(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Rep. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, called the state’s work on diversity, equity and inclusion “disgusting,” “racist” and “discriminatory.”
But Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld cautioned the Legislative Audit Committee on Wednesday the DEI audit of Wisconsin government actions related to Gov. Tony Evers’ November 2019 executive order requiring each state agency to develop a DEI plan.
Blumenfeld noted that, while her department asked for additional staff to complete the work, it was not granted in the past two budgets.
She said that many of the tasks required by the order were already required by state affirmative action law and statutes passed during prior administrations.
The audit found that 21 state agencies completed DEI action plans between January 2020 and April 2024 with 1,212 combined DEI actions taken in those agencies.
The audits showed that Wisconsin state government agencies spent $2.4 million on the salary and costs of 47 employees related to DEI in fiscal year 2023-24 while the University of Wisconsin system showed that $40.2 million was spent on offices with duties related to DEI, though the amounts spent specifically related to DEI were not specified.
“All of this taxpayer money has been spent on DEI yet we’re seeing the implementation of it has not gone very well,” Kapenga said. “I’m not seeing any benefit of DEI.”
Blumenfeld was careful to say that the state takes diversity into account in the way that it recruits job candidates but not when it makes specific hiring decisions.
“We recruit all over, but don’t take it into account in hiring,” Blumenfeld said.
State government employees worked at 12 state agencies while $705,300 was spent on salary and costs related to 23 agencies conducting DEI training while eight agencies spent $444,300 on actions related to DEI checklists.
State agency staff spent 4,990 hours attending DEI committee meetings.
Blumenfeld estimated that an estimated 660 hours were spent by Department of Administration staff complying with the audit but the department did not look into the salary costs for that time spent due to different salaries of various employees who spent time on audit compliance.

(The Center Square) – It is taking longer than first thought to deal with the lead in Milwaukee Public Schools.
The city’s school district said Fernwood Montessori School will reopen Friday, instead of toady.
“Working in partnership with the city of Milwaukee Health Department has allowed us to move forward on our lead remediation work with urgency and precision. We have a lot more work to do in other buildings across our district and will move with the same level of urgency and care for those communities,” Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said in a statement.
MPS closed Fernwood, Starms Early Childhood Center and LaFollette School last month.
The district had hoped to open Fernwood today, and open Starms by the end of the month. LaFollotte was slated to reopen sometime next month. MPS did not say anything this week about a timeline for the other schools.
The district did give parents a bit of a timeline for testing other schools for lead. But that testing will also be delayed.
Michael Turza, the man appointed to oversee lead testing across the city’s schools, told a parents group on Tuesday that MPS plans a wave of testing for the summer.
“Our goal is that by the beginning of the new school year, all of those pre-1950 buildings are done,” Turza said.
Milwaukee Public Schools have said it has more than 130 buildings that need to be lead-tested.
Turza said, even with a summer full of work, testing all of those schools is “massive work.”
“Hopefully by the end of the calendar year, this issue will be done, at least in the initial phase,” Turza added.
It is also unclear how long it will take for MPS and Milwaukee’s health department to test all of the students who go to schools with possible lead paint issues.
Milwaukee’s health department said that could be as many as 10,000 students. Public health managers have said in the past that they do not have the means to test that many students, and don’t know if that kind of testing will be available.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s budget bill will have to have both tax cuts and some increase investments, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said at a news conference.
But those will all have to come in one bill, not separate bills, Gov. Tony Evers said.
The two sides met nearly three weeks ago with one staff meeting since and both sides hope to meet again soon on priorities from each as the budget process heats up.
“It’s going to have to have a tax cut in it, just like I think we’re accepting that there’s gonna have to be some investments that are made so that bipartisan support can be earned,” Vos said at a news conference.
Evers reiterated that he is reserving his decision on whether he will again run for re-election until after the budget is complete and would offer no hints on which way he is leaning.
Evers said that a complete budget package must be done together, rather than separating the spending and cuts.
Evers said that the two sides are “somewhat apart on what we want to do with taxes.”
“We believe there is a sufficient money to increase some areas, especially education, but also to make sure that property taxes for the average property taxpayer stays the same,” Evers said.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said that the next meeting between the two sides has not been set.
“We have a Republican Legislature, Democrat as our governor,” LeMahieu said. “We think it’s best for the state of Wisconsin to get a budget passed and provide tax relief. So we will continue to try to work with the Governor and see if we can find consensus.”
Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, is a co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee and said that the priority remains tax reform and investment priorities.
“It’s good that talks are happening and, as long as we can get to a goal of making sure we have meaningful tax reform as part of the budget process, I think that’s the most important part,” Born said.
Vos added that a starting point has to be a balanced budget with a clear view of the anticipated revenue from tax collections for the two-year budget period.
“Just like any family, the first thing you do when you create a budget is you have to know how much you have to spend,” Vos said. “And that’s why, to me, the most important thing is finding out and discovering where we can find agreement on a tax cut. And then, once we see what’s left, we’ll begin to invest in our priorities, be it roads, schools, whatever it’s gonna be.”

