http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/mccabe-talks-people1-s5.jpgSen. Smith writes about why it’s important for Wisconsin to have a non-partisan redistricting process.

Politicians in Madison push their legislative redistricting plan despite overwhelming opposition from citizens.

MADISON – Monday afternoon, as predicted, the Republican majority jammed through Senate Bill 621. Their legislative redistricting plan was opposed by over 150 citizens during the public hearing held last week. The only support came from the authors of the maps, Senator LeMehieu and Speaker Vos.

Wisconsin is famously purple - equally divided along partisan lines - and the State Legislature should represent that fifty-fifty split. But the maps passed today cement and build upon the maps drawn in secret in 2010/11, and continue to make Wisconsin one of the worst gerrymandered states in the nation. A map that hands Republicans 22 of the 33 Senate seats is not a map that is fair for our neighbors.

Senator LeMehieu and the Republican majority can say whatever they want: the maps passed today do not represent Wisconsin, are not what the people of this state have asked for, and should not be confused with the fair maps that our Democracy deserves.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/joaqun-altoro-s5.pngJoaquín Altoro is leaving the Evers Administration to become administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/broadband-map-northwoods-s5.jpgRoads, broadband, clean drinking water big winners as Federal money will help us address long delayed projects.

Under GOP maps, the will of the people will never be the law of the land, says Agard.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/house-votes-infrastucture-s450.pngProgressives back off insistence that climate and social spending package be passed on the same day, throw weight behind $1.2 trillion public works bill.

Senator Janet Bewley and colleagues offering an alternative to more Republican gerrymandered maps.

MADISON – Redistricting.  It’s likely the most litigated issue in recent American history.  And it can get complicated, very complicated, as anyone who has been following the news can attest.  But it also can be very simple.

While it might be technically legal for a legislative majority to create maps that give them a huge partisan advantage, it isn’t fair.  We all know what fair is.  Wisconsin is almost equally divided along partisan lines, and the State Legislature should represent that fifty-fifty split.  The maps the Republicans have offered will give them 23 of the 33 Senate Seats and 64 of the 99 Assembly seats.  They can say whatever they want, but no one in their right mind is going to believe that their maps are fair.  Legal?  Debatable.  Fair? Certainly not.

That is the simple part – Republicans know what is fair and are disregarding it in favor of maintaining a partisan advantage.  A partisan advantage they created in 2011 when they enacted the most gerrymandered maps in the nation.  Now for the complicated part.  There are many ways to get to a fair map, many different approaches, depending on which of the traditional redistricting criteria should be at the top of the list, which can or should be put lower on the list of priorities.  My colleagues and I are offering an alternative.  We looked at many, but know that whatever we propose will be rejected.  So we offer this proposal to demonstrate that it is possible to draft a fair map that follows all the traditional redistricting criteria and results in a more balanced legislature.

Amendment to Senate Bill 621 is being introduced today: LRB-s0263/2

Senate Map

Legislative Reference Bureau comparative analysis of Senate Dem proposal, GOP proposal and 2011 Act 43

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today took action on eleven bills. The bills include: 

Assembly Bill 132, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 81:

• Requires certain entities that send immunization-related mail to ensure that any information that may disclose an individual’s immunization status is not visible on the outside of the piece of mail.

Assembly Bill 190, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 82:

• Requires the Law Enforcement Standards Board to regulate jail and detention officer training, and to regulate recruitment standards for officers; and
• Requires law enforcement agencies to keep an employment file for each employee and create a procedure for law enforcement agencies, jails, and juvenile detention facilities recruiting for officers to receive and review a candidates employment file from prior employers.

Assembly Bill 220, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 83:

• Requires schools to annually provide information to parents on youth apprenticeship and creates an exception for providing information on options only available to high school students for schools that do not serve high school grades.

Assembly Bill 270, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 84:

• Makes various changes to the issuance and validity of marriage licenses, including changing residency requirements, required documentation, waiting periods, and filing requirements.

Assembly Bill 300, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 85:

• Provides deadlines for certain Public Service Commission actions after a water public utility or combined water and sewer public utility submits an application for certificate of authority and after a water public utility submits an application for approval of lead service line financial assistance.

Assembly Bill 302, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 86:

• Exempts water utilities from needing a certificate of authority issued by the Public Service Commission before beginning certain projects related to installing or replacing customer meters.

Assembly Bill 325, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 87:

• Adopts the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act as approved by the Uniform Law Commission. By updating the state’s unclaimed property laws, the bill clarifies the duties of property holders and improves the Department of Revenue’s ability to return unclaimed property to its rightful owners.

Senate Bill 103, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 88:

• Requires the Medicaid program to provide reimbursement for certain complex rehabilitation technology prescribed to residents in nursing homes.

Senate Bill 373, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 89:

• Requires the Department of Public Instruction to create an online portal, available beginning in the 2023-24 school year, that displays financial data collected from all school districts, county children with disabilities education boards, and independent charter schools; and
• Creates an 11-person advisory committee to develop a report of recommendations to the department by Feb. 1, 2023, that includes recommendations on the categories of information that will be accessible to the public through the portal and the resources necessary to implement and maintain the portal.

Senate Bill 555, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 90:

• Adds required content to school district curriculum on human growth and development regarding the Safe Haven law, if a school board provides a human growth and development instructional program.

In addition to signing the above bills, Gov. Evers vetoed Senate Bill 454.   

Veto message for Senate Bill 454.

Navy Hospital Apprentice 1st Class Keefe R. Connolly was on the battleship USS Oklahoma, laid to rest in his home state after all these years.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today signed Executive Order #139 ordering the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff on Mon, Nov. 8, 2021, in honor of Navy Hospital Apprentice 1st Class Keefe R. Connolly, who lost his life in the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

“I want to thank all the folks who have worked to ensure Navy Hospital Apprentice 1st Class Connolly was able to return home after all these years so he can be laid to rest in his home state,” said Gov. Evers. “We are thankful for his service and his sacrifice, and we hope this final journey brings peace to his memory.”

Connolly, assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, lost his life on Dec. 7, 1941, in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The USS Oklahoma was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft and sustained multiple torpedo hits that caused the ship to capsize, resulting in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Connolly. Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew between 1941 and 1944 and interred unidentified remains, including those of Connolly, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu shortly after World War II. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) exhumed USS Oklahoma Unknowns in 2015 for scientific analysis and possible identification, and the DPAA laboratory identified Connolly, who was accounted for on February 11, 2021.

Navy Hospital Apprentice 1st Class Keefe R. Connolly will be laid to rest with military honors at Memorial Cemetery in his hometown of Markesan on Mon., Nov. 8, 2021. 

Executive Order #139 will be in effect from sunrise to sunset on Mon., Nov. 8, 2021, and is available here.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/wi-fair-maps-s5.jpgSee the maps for yourself, and let your legislators know it’s time for them to listen.