NEWS
Legislative agenda needs ‘real issues’
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Also by Keegan Kyle:
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- Down and dirty on campus sanitation (October 11, 2007)
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by Keegan Kyle
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
State legislators will reconvene at the Capitol today for another floor session, but according to members from both political parties, few bills on the agenda address "real issues."
Among other proposals, the Republican-controlled Assembly plans to discuss a bill that would exempt law enforcement dogs that bite people from being quarantined.
In the Democrat-controlled Senate, legislators will discuss a number of appointments, honor several University of Wisconsin athletic teams and likely pass a bill that would allow certain stores to provide alcoholic beverage samples.
The Assembly also plans to address the alcohol-sampling bill today; some say it could pass unanimously.
"There's a time and place for these kinds of bills, but when that's all you're doing, there's a problem," said Mike Prentiss, a spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald.
Prentiss criticized Senate leaders for not setting a more aggressive agenda and choosing to ignore the Assembly's voter ID bill, which would require Wisconsin citizens to present a valid state ID before voting.
The Assembly will likely pass the bill this week along partisan lines, but even if it reaches the Senate floor, the Democratic majority will likely strike it down. Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle also opposes the bill.
Rep. Terese Burceau, D-Madison, criticized Assembly leaders for ignoring public opposition to the voter ID bill, and said there is little reason to assemble today because the agenda carries little "real issue" weight.
"It costs a lot of money to bring the Legislature together," Burceau said. "It's not a real hot agenda right now. I think the Republicans are struggling to come up with ideas."
To some degree, legislators have been blocked from addressing "real issues" — which some identified as health care and employment — because any bill with financial impact must first pass the Joint Finance Committee, which since February has been bogged down with Doyle's proposed state budget.
Most of the Legislature's heated debate this week, and for the next two months, will largely take place in small committee hearings.
Today, the Assembly's Utilities and Energy Committee is expected to vote on the controversial Video Franchise Bill. On Wednesday, the Capitol will play host to more than a dozen committee meetings.
Anonymous (April 17, 2007 @ 11:17am):
Got to love the do nothing sessions.
- Germain E. Stemme
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