(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Legislature has now passed a group of four bills dubbed the Red Tape Reset, and the four bills are next headed to the desk of Gov. Tony Evers.
The bills are aimed at cutting down on the 165,000 restrictions currently in state law. The bills passed the Senate on Wednesday and the Assembly on Thursday.
“People who work hard and try to play by the rules should be able to get ahead,” Sen. Bradley, R–New Berlin, said about the bills. “Because of red tape, that’s simply not the case for many. A young entrepreneur with a great idea shouldn’t be buried under layers of bureaucracy before they even get started.”
The set of bills include regulatory sunsetting, regulatory budgeting, a one rule per scope statement and a proposal challenging the validity of administrative rules.
The laws will require that, when a new rule adds costs for businesses, families or local governments, those costs must be offset.
The single scope bill blocks allowing agencies to use a single scope statement to create multiple regulations over time.
The challenge bill would require courts to award attorney fees and costs to plaintiffs who successfully challenge unlawful administrative rules.
Groups such as Americans for Prosperity – Wisconsin, Badger Institute, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty have lobbied for the bills.
“Wisconsin has been an overregulated state for far too long, constricting our economic growth and saddling our entrepreneurs with unnecessary burdens,” AFP-WI State Director Megan Novak said in a statement. “Between our excessive regulations and the misguided decision by our partisan Supreme Court that removed a necessary legislative check on the governor in the rulemaking process, Wisconsin businesses and families deserve regulatory relief. These bills are a welcome step to get Wisconsin back on the right track and we thank lawmakers for prioritizing the Reset and their continued work to make Wisconsin the best place to build a business in the Midwest.”

(The Center Square) – It’s not just the nearly $400,000 expense that has one watchdog group wanting more from Wisconsin’s public school managers.
The Institute for Reforming Government on Thursday said lawmakers in Madison need to question the secrecy around the Department of Public Instruction’s 2024 meeting to rewrite the state’s testing standards.
“What justification does DPI have to hold this standard setting workshop in secret?” IRG’s Jake Curtis asked during an interview on News Talk 1130 WISN. “Either this was a formal workshop committee, in which case the open meetings law is triggered, or essentially the way that DPI framed this was dishonest.”
DPI invited 88 education professionals to the Wisconsin Dells in 2024 to rewrite the standards for Wisconsin’s state tests. DPI eventually lowered those standards. Critics say lowering those standards covers up how poorly students in Wisconsin schools are reading and doing math.
Curtis said if the 88 people at the conference worked on those standards together, that work should be public. He also said doing the work in secret, and continuing to keep the work secret, would be against the law.
“When courts look at alleged violations of the open meetings law, one of the factors is going to be ‘is there an extra level of [public] interest?’ And if there is, that government entity can have a really, really hard time justifying why they didn’t properly notice that meeting.”
Curtis said it is possible that a court could rule that DPI’s work during the secret meeting should never have happened. If that happens, Wisconsin’s new state test standards could be tossed out.
Curtis said the first step should be a legislative hearing. He said Wisconsin lawmakers need to get some basic answers from DPI and the 88 other people invited to the 2024 workshop.
“I would ask DPI [to] make some personnel available. Superintendent Jill Underly, DPI’s director of the office of educational accountability, DPI’s assistant director of the OEA and the actual members of these workshop committees,” Curtis explained. “Ask them the questions. What was actually shared with the attendees? Were these Power Points about how to message the new scores? Was it focused on specific school districts? Remember these were individual school board members. We’re asking all that. I don’t have the answer. Nobody does because nobody was there.”

