Assembly Bill 318
Assembly Bill 342
Assembly Bill 444
Assembly Bill 450
Assembly Bill 492
Assembly Bill 640
Assembly Bill 647
Assembly Bill 723
Assembly Bill 737
Assembly Bill 760
Assembly Bill 808
Assembly Bill 1042
Ayes: 3 - Senators LeMahieu, Kapenga and Feyen,
Noes: 2 – Senators Hesselbein and Smith.
DEVIN LEMAHIEU
Chairperson
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The joint survey committee on Tax Exemptions reported and recommended:
Senate Bill 33
Relating to: a sales and use tax exemption for precious metal bullion.
Ayes: 8 – Senator Testin; Representative August; Senator Hesselbein; Representatives Swearingen and Goyke; Secretary Barca; Public Member Kessler; Public Member Keenan.
Noes: 1 – Senator Marklein.
PATRICK TESTIN
Senate Chairperson
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Petitions and Communications
hist189917Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Senator Larson added as a coauthor of Senate Bill 719. hist189918Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative Jacobson withdrawn as a cosponsor of Senate Bill 968. hist189916Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative Steffen added as a cosponsor of Senate Bill 980. _____________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
February 19, 2024
The Honorable, the Senate:
The following bill(s), originating in the Senate, have been approved, signed and deposited in the office of the Secretary of State:
Bill Number Act Number Date Approved
Sincerely,
TONY EVERS
Governor
Pursuant to s. 35.095 (1)(b), Wisconsin Statutes, the following 2023 Act(s) have been published: Act Number Bill Number Publication Date
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State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
Signing Statement – Senate Bill 488
It is a new day in Wisconsin, and today is a beautiful day for democracy.
Today I am signing into law fair legislative maps for our state. Fair maps that are long overdue, and fair maps the people of Wisconsin have long been clear they want.
When I ran for this office in 2018, I promised I’d never stop working to secure fair maps for Wisconsin. After a bipartisan vote in both chambers those maps—maps I drew and submitted to our State Supreme Court—are on my desk.
In December, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Republicans’ most recent gerrymandered maps, ruling that they were unconstitutional and that no further elections could be conducted under those maps. Absent my action today, Wisconsin currently has no legislative maps in place for elections this year. The Court said it would accept maps for them to consider and that they’d hire nonpartisan, independent experts to review the maps that were submitted.
Those experts reviewed the maps submitted in litigation, including my maps that sit before me now as Senate Bill 488. Those Court-appointed experts concluded maps submitted by Republicans in the Legislature and their allies were both “partisan gerrymanders.” In other words, more of the same. On the other hand, the experts concluded the other submissions scored well, including on partisan fairness metrics. My maps, they said, “reflect the political competitiveness of the state.” They said, “The four other submitted plans are similar on most criteria” and are “nearly indistinguishable.”
I now have the opportunity to sign the fair maps I submitted to the Court into law. My maps that I’m signing today are fair, responsive, and reflect the will of the people.
I believe, as I’ve often said, that the people should get to choose their elected officials, not the other way around. And under the maps I’m signing today, I am making good on that promise.
This is a great day for Wisconsin, and there is much to celebrate. And there is also much more work to do. I will continue to fight for a fair, independent, and nonpartisan redistricting process for Wisconsin, because while this bill gives us fair maps for our legislative districts now, the people deserve the guarantee that fair maps will always be the outcome when our state redistricts after each federal census.
Today is a victory, not for me or any political party, but for our state and for the people of Wisconsin, who’ve spent a decade demanding more and demanding better of us as elected officials. I am proud to deliver fair legislative maps by signing this bill into law.
Sincerely,
TONY EVERS
