UW-L’s Heim questions Wisconsin legislature’s thinking

Lawmakers want to
end session early

Wisconsin lawmakers appear to be on a two-month on, two-month off schedule in Madison.

After reconvening on Jan. 12, after an over-two-month holiday break that began on Nov. 5, legislative leaders recently announced they want to finish the current session by February-March. It is, after all, campaign season and they want to hit the campaign trail. 

But trying to leave work early, so to speak, is kind of a risky, pointless thing to say to the public, says political scientist Joe Heim, who has been at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse over 40 years. He added the Senate and Assembly are setting themselves up for public criticism if they don’t get much done this year.

“Why would they announce, well in advance,” Heim questioned, “that they would be done with their work by the end of February (for) the assembly and, I think, March for the Senate? I’m thinking, “Stay around a couple months and get more done.”

During his State of the State address Tuesday night, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced ideas for improving the economy and employment.

To do that will take time. Heim says state leaders have too many bills in the works to limit how long they’re going to be in session. Getting all those bills through by February-March seems a daunting task. You need not look back far to see that.

“Luckily for Gov. Walker,” Heim said, “you have a Republican Senate and a Republican Assembly, and a lot of things he talked about last night he can, in fact, deliver, if the legislature is willing to go long.”