(The Center Square) – A name, image and likeness bill related to the University of Wisconsin athletics would send $14.6 million in general purpose taxpayer funds to UW-Madison annually for maintenance and debt service on facilities instead of requiring the UW system to pay for 40% of the principal and interest costs.
The payment is part of a bill that also requires athletes to disclose to the school any third-party NIL deals, places restrictions on the content of those deals and also would make those deals exempt from public records.
UW-Madison athletics operated with a $4.3 million surplus in its most recent annual NCAA financial report released last month covering the financial year that ended in June 2025.
Athletic department officials told the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Wednesday that football is responsible for 80% of the athletic department’s revenue. That was $113.6 million last fiscal year, according to the NCAA report, which showed the football program brought in $72 million in excess during the year.
UW-Madison Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs Nancy Lynch told the committee that the university currently uses the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as reasoning to claim those deals are not public records but Assembly Bill 1034 would provide legislative framework to deny those records requests.
“Without it, it creates uncertainty in many areas for us,” Lynch said.
Lynch, UW-Madison Athletics Director Chris McIntosh and volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield all testified in front of the committee, saying that the bill was important for UW-Madison to remain competitive in the new NIL athletic landscape with its 23 sports and 600-plus athletes.
“There is a significant threat to our Olympic sports, our women’s sports,” McIntosh said.
Athletic department officials and bill sponsors such as Rep. Alex Dallman, R-Markesan, cited a 2022 marketing report from Philadelphia-based Consult Solutions that claimed each UW-Madison football game brings $19 million of economic impact to Dane County.
Those types of hired marketing reports, however, are consistently rejected by sports economists who point out the flaws in the math used and how they do not factor in items such as diverted spending, crowding out effects and the costs related to large events and facilities.
Sports teams and athletic programs then use those marketing reports to justify public spending, the UW-Madison athletics officials are doing with AB 1034, which does not have a fiscal estimate attached yet.
Dallman said that 32 states currently have NIL state laws in place, including Ohio, Texas, Connecticut and West Virginia.
The NIL bill, co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, was introduced Tuesday and received both a public hearing and approval from the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Wednesday.
The bill would also send $200,000 annually in state funds to UW-Milwaukee for debt service on maintenance costs of the UW–Milwaukee Klotsche Center and $200,000 annually for the UW–Green Bay soccer complex.

(The Center Square) – There is no property tax deal at the Wisconsin Capitol, and the second-in-command in the State Assembly isn’t sure there will be.
Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August told News Talk 1130 WISN on Wednesday that Republicans are willing to talk with Gov. Tony Evers about exchanging property tax relief for more special education funding, but only if the governor ends his 400-year veto that the governor said is crucial for funding schools in the state.
“I’m not certain how serious they actually are about trying to get to a deal when one of the provisions in one of the governor’s proposals was to basically codify in statute his 400-year,” August said. “That is not something that Assembly Republicans are going to do. I’m never going to trade a 400-year property tax increase for a permanent property tax increase.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Tuesday said the framework of the not-yet deal includes spending more than $1 billion of Wisconsin’s $2.5 billion surplus, including:
● $200 million for special education funding.
● $450 million for general school aid next year to buy out the projected statewide school property tax levy.
● $550 million for property tax relief through the School Levy Tax Credit.
● $97.3 million to cover a plan to exempt cash tips from state income taxes
“We’ve been discussing all kinds of different options. We have over $2 billion surplus. We believe that that money should be delivered back to taxpayers, because the issue isn’t that government spent too little. It’s that we taxed too much,” August said. “There’s a lot of discussion about how to get that money back out to taxpayers. Of course, if the governor had his way, if liberals had their way in Madison, they would just spend all of the money on new programs or new money for schools. So that’s really what we’re negotiating against.”
August said there is some support for a property tax relief plan among Senate Republicans, but he didn’t offer a vote count or say if Senators have any must-haves of their own.
Evers is set to deliver his State of State speech next week, and the Assembly is looking to wrap up its business by the end of the month. Lawmakers may not return until the end of the year.

(The Center Square) – A group of three bills dubbed the red tape reset aimed at cutting down on regulations in state government are expected to get a vote in the Wisconsin Senate on Wednesday.
The set of bills include regulatory sunsetting, regulatory budgeting, a one rule per scope statement and a proposal challenging the validity of administrative rules.
“These reforms are about unlocking human potential,” Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, said in a statement to The Center Square. “A young entrepreneur with a great idea shouldn’t be buried under layers of bureaucracy before they even get started. We want Wisconsin to be a place where innovation can thrive.”
There are currently 165,000 restrictions in state law with the sunsetting bill requiring all chapters of administrative code be reviewed, updated or allowed to expire every seven years.
Bradley said in testimony that the large level of regulations “wastes more than just ink and paper; it wastes human potential.”
The laws will require that, when a new rule adds costs for businesses, families or local governments, those costs must be offset.
“Overregulation is a barrier to growth and innovation,” Bradley said. “I know that we can protect the public while also making it easier to live, work, and build a future here.”
The single scope bill blocks allowing agencies to use a single scope statement to create multiple regulations over time.
The challenge bill would require courts to award attorney fees and costs to plaintiffs who successfully challenge unlawful administrative rules.
The Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty is an advocate for the bills and recently showed that a 20% reduction in regulatory restrictions in the state would increase Wisconsin’s economy by $23 billion by 2037.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s sports wagering bill was not on Tuesday’s Assembly calendar or Wednesday’s Senate calendar, but Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said he is optimistic that the bill will reach the Assembly floor for a vote.
The bill has been waiting to reappear on the calendar since it was pulled in November, when Rep. Tyler August, R-Walworth, said that he believed the bill would have passed but that the sponsors instead decided to pull the bill to allow for further discussions.
“Discussions are ongoing and there is certainly, it’s something that is getting a lot of attention,” Born said.
The topic became heightened over the past week with the Super Bowl and when Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo announced on social media that he is a shareholder of sports prediction market app Kalshi, which is currently operating in Wisconsin while being sued by the Ho-Chunk Nation.
The proposal would change the state’s definition of “bet” to allow the state’s tribes to offer mobile sports wagering if the bettor is in Wisconsin and the sportsbook servers are on tribal land, an amendment to current compacts allowing for casino gambling and sports wagering on tribal lands despite the state’s ban on betting.
Since the bill was delayed, large operators such as Fanatics and DraftKings have opened prediction markets in the state with FanDuel saying it will as well.
Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, is one lawmaker who opposes the bill.
“Besides the dangers of gambling addiction and its social costs, I’m not a fan of funneling more money to one party that holds a monopoly on sports wagering in Wisconsin,” Kapenga wrote in a newsletter. “The Governor has expressed support for this proposal and has tremendous power over its outcome. I certainly wouldn’t want to bet the house on him doing the right thing.”

