With a week left in the normal session, both houses in the Wisconsin Legislature are passing bills that have little hope of success in the other chamber.
Carrie Lynch, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, said major health care system reforms are unlikely to pass this session.
She said Senate Democrats were still committed to reintroducing their universal health care proposal, Healthy Wisconsin, but the bill would have to go through the Joint Finance Committee to be voted on.
Lynch said the Republican co-chair of the committee appeared unwilling to have the committee meet, essentially stopping the bill.
A health care bill that mandates autism be covered by insurance, according to Lynch, is more likely to pass the Assembly, though the two houses disagree on the proposal as well.
Lynch said introducing Healthy Wisconsin again, knowing it would likely not pass in the Republican-controlled Assembly, was not politically motivated.
We're doing it to get everyone health care in the state,"" she said.
John Murray, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, said the introduction of Healthy Wisconsin in the Senate a week before the session ends shows it is ""purely political.""
The state Assembly passed a bill that bans certain abortion procedures in the state, which is already banned by federal law. Lynch said it would not be voted on in the Senate.
Murray said the introduction of some bills unlikely to pass the Senate was part of the process of gaining public support and increasing discussion on the bills.
Lynch said if the Assembly was passing the abortion procedure ban only for political reasons, then it amounted to ""playing games"" with women's health care.
UW-Madison political science professor Dennis Dresang said some of the last minute legislative maneuvering was likely politically motivated.
He said it is a way politicians can show their support constituents' issues and use the failed bills to depict the other party negatively in elections.
According to Dresang, a bill like the statewide smoking ban, was unlikely to pass due to decisions by legislative leadership instead of political posturing.
Lynch said state Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, who supports the smoking ban bill, and state Sen. Roger Breske, D-Eland, who opposes it, will meet Friday to try to compromise.
Dresang said the lack of movement on many of the bills was not due to the short amount of remaining time, but more because of partisan differences.
