The challenge to noncontiguous districts could provide judges a way to decide the case without ever addressing whether partisan gerrymandering is illegal.
Author Archives: Scott Bauer / Associated Press
Scott Bauer is the head of the AP bureau in Madison, covering state government and politics.
Posted inGovernment
Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice accuses liberals of ‘raw exercise of overreaching power’
The four liberal justices, on just their second day as a majority on the court after 15 years under conservative control, voted to fire Randy Koschnick.
Posted inGovernment
New Wisconsin lawsuit seeks to toss Republican-drawn maps
A lawsuit filed Wednesday asks Wisconsin’s newly liberal-controlled state Supreme Court to throw out Republican-drawn legislative maps as unconstitutional.
Posted inGovernment
Senators rebuke Wisconsin congressman who yelled vulgarities at high school-age pages
A freshman Republican congressman from Wisconsin yelled and cursed at high school-aged pages for the U.S. Senate during a late night tour of the Capitol, action that elicited a bipartisan rebuke from Senate leaders.
Posted inGovernment
Milwaukee County approves sales tax increase as part of plan to avoid bankruptcy
The Milwaukee County board has voted to nearly double the county’s sales tax, two weeks after the city of Milwaukee approved a local sales tax increase as part of a bipartisan plan to avoid bankruptcy.
Posted inGovernment
Democrats eye Wisconsin high court’s new liberal majority to win abortion and redistricting rulings
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court will flip from majority conservative to liberal control next month and Democrats have high hopes the change will lead to the state’s abortion ban being overturned and maps redrawn to weaken GOP control of the Legislature and congressional districts.
Posted inGovernment
Wisconsin governor’s 400-year veto angers opponents in state with long history of creative cuts
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto that attempts to lock in a school funding increase for 400 years drew outrage and surprise from his political opponents.
Posted inGovernment
Tony Evers scales back GOP tax cut, extends K-12 funding growth in Wisconsin budget
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed off on a two-year spending plan Wednesday after dramatically scaling back the size of a Republican income tax cut that would have moved the state closer to a flat rate.
Posted inGovernment
Tax cuts and a UW squeeze: A look at the proposed GOP-backed Wisconsin state budget
Here’s a look at what is and isn’t in the proposed Wisconsin state budget that the Republican-controlled Legislature is expected to pass next week.
Posted inGovernment
Republicans seek $3.5B tax cut favoring top earners, $32M reduction for UW System
Income taxes would be cut across the board by $3.5 billion under a plan announced Thursday by Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature’s budget-writing committee, a proposal that Democrats assailed as being skewed to benefit the wealthy. Republicans also plan to cut the University of Wisconsin System’s budget by $32 million despite a projected record-high […]
Posted inEconomy
Local funding, K-12 education deal passes Legislature
The Wisconsin Legislature has passed a compromise designed to prevent Milwaukee from going bankrupt that also boosts funding for all other smaller communities in the state.
Posted inGovernment
Bipartisan deal boosts municipal revenue, K-12 funding, vouchers
Wisconsin has handed cash-strapped Milwaukee a lifeline to stave off bankruptcy, allowing the city to raise sales taxes without voter approval as part of a larger local government and K-12 schools funding plan, according to a bipartisan deal announced Thursday by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican lawmakers. Evers called it a “transformative” deal that will rescue […]