes from shared revenue and most of the time Republicans have reduced or made it more difficult to have shared revenue being passed onto the municipalities.”

Gableman seeks jail for subpoena non-compliance

Former Justice Michael Gableman on Friday asked a Waukesha County judge to jail the Wisconsin Elections Commission chair and officials with four cities if they refuse to comply with previously issued subpoenas.

Gableman had previously filed a similar request for the mayors of Green Bay and Madison only to back away from the suggestion he was seeking to have them jailed if they failed to comply.

On Friday, he filed an amended motion that accuses the targets of willfully failing to comply with legislative subpoenas and asking the judge to set a deadline for them to do so. The motion asks the judge to jail the officials until they heed the proposed order.

The motion says they all failed to appear by a deadline this week to testify before his office and seeks to have the targets pay the fees and costs incurred by the state due to their actions.

Along with Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich and Madison Mayor Satya RhodesConway, the new targets include: Madison Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl, Green Bay Clerk Celestine Jeffreys, Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs, Elections Commission IT Project Manager Sarah Linske, Wisconsin Director of Enterprise Technology Trina Zanow, Milwaukee Telecommunications Manager David Henke, Milwaukee GIS Analyst Hannah Bubacz and a representative of Racine.

WE’RE HIRING

Careers PF.com APPLY TODAY

400 North 72nd Ave, Wausau

Assembly approves GOP workforce bills

The Assembly approved a series of bills Republicans say would help increase the size of the state’s workforce by moving more people off of government programs while increasing talent attraction and training efforts.

Republicans are seeking to change

Polywood Fabrication is the perfect job if you want great pay, promotion opportunities, job flexibility and more.

Check out our careers site for all current openings. Apply online at CareersPF.com BENEFITS & PERKS • High Starting Pay • Employee Bonuses • 401K Retirement Plan • Family Scholarship Program • Flexible 4-Day Work Week • Medical Benefits • Life & Supplemental

Insurance

requirements to qualify for government assistance programs, fund efforts to attract more veterans to the workforce, and promote apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship programs. But Dems argue the push will only reduce the assistance programs’ ability to get more people in the workforce.

One of those bills, which passed in a 59-33 vote along party lines, would require the Department of Workforce Development to conduct random audits for at least 50 percent of all work search actions. Current law requires such audits, but does not specify how many must be conducted. The bill would also change application requirements for those looking to receive unemployment benefits.

Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, slammed Republicans for what she called a move to demean those seeking unemployment benefits. She said Wisconsinites searching for work need assistance, not audits.

“This is about shaming Wisconsinites who receive benefits,” she said. “It’s about attacking and preventing disadvantaged, mostly Black and brown folks from adequate benefits altogether.”

Disability rights activists back amendment to voting law

Nearly two dozen groups have signaled support for an amended bill to overhaul the state’s indefinitely confined voter law, especially if another change is added on the Senate floor today.

Gov. Tony Evers is expected to veto the bulk of the election-related bills Republicans plan to take up in the closing weeks of the session. The offer of support from groups such as Disability Rights Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters for SB 937 is a sign that some are pushing Dems to get on board with at least one of the bills Republicans plan to take up.

The groups wrote in the letter the proposed amendment, which the Senate can consider on the floor today, would match the definition of disability to language used by the Social Security Administration.

“Ultimately, we support this bill because it is critically important to maintain this vital protection for indefinitely confined voters,” the groups wrote. “While not all of the changes we supported were included, the bill was amended to address the most serious concerns advocates raised at the hearing.”

Under current law, those who are indefinitely confined due to age, illness or infirmary can receive an absentee ballot automatically for every election and don’t have to provide proof of identification to cast their votes. Indefinitely confined voters must return their absentee ballots in every election or local clerks would stop sending them until the status is declared again.

The bill would change who’s eligible to claim the status to those who are indefinitely confined and can’t travel independently without significant burden. It also would drop age as a criterion for eligibility.

Evers pushes plan to give back surplus to taxpayers

Gov. Tony Evers has signed the executive order calling a special session of the Legislature for March 8 to take up his $1.7 billion plan to give Wisconsinites tax rebates and pump more money into education.

While Evers can call the Legislature into special session, he can’t force lawmakers to act. GOP legislative leaders have quickly dispatched of Evers’ past special session calls, gaveling them in and out in a matter of seconds.

While Evers had three stops around the state following his Feb. 15 State of the State, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes hit two UW campuses. During his Madison stop, Barnes told reporters Evers called the special session because the “Legislature has unfortunately acted irresponsibly and not answered the calls of working people.”

“We can’t just sit behind while Republicans choose to do nothing in the Legislature while people in Wisconsin continue to suffer,” he said.

Abby Vans – Drivers Needed

$12-$14/Hr. Vehicle placed at home with fleet fuel card. Paid from moment you leave your driveway until the moment you return. 25-40+ Hours/wk. Good driving record required. If so please fill out our online application at www.abbyvans.com or call 1-715-743-3364 to request application be sent. 122230

“An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer”