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Daily Bread, Legislature, State Government, Tony Evers, Wisconsin, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 10.15.24: Another WISGOP Holdover Appointee

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 51. Sunrise is 7:09, and sunset is 6:11, for 11 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous, with 94.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Alcohol Licensing Committee meets at 6 PM and the Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1815,  Napoleon begins his exile on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The cold, rigid hand of the WISGOP yet grips Wisconsin. Erik Gunn reports Scott Walker holdover’s labor review board term expired in 2023, but she’s still on panel (‘Evers’ commission nominees haven’t gotten state Senate hearings, confirmation votes’):

Six years after Gov. Scott Walker left office, an official he appointed continues to interpret state laws covering jobless pay, workplace injuries and civil rights.

Georgia Maxwell’s term as one of three members of the Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission (LIRC) expired March 1, 2023, more than 18 months ago. Nevertheless she remains in the seat even though Gov. Tony Evers has appointed her replacement.

Maxwell is following the example of another Walker appointee, Fred Prehn, a Wausau dentist who refused to step down from the Natural Resources Board at the end of his term in May 2021.

As the Wisconsin Examiner reported, Republican leaders in the Legislature held off formally confirming Evers’ appointed successor to Prehn and encouraged the Walker appointee to hang on to his seat. A legal battle led to a landmark state Supreme Court ruling in June 2022 declaring Prehn could remain in the post until the Wisconsin Senate approved his successor.

In response to an interview request Monday, Maxwell said she would not answer questions about her decision and instead referred to the letter she sent Evers the day before her term expired.

In that Feb. 28, 2023 letter, Maxwell cited the Supreme Court ruling in the Prehn case and asserted her belief “in the continuity of work that we do” at the commission.

Consider, from 2018, the will of Wisconsin’s voters:

Via Politico

How ’bout 2022? Here are those results:

Via Politico

And yet, and yet, Walker appointees are still holding over.

No one should be shocked. In 1968, George Romero made a full-length documentary1 about creatures that just won’t go away:

NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission Launches From Kennedy Space Center (Highlights):

  1. From that film, one of the finest exchanges in cinema history:
    Field Reporter: Are they slow-moving, chief?
    Sheriff McClelland: Yeah, they’re dead. They’re all messed up. ↩︎

Daily Bread, Language, Law, Legislature, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 8.4.24: No on Amendment Questions 1 and 2

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 86. Sunrise is 5:50, and sunset is 8:10, for 14h 19m 39s of daytime. The moon is new with 0.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1914,  in response to the German invasion of Belgium, Belgium and the British Empire declare war on Germany. The United States declares its neutrality.

Voters will see two questions on the state’s Aug. 13 primary ballot to amend the state constitution, both of which would shift power to direct federal funding from the governor to the Legislature.

Questions written nebulously, and presented to voters on a month of traditionally lower turnout, deserve rejection. Government, and the questions it presents, are meant to be more than semantic trickery.

These are the amendment questions:

QUESTION 1: “Delegation of appropriation power. Shall section 35 (1) of article IV of the constitution be created to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?”

QUESTION 2: “Allocation of federal moneys. Shall section 35 (2) of article IV of the constitution be created to prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?”

For more information on the amendments, see Michael Keane, Wisconsin Constitutional Amendments, Wisconsin State Law Library. Keane writes:

If a majority of those voting on the ratification question vote “yes,” then the amendment has been ratified and becomes part of the constitution upon certification of the results by the chairperson of the elections commission, unless another date is specified in the amendment. (Wisconsin Statute 7.70(3)(h)).

The two amendments on the ballot in August, dealing with the expenditure of federal funds, were approved by the legislature on first consideration during the 2021 session (2021 Senate Joint Resolution 84; Enrolled Joint Resolution 14); they were approved on second consideration by the 2023 legislature (2023 Assembly Joint Resolution 6; Enrolled Joint Resolution 14). Two questions must be submitted to the vote because two different constitutional revisions are incorporated in the single joint resolution. The Supreme Court has ruled that in such cases, separate questions must be submitted to the people. (State ex rel. Thomson v. Zimmerman, 264 Wis. 644).