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Assembly passed a series of bills late Tuesday related to change rules for unemployment, including renaming it to reemployment assistance.
The rules included requiring four work search actions per week, specific direct contact with potential employers, loading a current resume into the state database and barring those who were fired for theft from an employer from receiving benefits.
The bills allow employers to report when an applicant declines or fails to respond to a request for an interview or an acceptable work offer.
The bills passed on a Republican party-line vote of 53-42.
“This is better for taxpayers and it’s better for those currently receiving unemployment benefits,” said Rep. Brent Jacobsen, R-Mosinee.
Democrats in the Assembly criticized requirements that programs receiving funding from the Department of Workforce Development report metrics related to program success and the additional work search requirements, including two direct contact requirements per week.
The bill’s authors said the requirement was intentionally left vague because that direct contact can differ depending on industry.
Rep. Ryan Clancy, D-Milwaukee, said that the bills kicked those who were vulnerable when they were down and added unnecessary requirements to push individuals into jobs that do not fit their skillset.
The bills also block local governments from offering guaranteed income programs, direct payments to individuals without work requirements.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Burlington, said that his business is always hiring and has an issue with individuals pretending to be interested in jobs or interviews but then not showing up, reporting to the state that they have fulfilled their work search requirements without actually looking for available employment.
These bills address those issues rather than allowing the state to pay individuals to not work, he said.
Rep. Duke Tucker, R-Grantsburg, said that $250 million has been paid to people who have not fulfilled the state’s work search requirement and the bills help keep the unemployment fund solvent while encourages those receiving benefits to secure employment.
Rep. Rob Kreibich, R-New Richmond, sponsored a bill that extends the period of time where law enforcement can investigate unemployment fraud from six to eight years and also would add resources to staff the unemployment call center.
Kreibich said that there was more than $130 billion nationally taken through fraud from unemployment insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic and only $5 billion was recovered.

(The Center Square) – Southeast Wisconsin’s Libertarians are on board with DOGE.
The Libertarian Party of Southeast Wisconsin recently announced it supports the effort in the Trump Administration to “weed out waste in the federal government.”
“Clearly, with federal budgets measured in trillions of dollars, there must be waste, fraud and abuse. To assume by default that cannot be the case is simply fantasy. Even the average American’s meager, in comparison, home expenses can have some things wisely whittled away,” the party said in a statement.
President Trump, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have spent weeks looking through federal agencies for wasteful spending or wasteful projects.
The New York Times last week reported that Musk now believes he’ll cut $150 billion from the federal government. That’s far less than the $1 trillion he previously set as his DOGE goal.
Still, Southeast Wisconsin’s Libertarians say the effort is more than worth it.
“It is hard to imagine this as a partisan issue. Why would any citizen toiling away with large percentages of their incomes siphoned off by governments not want efficient use of those funds? It is a no brainer,” the Party added Monday. “The Libertarian Party of Southeast Wisconsin absolutely supports the DOGE in its efforts to once again make our federal government accountable to the very citizens from which all of its power comes from.”
DOGE last week told the Times that it has saved $318,310,328.30, so far. There have also been thousands and thousands of DOGE-inspired layoffs. Though the final number of people who have lost their job is tough to pin down.
Some of the DOGE layoffs have been frozen by federal judges, while other layoffs are still pending.
The Libertarians in Wisconsin said in order to make the United States a government of the people, there needs to be an effort to shrink the power of Washington, D.C.
“So, it is not crazy to make the federal government accountable to its citizens once more!” the party said in its statement.

(The Center Square) – A bill to extend postpartum care eligibility under Medicaid to more Wisconsin women passed the Senate with a 30-1 vote and now will head to the Assembly for a second straight year.
The measure did not pass the Assembly last year.
The bill would lead to an estimated $18.5 million increase in Medicaid spending as pregnant women with incomes up to 306% of the federal poverty level are eligible for Medicaid for a full year after birth.
Currently, the extension applies for 60 days after birth.
“It’s the right thing to do from a moral standpoint, from a health-care standpoint and from an ethical standpoint,” said Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green.
Senate President Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, said that sometimes bills take more than one year to pass.
The bill is expected to increase Medicaid enrollment by 5,020 members, according to the Senate Bill 23’s fiscal estimate, at an average cost of $307 per month.
Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, wrote that he was concerned the Assembly would again kill the bill.
“Sadly, not only has Speaker Vos not committed to giving the bill a vote in the Assembly, the entire Medicaid program as we know it is at risk of severe cuts under Trump,” Larson wrote. “Medicaid is extremely popular – even among Republican voters – but Congress seems hell-bent on cutting it to pay for massive tax cuts for the rich.”
Minority Leader Diane Hesselbein, D-Middleton, said that Wisconsin and Arkansas are the only two states that have not extended postpartum Medicaid eligibility.
“Wisconsin can do better,” Hesselbein said. “Postpartum care can save lives. It improves the lives of health and babies.”

