Wisconsin state lawmakers have wrapped up the 2017-18 legislative session after making major changes to the state’s juvenile justice system and passing other bills that affect corrections and criminal justice.
Proposed Farm Bill Will Leave Millions of Kids and Families Hungry
Congress is expected to vote sometime this month on a bill that will leave millions of children and families hungry. The Farm Bill (H.R. 2), will cause an estimated 2 million Americans to lose food stamp benefits and threaten the health and well-being of Wisconsin’s children, families, and communities. Coming on the heels of tax legislation that provides a massive windfall for wealthy individuals and large corporations, this change would take resources away from working families and make it harder for parents to put food on the table for their children.
2017-2018 Legislative Summaries
Wisconsin state lawmakers wrapped up the 2017-2018 legislative session in March. During the session they passed several bills affecting K-12 education, health care, taxes, and public assistance. To learn more about specific bills, please read our legislative summaries: K-12 Education: Legislative Summary Health care: Legislative Summary...
Public Assistance: 2017-2018 Legislative Summary
Advocates were surprised this year when a sweeping package of changes to public assistance was introduced late in the legislative session and was quickly approved by the legislature. Within just a few weeks of when they were introduced, the legislature approved nine of the ten special session bills proposed by Governor Walker.
Education: 2017-2018 Legislative Summary
Wisconsin state lawmakers have wrapped up the 2017-18 legislative session after passing several bills that affect K-12 education.
Taxes: 2017-2018 Legislative Summary
The second half of a two-year legislative session typically includes debate on a number of tax bills, especially when updates to budget projections increase the size of the state’s estimated closing balance. That was true again this year, and as the legislature often does in an election year, it enacted tax cuts that are expected to leave the state with a perilously slim budget cushion.
Health Care: 2017-2018 Legislative Summary
The Wisconsin State Legislature considered a very wide range of bills relating to health care during the 2017-2018 legislative session. This overview summarizes a small but significant portion of that legislation, specifically bills related to access to health insurance and access to health care services.
President Trump: Don’t Play Politics with Our Census
The U.S. Department of Commerce plans to add a question about citizenship status to the census. This may sound benign, but it is in fact a reckless, political tactic designed to suppress the counts of immigrant kids and families. This is being done despite clear direction in the Constitution that the census is supposed to count everyone, regardless of citizenship status.
Four-Year-Old Kindergarten Winning in Wisconsin!
By Dave Edie, Early Care and Education Policy Analyst Wisconsin continues to be near the top among states in providing four-year-old kindergarten (4K), ranking 5th in the nation, according to a 2017 report by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). The report for Wisconsin, NIEER Analysis of Wisconsin's PreK...
Fact Sheet: Wisconsin Health Care Stability Plan
Following years of sabotage and hostility directed towards the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Governor Walker and the legislature pivoted to pass a $200 million reinsurance program, which is expected to slightly lower premiums for those relatively few people who earn too much to qualify for premium tax credits that help defray the costs of...
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