It appears that, for the first time, the people will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment at a primary election. All previous constitutional amendments have been submitted to the voters for approval at the non-partisan general (April) election, or the partisan general (November) election. (Wisconsin Blue Book, p. 509-514).

Signs of Ancient Life on Mars? Here’s What We See in This Intriguing Rock:

NASA’s Perseverance rover has made very compelling observations in a Martian rock that, with further study, could prove that life was present on Mars in the distant past – but how can we determine that from a rock, and what do we need to do to confirm it? Morgan Cable, a scientist on the Perseverance team, takes a closer look.

Daily Bread, Elections, Gableman, Speaker Vos, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.10.24: Secure Wisconsin Elections Despite the Shouting

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 81. Sunrise is 5:27 and sunset 8:33 for 15h 06m 34s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 20.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Lakes Advisory Committee meets at 4:30 PM.

On this day in 1832, Fort Koshkonong’s construction begins:

General Henry Atkinson and his troops built Fort Koshkonong after being forced backwards from the bog area of the “trembling lands” in their pursuit of Black Hawk. The Fort, later known as Fort Atkinson, was described by Atkinson as “a stockade work flanked by four block houses for the security of our supplies and the accommodation of the sick.” It was also on this date that Atkinson discharged a large number of Volunteers from his army in order to decrease stress on a dwindling food supply and to make his force less cumbersome. One of the dismissed volunteers was future president, Abraham Lincoln, whose horse was stolen in Cold Spring, Wisconsin, and was forced to return to New Salem, Illinois by foot and canoe.

After years of scheming, Speaker Robin Vos finds himself battling the conspiracy theorists (like Michael Gableman) that he once hired and encouraged. Yet, they are conspiracy theorists at the core, men and women with false, indeed crackpot, notions.

In fact, as Henry Redman reports, Election experts defend system, downplay threats at Milwaukee event:

At the event, hosted jointly by the Milwaukee Press Club, Rotary Club of Milwaukee and Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, Milwaukee Elections Commission Director Paulina Gutierrez and former Republican state Sen. Kathy Bernier discussed how election conspiracy theories have affected the state over the last three years, the impact of last week’s state Supreme Court decision to again allow the use of absentee ballot drop boxes and how election officials across the state are preparing for this year’s elections. 

….

At the event on Tuesday, all three speakers downplayed the threat of incidents like that, saying most observers simply sit and watch the process. 

Bernier noted that having skeptics get trained to work the polls or come to the polls to observe often helps to assuage their fears when they find the system is carefully designed with multiple checks and the process is generally quite boring. 

Wolfe added that having people observe the voting process is a “healthy part of Election Day.” 

Many of the conspiracy theories about the 2020 election in Wisconsin have stemmed from the process of counting absentee ballots, especially in Milwaukee. Most communities in the state count absentee ballots at the polling location where each absent voter would have gone to vote in person. In Milwaukee and a handful of other communities, all the ballots are sent to one “Central Count” location where they’re all tallied together. 

Under state law, ballots cannot begin to be processed until polls open at 8 a.m. on Election Day. 

Conspiracy theories have abounded about the absentee process and Milwaukee’s central count, alleging that Democratic operatives worked to “ballot harvest” and force people to cast absentee votes for Biden or that large “vote dumps” from Milwaukee changed the results for Biden in the middle of the night. 

Bernier said that she doesn’t think ballot harvesting really happens, questioning how it would even occur while Wolfe said these allegations are often dispelled with simple explanations to people with questions. 

