In a US Supreme Court decision (J.D.B. v. North Carolina) released today, the Court ruled (5-4) that a youth’s age does need to be considered as a factor when giving Miranda warnings – particularly as it relates to a youth’s ability to understand whether or not they are “in custody” and can adequately exercise consent to be questioned. ...
Medicaid Provisions in JFC Budget Raise Constitutional Issues and Open Meetings Concern The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) version of the budget bill incorporates provisions from the budget repair bill (Act 10) that shift the power over Medicaid and BadgerCare policymaking from the legislature to the Department of Health Services....
How will the state budget impact low-income families? WCCF has updated two analyses to show how the budget -- as amended by the Joint Finance Committee -- will affect low-income families:Effects of the Biennial Budget and Budget Repair Bills for Working Families: This is a summary of the ways the proposed 2011-13 budget bill and the...
According to a June 9th Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo prepared for Senator Mark Miller, the combined cost of the tax cuts in the biennial budget bill and in other bills already enacted this year will be $212 million in the 2011-13 budget period. The annual cost of many of those credits will grow significantly in future years, and the...
Late last week, the Joint Finance Committee approved a $129-million tax break for corporations that produce goods in the state. The Wisconsin Budget Project has a new post explaining the top ten reasons why this tax break is a bad idea. Here's an excerpt: Governor Walker’s budget bill was already very generous for corporations. While...
The school choice program got a big boost in the biennial budget. First, Governor Walker proposed repealing enrollment caps, income eligibility restrictions, and specific testing requirements for the Milwaukee school choice program. Although the Joint Finance Committee restored income eligibility and testing requirements, it also...
According to the newest Wisconsin Budget Project blog post, the Joint Finance Committee seemed geniunely committed to addressing the structural deficit (at least on the spending side), until it created a last-minute tax break for manufacturers. This move will nearly eliminates the income tax for many corporations that produce goods in...
Late Friday night the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) unanimously passed a motion that greatly improves the Governor’s proposal to centralize and privatize income maintenance (IM) administration. The IM program includes Medical Assistance, the FoodShare program, and the WI funeral and cemetery aids program. WCCF and other groups expressed...
The Wisconsin Budget Project has a blog post with a checklist of questions we should ask ourselves before we move to privatize government functions. Here's an excerpt from the post:Governor Walker has proposed a number of initiatives to privatize government functions or to make it easier to do so. One of those proposals, privatization...
Rock County is highlighted in the latest issue of the DMC Action Network e-Newsletter, reviewing some of the progress made over the past couple of years in creating alternatives to detention, implementing sound screening and assessment practices, and reducing reoffending. Much of this progress began under the leadership of Jason Witt,...
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