January 19, 2007
Volume #29, Issue #3
MORE "NUTS AND BOLTS" ABOUT LEGISLATION - These
days, legislative ideas are floating about
inside the Capitol like snow flurries in a storm. Legislators are busy getting their ideas
drafted into bill form
and are seeking support from other legislators as well as lobbying interests. Your AFSCME
lobbyists are
sifting through the ideas to assess how each could potentially affect our members.
AFSCME members who are interested in looking at new bills that have been formally
introduced can find a
description of new bills on the following website: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/. Click on
"legislation" and go
to "introduced proposals" to see a list of bills including a description of
each.
If you have a particular interest in a particular bill, you can sign up to be notified by
e-mail whenever there
is any activity on the bill. The "Legislative Notification Service" is a handy
way to keep tabs on bills that
affect you and your members (http://notify.legis.state.wi.us/home.aspx).
This is all great if you have a computer, but we know many of our members do not use
computers. If you
want access to the kind of information in this or previous legislative updates, feel free
to contact your
AFSCME lobbyists or your Take Back America staff at 608-836-6666.
Important Dates to Keep in Mind:
January 30 -- Gov. Doyle's "State of the State" speech
January 30 -- Legislative Special Session on Ethics Reform
February 13 -- Gov. Doyle's budget address
April 25 -- AFSCME Lobby Day
LEGISLATIVE WEBSITES. . .For those "online", here are some good info spots:
Wisconsin State Legislature: www.legis.state.wi.us/
"Who Are My Legislators": www.legis.state.wi.us./waml/
State of Wisconsin: www.wisconsin.gov/state/home
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau: www.legis.state.wi.us/lrb/
Wisconsin Legislative Council: www.legis.state.wi.us/lc/
Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau: www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/
Wisconsin Ethics Board: http://ethics.state.wi.us