Prague Zoo hopes tons of ice will help animals beat the summer heat:

Courts, Daily Bread, Law, Recall, Speaker Vos, State Government

Daily Bread for 7.9.24: Vos’s Forever War

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 80. Sunrise is 5:26 and sunset 8:34 for 15h 09m 03s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 13 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Public Works Committee meets at 5 PM.

On this day in 1943, the Allied invasion of Sicily begins, leading to the downfall of Mussolini and forcing Hitler to break off the Battle of Kursk.

Update, 7.10.24: Wisconsin judge rejects attempt to revive recall targeting top GOP lawmaker.

For Speaker Robin Vos, it’s a forever war with the conservative populists: Organizers of recall targeting a top Wisconsin Republican appeal to court. Scott Bauer reports:

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Organizers of the effort to recall a top Wisconsin Republican have appealed the bipartisan state elections commission’s rejectionof their petitions in court.

Recall organizers filed their appeal in Dane County Circuit Court on Friday, a week after their effort to recall Assembly Speaker Robin Vos effort failed due to officials determining that not enough valid signatures were collected.

It will now be up to the court to decide whether organizers submitted enough valid signatures on time to force a recall election. If successful, Vos would only be removed from office for the remainder of the calendar year. He is running for another two-year term that would begin in January if he wins the November election.

The elections commission determined that signatures collected beyond the 60-day circulation window should not count. The filing deadline was extended by two days due to the Memorial Day holiday, but the commission said that deadline for collecting signatures was not also extended.

Such is Vos’s fate, forever. There’s no Wisconsin public position he could hold that would not meet with controversy from left, center, and right. This is where Vos’s twenty-year career in the Wisconsin Assembly has brought him.

See also Update: WEC Says Not Enough Signatures in the Correct Time for a Recall Against Vos.

KOENIGSEGG Jesko Absolut | 0-400-0 km/h:

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Law, Legislation, Legislature, Liberty, State Government, Tony Evers, Voting Rights, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.5.24: Wisconsin Supreme Court Restores Absentee Ballot Boxes

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a chance of scattered afternoon showers and a high of 76. Sunrise is 5:23 and sunset 8:35 for 15h 12m 21s of daytime. The moon is new with 0.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1687, Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

On this day in 1832, General Atkinson and his troops entered the area known by the Native Americans as “trembling land” in their pursuit of Black Hawk:

The area was some 10 square miles and contained a large bog. Although the land appeared safe, it would undulate or tremble for yards when pressure was applied. Many of the militiamen were on horses, which plunged to their bellies in the swamp. The “trembling lands” forced Atkinson to retrace his steps back toward the Rock River, in the process losing days in his pursuit of Black Hawk.”On this day in 1832, General Atkinson and his troops entered the area known by the Native Americans as “trembling lands” in their pursuit of Black Hawk. The area was some 10 square miles and contained a large bog. Although the land appeared safe, it would undulate or tremble for yards when pressure was applied. Many of the militiamen were on horses, which plunged to their bellies in the swamp. The “trembling lands” forced Atkinson to retrace his steps back toward the Rock River, in the process losing days in his pursuit of Black Hawk.

Whitewater’s Independence Holiday celebration continues today at the Cravath Lakefront:

Christman Family Amusements Wrist Band Session: 5 PM to 9 PM
Civic Organization Food Vendors: 4 PM to 11 PM
Live Music at Frawley Ampitheater: 
Cactus Brothers 5 to 7 PM sponsored by TDS
Titan Fun Key (Whitewater band playing ‘70s rock, funk, and blues) 8 PM to 10:30 PM
Family Day Powered by Generac: Free petting zoo, pony rides, camel rides 4 to 8 PM 

This morning, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued rulings restoring absentee ballot boxes (Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Elections Commission), holding unconstitutional specific statutes that placed the power of the executive branch to carry out the law in a committee of the legislature (Tony Evers v. Howard Marklein), and reversing a lower-court decision that allowed recommitment and involuntary medication without actual hearing notice to the subject individual (Waukesha County v. M.A.C.).