(The Center Square) – The same poll that showed Wisconsin voters voted against President Donald Trump and Elpn Musk in the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court election, also showed those same voters no appetite for large spending increases.
The Institute for Reforming Government’s poll also asked voters about Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal, including a proposed 20% spending increase.
“When asked about spending and what the state should do, even this electorate was in agreement that the state should not increase spending dramatically. That state spending should be controlled,” IRG’s Chris Reader said. “And even a big chunk said we should cut spending.”
The poll stated that 70% of voters want to limit state spending to the rate of inflation. Another 65% want to cut state spendings.
The IRG poll also said 59% of voters would like to freeze state spending where it is, while 38% want to see the state spend more.
“So, even an electorate that is out to get Elon Musk, out to get President Trump, and out to support abortion, when you bring it back to a pocketbook issue they’re still kind of conservative,” Reader added.
Specifically, the poll showed that 24% of voters strongly favor, and 46% Somewhat favor limiting spending.
Just 5% of voters strongly oppose limits on spending, according to the poll.
Similarly, 20% of voters say they strongly favor freezing state spending, while 39% somewhat favor. The poll added that 10% strongly oppose a spending freeze.
Finally, the pollsters asked about how to control Wisconsin’s state budget. The poll showed that 81% of voters think cutting wasteful spending is the best strategy, compared to 14% who think the state needs to raise taxes.
This survey of 800 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on April 8-14, 2025. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.5 percentage points.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is looking for information on the illegal killing of a bull elk in Jackson County.
The bull had a GPS collar and was one of the last remaining elk from a group brought to the state from Kentucky in 2016 as a breeding bull for Wisconsin’s Central Elk Herd.
The bull was found dead March 18 from a gunshot wound off East Snow Creek Road and on private property north of the city of Black River Falls.
The WDNR says it has detailed information on the shooting from the elk’s GPS radio collar and nearby cellular trail cameras.
“The illegal shooting of bull 244 is a tremendous loss for the central elk herd and citizens of Wisconsin,” WDNR central elk herd biologist Christina Kizewski said. in a statement. “The illegal harvest of a bull of this magnitude reduces opportunity to the hunting community and to recreationalists attempting to photograph or see elk within Jackson County,
“Bull 244 was one of the largest and most photographed bulls in the state and has contributed to the successful growth of the newly established herd through his breeding efforts.”
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact DNR’s confidential Violation page online or by call 800-847-9367.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin general purpose tax collections were down 2.9% in March from a year ago, based on adjusted numbers from the state’s Department of Revenue.
Wisconsin remains 4.8% ahead of last fiscal year through the first nine months, collecting nearly $14.4 billion compared to $13.7 billion at this point a year ago.
A key indicator in the numbers remains sales and use taxes in the state. Those collections were down year-over-year in March with nearly $520 million collected compared to nearly $532 million in March 2024.
Wisconsin has collected $5.1 billion in sales and use taxes for the fiscal year compared to nearly $5.0 billion a year ago at the same point.
Individual income tax collections are up 7.7% for the fiscal year, corporate tax collections are up 3.2% and excise tax collections are down 4.6% for the fiscal year.
“Individual Income includes 53.9% of pass-thru withholding,” the Department of Revenue said. “Corporate Income includes the remaining 46.1%.”

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Energy Reform Act, the Legislature’s newest version of right of first refusal energy legislation, is being pushed by its largest energy transmission company, ATC.
A new report from MacIver Institute shows that ATC is owned by WEC Energy Group (60%), Wisconsin Power & Light (16.3%), Madison Gas & Electric (3.5%), Allete Transmission (8%) and various municipal utilities (12%).
Those companies are investor-owned utilities that are for-profit companies that have been granted monopolistic powers by the state that would be strengthened by the new law.
Between 28% and 33% of the stock of the companies that own ATC are held by Vanguard Group, BlackRock and State Street, according to the MacIver report.
In all, the top 10 investors hold 50% of WEC stock, 56% of Alliant stock and 50% of Xcel Energy.
“The reason ROFR doesn’t get dead and stay dead is because consumers are not in charge,” wrote MacIver Policy Analyst Michael Lucas. “You might think that the State is in charge, or the PSC, or even FERC. But no, the real boss isn’t in the utility headquarters, the lobby of the capitol or even in the state. The real boss is far away on a warm, sunny beach––a little beach called Wall Street.”
While some Republican lawmakers are supporting the new bill, others have pushed back on it, calling it a repeat of the previous bill without significant changes.
The new bill would include bidding controls and restrictions for interstate and intrastate electrical transmission lines rather than simply allowing those companies already operating in Wisconsin to exclusively bid first before other companies can bid on the work.
The bill is scheduled to first head to the Energy and Utilities Committee before Speaker Robin Vos hopes to have it heard on the Assembly floor later this month.
“These are not Wisconsin-based companies humbly employed in serving their fellow Wisconsinites, and carefully regulated by the watchful eye of government––they are profit-driven firms, reassured by their status as guaranteed monopolies, perverting Wisconsin law to suit their purposes,” Lucas wrote. “They do not care how Wisconsinites may suffer because of their lobbying efforts to pass favorable legislation or regulations…they don’t even live here.”