Hardly a banner year for the Wisconsin Legislature

It was hardly a banner year for the Wisconsin Legislature. Sure, they passed a new budget, as the law requires them to do, but didn’t get much else accomplished in 2019. Outside of passing the budget, few laws were enacted. Governor Tony Evers signed just 69 bills into law since taking office. By comparison, his predecessor Scott Walker enacted 370 bills during his last two years as Governor. It is hardly a surprise they didn’t get much done, given that they didn’t work very hard at it. The Wisconsin Legislature met for just 14 days in all of 2019. That is far below the yearly average. So, there must be much work remaining to be done. There is, but don’t expect it to get done. With a democratic Governor and a republican-controlled Legislature, both sides are digging in for another standoff. Its like they’re not even trying. The Wisconsin Legislature is likely to only be in session for a handful of days in 2020. Disagreements remain on a number of contentious issues, such as expanding health care access, legalizing marijuana and gun control. Rather than trying to find common ground, they will just stay out of Madison. The 2019 Legislature couldn’t even get around to confirming members of Governor Evers’ cabinet. Only seven of the governor’s 16 cabinet members have been confirmed since he took office, almost a year ago. Our legislators need to start earning their paychecks, but it appears 2020 will be another year of mainly inaction from our elected officials.