All three decisions appear below.

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Italy’s Mount Etna erupting at night:

Italy’s Mount Etna has erupted again, sending out spouts of lava into the night sky. Europe’s most active volcano has become a destination for tourists and volcano enthusiasts looking to catch a glimpse of its frequent activity.

CDA, City, Daily Bread, Federal Government, Government Spending, State Government, Technology

Daily Bread for 7.2.24: A BioHealth Hub for Wisconsin

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will see morning and evening showers with a high of 78. Sunrise is 5:21 and sunset 8:36 for 15h 15m 07s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 12.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

The Whitewater Community Development Authority meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress adopts the Lee Resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain, although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not adopted until July 4.

Erik Gunn reports Wisconsin gets $49M in federal funds for biohealth tech hub:

Wisconsin will get $49 million in federal support to develop a tech hub for biohealth, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Tuesday.

The goal of the state’s tech hub project is to advance technology to improve diagnosis and treatment for illness and centers on personalized health care — tailoring medical care to the distinctive genetic differences among patients.

“Wisconsin’s biohealth tech hub will be an economic driver for the state,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) said in a news conference she held Monday to preview the announcement. “It will help entrepreneurs scale up their operations and grow. It will help expand lab space and support new research. It will support people at all educational levels get the skills that they need to land a job in this emerging sector, and it will serve as a central hub for private and public partners in biotech to coordinate and collaborate so that our state can drive innovation that benefits people around the world.”

Wisconsin’s project was one of 12 tech hub proposals in the U.S. selected for full funding, Baldwin said, winnowed from nearly 200 applications initially. The tech hub program was established under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act.

Baldwin said the Wisconsin project has been projected to create more than 30,000 jobs and spark $9 billion in economic development over the next decade.

A project — public or private — should be judged by its promises measured against its results. And so, for this project: 30,000 jobs and $9 billion in economic development over a decade. If that result should come to pass, the project will be a notable success.

It’s a relatively small federal investment for these possible results. To come even part way to the stated goal would be a worthy accomplishment. It will take years, however, to see how far Wisconsin goes.

This federal biohealth project joins Microsoft’s recent private tech project in Wisconsin as a low-risk, high-reward effort. Both of those newer ventures seem as far from Wisconsin’s expenditure-heavy Foxconn project, for example, as one could get. (It would be impossible to go farther away from Foxconn, truly: to travel more would be to round the globe only to head in the direction one started.) See Wisconsin Tries to Leave Foxconn (and Its Misguided Boosters) Behind.

As Foxconn recedes into our past, the more absurd its proponents seem, and the more ridiculous the times in which those proponents held sway. There were some like this in Whitewater in the last decade, at the ‘Greater Whitewater’ Committee and the old CDA. See A Sham News Story on Foxconn and Foxconn: Heckuva Supply Chain They Have There…

Platitudes and false poses, years of them.

NASA launches powerful weather satellite on Falcon Heavy rocket:

NASA TV – Kennedy Space Center, Florida – 25 June 2024 1. Various of ‘GOES-U’ satellite launch from the Kennedy Space Center STORYLINE: A Falcon Heavy rocket launched a new weather satellite into orbit from the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday. The ‘GOES-U’ satellite is the newest and final addition to NOAA’s GOES-R series of satellites. GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite Series. This latest satellite will assist with weather-observing and environmental monitoring by tracking local weather events that affect public safety like thunderstorms, hurricanes, wildfires, and solar storms.

Courts, Daily Bread, Law, Legislation, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 6.20.24: Wisconsin Supreme Court Considers Gubernatorial Partial Veto

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Good morning.

Thursday, the first day of summer, in Whitewater, will be cloudy with a possibility of afternoon showers and a high of 83. Sunrise is 5:16 and sunset 8:36 for 15h 20m 23s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 97.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1944, the Battle of the Philippine Sea concludes with a decisive U.S. naval victory. The lopsided naval air battle is also known as the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.”

