By James Briggs The new Division of State Facilities administrator is switching seats at the Building Commission table and says he’s glad to be on the nonpartisan side. Gov. Scott Walker has named former Democratic Sen. Jeff Plale to lead ...

Tagged with: Building Commission Dean Kaufert Division of State Facilities Fred Risser Plale Russ Decker Scott Walker

How do you sort out all the rhetoric about the need for tort reform in Wisconsin? And why is it so important that Wisconsin reform in order to create jobs? Most of us probably don’t know the difference between a ...

Tagged with: Cathy Stepp Department of Natural Resources DNR Jeff Plale jobs Pat Stevens Russ Decker Scott Walker Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association WTBA

State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, the longest-serving state legislator in the United States, is returning to the Wisconsin Building Commission. The Building Commission is a state panel that includes three members from both the state Assembly and Senate, as well ...

Tagged with: capitolisms Dean Kaufert Fred Risser Joan Ballweg Mark Miller Russ Decker Scott Walker

By Matt Pommer Old divisions among Democratic legislators bubbled up during the recent votes on new labor contracts for more than 35,000 unionized state workers. The Democratic-controlled Assembly narrowly approved the agreements, but the contract measures failed in the state ...

Tagged with: Assembly collective bargaining Doyle Jeff Plale Legislature Pommer Russ Decker Scott Walker Senate

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Dejected Democrats quietly ended a messy lame-duck session to approve state contracts Thursday, hours after one of their key leaders unexpectedly turned on them and voted the deals down. Senate President ...

Tagged with: Assembly contracts Risser Russ Decker union Wisconsin State Employees Union

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A legislative committee has approved new contracts for state workers, clearing the way for the full Assembly and Senate to vote on them. The Joint Committee on Employee Relations approved 16 contracts that cover the two ...

Tagged with: contract Russ Decker Senate unions

By Matt Pommer The Wisconsin Republican landslide has pushed Democrats off the political stage for the next two years and perhaps for a decade. Huge GOP majorities in the Legislature means Gov.-elect Scott Walker can ignore Democrats and get anything ...

Tagged with: Obama Pommer Russ Decker Scott Walker Wisconsin Assembly Wisconsin Legislature Wisconsin Senate

The Transportation Projects Commission will meet Oct. 19 for the first time in Gov. Jim Doyle’s tenure, according to a statement from State Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan’s office. The 14-member TPC will review eight proposed highway projects in the state, ...

Tagged with: Dave Hansen Doyle Fred Clark Gottlieb Grothman Holperin Interstate 39/90 Russ Decker TPC Transportation Projects Commission

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press Writer MADISON, Wis. (AP) — As outdoor lovers celebrated Earth Day’s 40th anniversary, state lawmakers pulled the plug on a bill that would have set aggressive new renewable energy standards. The state Senate finished its ...

Tagged with: bill Buchen Doyle energy Neumann renewable energy Russ Decker Scott Walker Tom Barrett

Paul Snyder [email protected] Replacing the state budget’s proposed oil-assessment fee with a 3-cent gas tax increase will do nothing to ease the political battles brewing over transportation project money, lawmakers said Tuesday. “It’s just the worst timing for a tax ...

Tagged with: Jim Doyle Russ Decker Scott Fitzgerald Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce