The first legislative meeting to be held since the hotly contested
recall elections of the summer will be the only time legislators will sit
together at the Capitol this month.
Today’s Senate and Assembly meetings will be the only time the Legislature will meet in September, Andrew Welhouse, spokesperson for Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said.
Welhouse said several Republican-endorsed bills created to
improve the employment and economic situation in the state will be introduced in
the Senate. This includes a bill involving the creation of mining jobs in
northern Wisconsin and a bill which aims to bring more venture capital into the state.
“We’re trying to find ways to help small business and
starter businesses capture more venture capital dollars to build up their
businesses and create jobs,” Welhouse said.
Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Graeme Zielinski
said the Legislature’s decision to meet only once this month is an insult to
those in the state who are handling multiple jobs.
Zielinski said Republicans are only claiming to focus on
protecting the middle class this session and said the work of the Legislature
and Gov. Scott Walker last session propelled the unemployment rate in the
state.
“They passed the tax
breaks for the very rich, and I guess [they decided] that’s all they think they
need to do,” Zielinski said. “They have
not done anything for the middle class of Wisconsin.”
The summer break in both houses of the state Legislature will make certain legislative measures necessary at today’s meeting in the
Senate, Welhouse said.
Welhouse added several resolutions and pieces of
legislation involving the creation of jobs will be presented for the first time
at the meeting.
Sens. Jessica King (D-Oshkosh) and Jennifer Schilling (D-La Crosse),
who defeated incumbent senators Randy Hopper (R-Oshkosh) and Dan Kapanke
(R-La Crosse) respectively, will be sworn into office on the Senate floor
during Tuesday’s meeting.
The Republicans in the Senate, Welhouse said, have pledged
to focus on creating jobs and improving the economy. He said the recall of Hopper,
who previously authored several jobs bills and was chairman of the jobs committee,
has contributed to the sluggish start of the Senate.
Welhouse said the majority of the work done by senators and assemblymen
this month would be done in the individual legislative
committees already in session. He said
senators are also taking this time to craft legislation.
The re-election campaigns of senators up for recall deterred members of the Senate from working on legislative matters this
summer. Welhouse said the large amount of work behind the scenes that is done in committees is a testament to the time wasted with the recalls.
“It’s tough to go between policy and politics and recall elections
forced by Democrats certainly didn’t help,” Welhouse said.
Republicans and Democrats did agree to move the state’s presidential primary from February to April, Zielinski said. He said this was a decision that was handed down from the national Republican and Democratic parties in accordance with their joint primary schedule.