Wisconsin governors, since 1930, have had the power to veto legislation in whole or part, and that power has been controversial for nearly as long. Rich Kremer reports High Court To Review Wisconsin’s Nearly-Century-Old Veto Power (‘Business group’s lawsuit challenges Gov. Evers’ partial veto to create 400 years of funding’):

The state’s partial veto dates back to 1930, when concerns about state lawmakers adding multiple appropriation and policy items into what are known as omnibus bills came to a head. The Wisconsin Constitution was amended to give more power to governors to reject those items, one by one.

“Appropriation bills may be approved in whole or in part by the governor, and the part approved shall become law,” the new amendment read.

According to a study by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, proponents believed governors needed a check on the new budgeting process. But opponents worried giving governors more veto authority extended the already broad powers of the executive branch.

When he was campaigning for governor, Philip La Follette said the proposal to expand veto powers “smack[ed] of dictatorship.” The amendment was approved by around 62 percent of voters in 1930, and after he was elected, La Follette became the first governor to use it.

Nine times, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has heard challenges to the partial veto. The case now pending before the Wisconsin Supreme Court will make it an even 10.

This tenth challenge is over Evers’s use of the partial veto power:

Evers’ partial veto last summer caught the Republican-controlled Legislature by surprise. By crossing out a 20 and a dash before he signed the state’s two-year budget, Evers authorized school districts to collect additional property taxes to fund a $325 per-pupil increase for more than 400 years. The Legislature intended the increase to expire in two years.

Republican lawmakers were outraged. The GOP-controlled Wisconsin Senate voted to override Evers’ veto, but the Assembly never followed suit.

The challenge the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed to hear Monday, which was brought by the business lobbying group Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, alleges Evers’ veto violates the state’s constitution. The first legal briefs are due by July 16.

Evers’s expansion of the legislative funding until 2425 was unexpected (and I’d argue that expansion goes too far). And yet, and yet, his actions are a clever expression (and send-up) of political gamesmanship. I don’t know Evers’s childhood reading and viewing habits. Still, his partial veto suggests someone who enjoyed the irony and satire of Mad magazine or has a Bugs-Bunny-level cleverness.

(Bugs is, possibly, one of the sharpest Americans ever. In my household, to trick someone playfully, to pull something clever over on someone, is to ‘Bugs Bunny‘ that person. Evers certainly Bugs Bunny-ed the legislative majority with his partial veto.)

Bugs Bunny’s first on-screen appearance in A Wild Hare. Fair Use.

Japanese salamanders can live up to 80 years:

The aptly named Japanese giant salamander can grow up to five feet long and weigh over 50 pounds. But despite its primitive look, this amphibian is highly evolved. When it detects a threat, it excretes a pungent ooze that smells like a pepper. If left alone, the salamanders can live up to 80 years, but pollution and over-collection are threatening this fascinating creature. This is the Japanese giant salamander.

Daily Bread, Elections, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 6.11.24: A Bipartisan Vote for Wisconsin Elections Commission Chairperson

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 74. Sunrise is 5:15 and sunset 8:33 for 15h 18m 02s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 25.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Community Involvement and Cable TV Commission meets at 5 PM and the Public Works Committee meets at 6 PM.

 On this day in 1935,  inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States at Alpine, New Jersey:

In June 1936, Armstrong gave a formal presentation of his new system at the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) headquarters. For comparison, he played a jazz record using a conventional AM radio, then switched to an FM transmission. A United Press correspondent was present, and recounted in a wire service report that: “if the audience of 500 engineers had shut their eyes they would have believed the jazz band was in the same room. There were no extraneous sounds.” Moreover, “Several engineers said after the demonstration that they consider Dr. Armstrong’s invention one of the most important radio developments since the first earphone crystal sets were introduced.” Armstrong was quoted as saying he could “visualize a time not far distant when the use of ultra-high frequency wave bands will play the leading role in all broadcasting”, although the article noted that “A switchover to the ultra-high frequency system would mean the junking of present broadcasting equipment and present receivers in homes, eventually causing the expenditure of billions of dollars.”

