Recap of Weekend Activity
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 6, 2020
Friday
- On Friday, Governor Evers signed an Executive Order calling the Legislature into Special Session to change the April 7 election.
- In-person absentee ballots ended at 5 pm. (This was extended by the federal court ruling extending several dates to the April 7 election).
- 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rules in the April 7 court case saying absentee ballots require witness signatures.
Saturday
- Both the Senate and the Assembly held a skeletal session gaveling in for the Special Session and immediately adjourning until Monday (today).
- Evers announced Wisconsin was granted federal disaster declaration due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- Republican Party of Wisconsin filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent counting absentee ballots received after April 7.
Sunday
- Speaker Vos sends a letter to Evers listing Assembly GOP priorities for federal stimulus funds.
- Needs of hospitals and healthcare facilities.
- Safeguards for business owners and workers.
- Assistance to local governments.
- Speaker Vos and Assembly GOP ask Evers to “work with Wisconsin churches and temples to allow for them to hold Easter or Passover services.”
- Various Wisconsin Mayors and local officials call on DHS Secretary-designee Palm to close buildings on Tuesday preventing the April 7 election to proceed.
Expected Today
- U.S. Supreme Court decision in the April 7 court case.
- Senate and Assembly Special Session Special Session (it is uncertain at this time if the session will be a skeletal session, or if they will completely adjourn the session – updates will be sent in later reports.)
New Emergency Orders Released
- Emergency Order #19. Appropriate used of COVID-19 information by law enforcement agencies, first responders, and public safety workers.
- Emergency Order #20. Modification of EO#16 – Certain health care providers and DSPS.
- Emergency Order #21. DHS administrative rule suspensions and order.
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Shilling Won’t Seek Reelection to the Senate
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 2, 2020
From WisPolitics.com …
Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, announced today she won’t seek reelection this fall, saying it was time to put her family first after two decades in the Legislature.
Shilling said her two children are now in high school and middle school and “time with our boys at home is fading.”
“I do not leave with regrets, I leave with wonder – wonder about the future, about what will be,” Shilling said. “Wonder about what lies ahead, and a wonder of new ways that I will continue to be able to serve my community, and others.”
Shilling, 50, beat then-GOP Sen. Dan Kapanke, of La Crosse, in a 2011 recall election to claim the Senate seat after 11 years in the Assembly. Her fellow Dem senators then elected her minority leader starting with the 2015 session as she navigated the caucus through the final term of GOP Gov. Scott Walker and the first two years of Dem Gov. Tony Evers.
Kapanke has already announced plans to run again for the seat, which is a top target for Republicans this fall.
See the release here.
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Payroll Tax Considerations and IRS Documentation Requirements of the FFCRA for School Districts
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 2, 2020
From the Legal Side…
In its most recent School Law FYI, the BoardmanClark Law Firm focuses on providing clarity regarding payroll tax considerations and IRS documentation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) for school districts.
The SAA regularly receives these legal updates and we believe this is valuable information for SAA members. We are distributing this update to SAA members with the permission of the BoardmanClark Law Firm. The information in this update is no substitute for consulting with your district legal counsel, and we encourage you to do so.
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Bills Awaiting Senate Action Are Dead But Revival Possible
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 1, 2020
From WisPolitics…
The 158 bills awaiting action by the state Senate after being passed by the Assembly are dead after the Legislature adjourned following the last general floor period of the biennial session last week.
But the Wisconsin Legislative Council says lawmakers can revive those proposals by extending a floor period or authorizing an extraordinary session.
In a memo prepared for Senate President Roger Roth, Council Director Anne Sappenfield said the extension option is limited to adding days to previously scheduled floor periods. The last general business floor period on the calendar for this biennium ran from March 24-26.
Sappenfield told WisPolitics.com Senate rules do not provide a cap on how long the session can be extended.
Lawmakers can also take up the outstanding bills by authorizing an extraordinary session. Sappenfield said that can be done through three processes: at the direction of a majority of Org Committee members in each house; through the adoption and concurrence of a joint resolution in each house; or by a joint petition signed by a majority of members in each house.
Still, Senate Rule 93 (1) specifies only legislation that “accomplishes the business specified in the action authorizing the extraordinary session” can be considered. Under the rule, a regular session proposal can be revived and is considered to be at the same stage of proceedings as it was at the end of the session.
Sappenfield also noted under Senate Rule 93 (1p), for a Senate proposal to be taken up under a Senate extraordinary session, it must be recommended by the Senate Organization Committee, Senate Finance Committee, Joint Finance Committee, Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, or Joint Committee on Employment Relations.
See the memo here.
See Senate Rule 93 (1) and (1p) here.
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Evers Job Approval Through the Roof
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 1, 2020
From WisPolitics.com …
Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly approve of the way Gov. Tony Evers has handled the COVID-19 pandemic, helping fuel higher overall job approval numbers, according to the latest Marquette University Law School Poll.
Meanwhile, a narrow majority of voters approve of how President Trump has addressed the outbreak. But that hasn’t had a significant impact on either Trump’s overall job approval rating in Wisconsin or on the numbers in the horse race for president.
Today’s release included a focus on the coronavirus pandemic, finding 76 percent of voters approve of how Evers has handled the situation, while just 17 percent disapproved.
That helped fuel a surge in Evers’ overall job approval numbers. Sixty-five percent of voters approve of the Dem guv’s performance, while 29 percent disapprove. That’s up from a 51-38 split in February.
Evers issued a series of orders on social distancing before issuing a stay-at-home directive last week just before the poll went into the field. The survey found 86 percent support government action to close schools and businesses, along with restricting public gatherings. Ten percent said such moves were an overreaction.
Polling nationally has found governors generally getting better marks on their handling of the pandemic than the president, and that was true in the Marquette poll as well.
Fifty-one percent of voters approve of Trump’s handling of the outbreak, while 46 percent disapprove.
Overall, 48 percent approve of his job performance, while 49 percent disapprove, compared to a 48-48 split in February.
The survey also found 61 percent say the state is headed in the right direction, while 30 percent said it was on the wrong track. That’s up from 52-39 last month, and could be a reflection of the positive reaction to the measures taken to confront COVID-19, according to the poll release.
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