While students were at home for winter break, Gov. Scott Walker and the rest of the Republican party got to work on their agenda for the new legislative term. Here is a bit of what Wisconsin can expect from its newly inaugurated Legislature:
Big changes to the public education system
Public education reform was the first policy initiative Walker called for in his State of the State address and the first issue the state Legislature took up after inauguration.
Two sister bills, one introduced in the Senate and one in the Assembly, would “give teeth” to the state’s current school assessment system, according to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.
The bills would create a number of penalties for schools that receive low ratings from the Department of Public Instruction and could even end public funding for struggling schools, giving private companies a chance to take over management.
Walker also called in no uncertain terms for an end to any requirements for Common Core State Standards in Wisconsin schools, for which he received a standing ovation from legislative Republicans.
A discussion among Republicans on right-to-work legislation
After Walker’s signature collective bargaining restrictions catapulted him into the national spotlight in 2011, many wondered if he would call for the expansion of those restrictions to private sector unions, making Wisconsin a right-to-work state.
Walker told Wisconsin Public Radio last month such a bill would be a “distraction,” a sentiment he has later echoed. He made no mention of right-to-work laws in his State of the State address, even though members of his own party say they want to vote on the issue this term.
At a press conference last week, Vos said he believes most Wisconsin residents support right-to-work legislation and is optimistic the measure could pass through the Legislature without incident.
A shift in the administration of the state Supreme Court
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Anne Walsh Bradley’s ten-year term on the Court has expired, and as she asks voters to give her another in April, new legislation could change the structure of the Court itself.
Bradley will face Rock County Circuit Court Judge James Daley, who is backed by the Republican Party. If state Republicans have their way, the candidates will share the April ballot with a constitutional amendment allowing state Supreme Court justices to elect the chief justice among them.
Currently the state Constitution requires the longest-serving justice on the court to serve in the position, which is primarily administrative and includes a $10,000 salary increase.
While Republicans say the measure would make the justice system more transparent, Democrats maintain the change is directed at Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who would be removed from the position at the time of the amendment’s passage.