In a state and nation seldom bipartisan, Wisconsin saw a bipartisan vote yesterday: Bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission unanimously chooses Democrat as chair for 2 years. Scott Bauer reports:

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The same Democrat who led the Wisconsin Elections Commission during the contested 2020 presidential election will be back in the helm in the swing state this year after being unanimously elected Monday by the bipartisan panel.

Ann Jacobs was the only commission member nominated to serve as chair, reprising the role she had from 2020 to 2022. The unanimous vote included one from a Republican commissioner who attempted to cast Wisconsin’s electoral votes for Donald Trump in 2020 even though he lost the state.

The six-member commission administers and enforces Wisconsin election laws, but elections are run locally by more than 1,800 clerks in towns, villages, cities and counties. State law requires that the chair of the commission alternate between a Republican and a Democrat every two years.

Two key departures from normal yet persist on the commission (assuming anyone can define normal, let alone recall when that condition last held sway).

First, Bob Spindell remains a WISGOP commissioner. Yet, he is one of ten fraudulent presidential electors who admitted under a civil settlement that their actions were part of an attempt to overturn wrongfully the 2020 presidential election results. Spindell wouldn’t belong on the elections board of the smallest hamlet on the planet, let alone this state’s elections commission.

Second, Wisconsin’s elections administrator, Meagan Wolfe, remains a holdover employee in her full-time state position. A well-ordered politics would not have holdovers, as the appointments & confirmation process would not be intermittent.

The joy of snacking:

Budget, Daily Bread, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 4.17.24: Big State Surplus Doesn’t Obscure Ongoing Needs

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 64. Sunrise is 6:07 and sunset 7:40 for 13h 33m 14s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 67.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks & Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1970, the damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.

Wisconsin has a large general fund balance, but that multi-billion dollar figure isn’t so big that one can’t see unfilled needs behind it. Jessie Opoien reports Wisconsin’s general fund hit $6.7 billion and other takeaways from policy forum report:

The state’s general fund balance — its largest source of reserves — hit a record high of $6.7 billion by June 2023. That was a 42% increase over the previous year. 

The [Wisconsin] Policy Forum previously found that in 2020, the general fund had closed the fiscal year with a small positive balance for the first time on record — but the news came as the state grappled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and faced a recession. The report attributes the strength of the general fund to federal aid, a resilient economy and the development of vaccines to mitigate the severity of the pandemic.

As of June 2023, the report found, Wisconsin had nearly 2.5 times more cash and liquid assets than short-term financial obligations — the highest ratio on record since 2002.

….

The percentage of state transportation fund revenues directed to paying off debt rose from 7% in 2002 to 18.9% in 2019. That share is projected to fall to 16.2% by 2025, thanks in part to fee increases and borrowing decreases, but transportation debt remains an issue.

“Going forward, transportation debt will likely remain an ongoing concern for Wisconsin unless lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers identify additional revenues for the transportation fund, make the general fund transfers permanent, or sharply scale back road projects. None of these options are politically appealing, making this an issue to watch in the next state budget,” the report noted.

A large surplus, ongoing needs for road projects, but beyond that: the surplus as a surplus has only a limited value to residents who have needs and lives beyond the influence of either state budgets or state transportation projects. A surplus for the sake of a surplus isn’t productive.

It’s closer to kleptomania.

See also Wisconsin Policy Forum, A High Water Mark for State Budget?

Memorable:

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Daily Bread, Government Spending, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.22.24: Less State Office Space Means More (in Taxpayer Savings)

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 Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be snowy with a high of 37. Sunrise is 6:51 and sunset 7:10 for 12h 19m 02s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 93.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1765, the British Parliament passes the Stamp Act that introduces a tax to be levied directly on its American colonies.

Sarah Lehr reports State agencies could offload even more office space, remote work audit finds (‘State administrators say they’re tightening up policies for tracking remote work’): 

Wisconsin state agencies could consider offloading even more office space than previously planned, according to an audit presented to state lawmakers this week.

Three years ago, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration released a Vision 2030 plan, which laid out a roadmap for the state workforce in the coming decade. Because of the continued popularity of remote work, it called for consolidating state office space and for selling multiple state buildings in the coming years.

In all, state officials say Wisconsin could save $9 billion in occupancy costs plus more than a half a billion dollars in deferred maintenance expensive by cutting down on office space, according to an update to the plan released last spring.

There’s a hard-nosed (but short-sighted) attitude that says state office workers should sit all day at their office desks. As it turns out, those state office desks are in state office buildings, and state office buildings do not pay for themselves. If workers who do not interact directly with the public can do their work remotely, then the rest of Wisconsin should not be paying for office buildings for those very workers. 

It shows a lack of foresight to say one is holding office workers accountable for their in-person attendance when that in-person attendance does not account for wasted money on state buildings.

The State of Wisconsin can and should sell office buildings that have become relics of a last-century service model. 

‘Paddington’ bears spotted in Bolivian forest raise hopes for species’ survival:

Daily Bread, Legislation, State Government, Taxes/Taxation, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.6.24: Gov. Evers Signs Child Care Tax Credit Lift to Federal Level

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 Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 52. Sunrise is 6:19 and sunset 5:51 for 11h 32m 22s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 20 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1820, the Missouri Compromise is signed into law by President James Monroe. The compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, brings Maine into the Union as a free state, and makes the rest of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase territory slavery-free.

Erik Gunn reports Evers signs child care tax credit hike, urges more action on child care support:

Gov. Tony Evers signed legislation increasing Wisconsin’s child and dependent care tax credit Monday and at the same time renewed his call for broader state support for child care providers.

“We need a long-term solution to our state’s looming child care crisis—including direct support for providers through Child Care Counts—and I will work with anyone from either side of the aisle who’s ready to work together to get this done,” Evers said.

The governor signed the legislation — AB-1023 — in a ceremony at a Waukesha child care center, La Casa de Esperanza.

The bill raises the state income tax credit for a family’s child and dependent care expenses to 100% of the federal tax credit from the current 50%. It also raises the maximum amount of expenses that can be counted to calculate the credit.

The child care tax credit is the only measure of four Republican-authored tax cut bills introduced in January that won broad support from Democratic lawmakers and the only one the Democratic governor signed. On Friday Evers vetoed the other three bills — changing the state’s second-lowest tax bracket, exempting the first $75,000 to $150,000 of retirement income, and nearly doubling the maximum tax credit for married couples.

More tax reductions are in order, but if one had to pick one of these bills only (although it wasn’t a choice of only one!), the child care credit hike was the best choice. 

Barred Owls LIVE! WBU Barred Owl Cam:

Budget, Daily Bread, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 1.29.24: $3,250,000,000 is Still a Big Number

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 Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 40. Sunrise is 7:11 and sunset 5:04 for 9h 52m 31s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 86.9% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1936, the first inductees (Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson) into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced

 Robert D’Andrea reports Wisconsin’s budget surplus is shrinking but still large:

Wisconsin’s budget surplus will be less than what was projected six months ago. 

The state is predicted to have a surplus of $3.25 billion by the end of the current budget cycle, according to a new estimate of the state’s general fund from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. 

That’s nearly $800,000 less than what was projected when the current budget was signed last June. 

Three billion, two-hundred fifty million is still a big number…

French farmers overturn truck carrying red peppers:

Quick replies: (1) Don’t waste food, (2) don’t start fires, (3) don’t overturn trucks.

Conspiracy Theories, Daily Bread, Legislature, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 1.19.24: Wisconsin Assembly’s Queen of Crackpottery Comes Up Short (Yet Again)

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 Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 11. Sunrise is 7:19 and sunset 4:51 for 9h 31m 26s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 66.2% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1983, the Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.

Credit where credit is due, including credit for recognizing that the attempts to impeach the Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe are baseless (where baseless properly excludes drunken delusions, chanting voices in one’s head, or congenital cognitive deficiency). Scott Bauer reports Wisconsin Republican leader derides GOP impeachment attempt targeting state’s top elections official:

In the Assembly, state Rep. Janel Brandtjen has introduced a resolution to impeach Wolfe. As of Thursday, it had just five co-sponsors in addition to Brandtjen. It would require 50 votes to pass.

Brandtjen tried in vain on Tuesday to be recognized to speak in an attempt to get a vote on her proposal. Brandtjen, who has endorsed discredited conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, accused Republican leaders of being “Administrator Wolfe’s PR team.”

During a news conference before Thursday’s session, Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August said Brandtjen’s proposal would not be voted on because it doesn’t have enough support to get out of committee or be approved by a majority of the Assembly.

“We have a process that has been utilized in this building for decades of how to bring a bill or a resolution to the floor,” August said. “And that’s the process that we’ll continue to use.”

August said if Brandtjen has enough support to bring the measure forward for a vote, she can.

“But the fact is she doesn’t,” August said. “Our caucus is focused on real things, not grifting and not making a big show for the cameras. And that’s all she’s interested in doing.”

Now, I’m not inclined to agree that the WISGOP is focused on real things, but it’s indisputable among non-lunatics that Brandtjen is focused on unreal things. A low bar, yes.

And yet, and yet, among the 5.8 million Wisconsinites, Brandtjen is not the state’s only crackpot, although she now seems to sit on the crackpottery throne. (Where Michael Gableman is these days I do not know, as Arkham Asylum is a fictional place. )  

By Mikel Janín / DC Comics – [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54136917

Amish man, horses help pull SUV out of snow in Ethridge, Tennessee:

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Courts, Daily Bread, Foxconn, Law, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 1.2.24: A List of Top State Government Stories in 2023

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 Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 33. Sunrise is 7:25 and sunset 4:32 for 9h 07m 15s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 64.1% of its visible disk illuminated. 

On this day in 1777, American forces under the command of George Washington repulse a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.

  Steven Walters has a list of the Top 10 State Government Stories of 2023. It’s a solid recounting of the biggest state issues of 2023. His Numbers 1 and 2 would appear on any list of major Wisconsin events: 

1. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz not only won a 10-year term on the state Supreme Court, but she won by a landslide in the most expensive ($51 million by candidates and outside groups) judicial race in the nation’s history. Her win gave liberals their first majority on the seven-member court in 12 years.

2. In December, that new Supreme Court majority ruled that Assembly and Senate boundaries Republicans drew in 2021 were unconstitutional. The court gave all sides a Jan. 12 deadline to submit new district lines for November elections and named two experts to advise the justices on next steps. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the ruling would be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

After his top ten, Walters mentions a few other big stories, and a post-Foxconn future is rightly among them:

Microsoft paid $50 million for 315 acres of Mount Pleasant land owned by Foxconn, officially retiring the 2018 promise by then-President Trump, ex-Gov. Scott Walker and ex-U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan that Foxconn’s investment in Racine County would create a high-tech, “eighth wonder of the world.” Microsoft says two data centers will be built.

FREE WHITEWATER has a category dedicated to the Foxconn debacle. 

In Whitewater (see A Sham News Story on Foxconn) and too many other places, support for the Wisconsin Foxconn project was (and should have been) a sign of dog-crap-quality policymaking. 

This Microbe May Someday Replace Your Steak:

“Someday,” however, is not today.