(The Center Square) – A group of Wisconsin lawmakers are looking to change race-based higher education programs to programs that apply to disadvantaged students.
The bill requires that race, ethnicity, origin, gender, sexual orientation or religion are not used to determine eligibility and instead the term disadvantaged is used, meaning those who experience unfavorable economic, familial, geographic, physical or other personal hardship.
Several members of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities said they would approve if there was an amendment on the Assembly floor to further limit the definition of disadvantaged.
The committee approved Assembly Bill 669 with a 6-5 vote on Tuesday.
The changes would apply to the state’s minority teacher loan program, minority undergraduate aids and the minority enrollment at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Marquette University School of Dentistry administered by the Higher Education Aids Board.
In the University of Wisconsin system, it would apply to minority and disadvantaged student programs and Lawton grants. At the state’s technical college, the change would apply to the minority student participation and retention plan and grants and to incentive grants.
None of the entities impacted said that the changes would cost them more money to implement. Wisconsin’s technical colleges, for instance, said that it would change the reporting requirements for programs but that would be a one-time change.
“These modifications to data collection and reporting are expected to be one-time administrative costs that can be absorbed within the agency budget,” the group said in a fiscal estimate. “Similarly, technical college districts will incur administrative costs associated with modifying their reporting on the plan, but these costs are expected to be minimal given most of the data collection takes place at the system level.”
The bill would have to pass both the Assembly and Senate and then be signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers in order to be implemented.

(The Center Square) – The difference in fundraising in Wisconsin’s race for the supreme court continues to grow.
The latest fundraising numbers show Judge Chris Taylor once again out-raised her opponent Judge Maria Lazar.
Democrats in Wisconsin on Monday announced they, and Taylor’s campaign, raised $3.3 million in total.
Taylor’s campaign raised $820,000 on its own, while the WisDems state effort raised $1.7 million. The WisDems federal fundraising effort raised another $388,000. Democrats also reported a $319,000 72-hour fundraising haul.
Both Taylor’s campaign and state Democrats used the report to bash Maria Lazar.
“We’ve seen right-wing billionaires pour money into Wisconsin Supreme Court races before, and there’s no question Maria Lazar will turn to those same donors to buy a seat on the Court. We’re prepared for that fight,” Taylor campaign manager Ashley Franz said.
Lazar also released her fundraising numbers Monday. They were much smaller.
“Judge Lazar is building a new style of campaign focused on the voters who feel left behind by a polarized system,” campaign spokesperson Nathan Conrad said. “Raising nearly $200,000 in a single month, with an average donation of $525 among the 357 new campaign donors, proves that we are winning on the ground with people who want a justice who follows the law, not a political agenda.”
State Democratic Chair Devin Remiker called Lazar’s fundraising numbers underwhelming.
“We know right-wing mega donors could invest and throw tens of millions into this race if they think they even have a slight chance of winning, but the ability for them to make a difference has nearly evaporated. They know Maria Lazar will be a rubber stamp for their extreme political agenda that hurts Wisconsinites, and they’ll spend whatever it takes to put her on the Court,” Remiker said in a statement. “That’s why we’re running like we’re 2 points down and are ready to put even more resources behind Judge Taylor’s candidacy.”
Wisconsin’s past two supreme court races set spending records.
The 2023 race between Janet Protasiewicz and Dan Kelly cost more than $50 million. The 2025 race between Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel cost more than $100 million. Both were the most expensive judicial races ever at one point.

(The Center Square) – A bill that would change the oversight of Wisconsin’s major event funds to reduce the number of approvals needed will be discussed in the Assembly on Tuesday.
The large events fund was created in a 2023 bill that created an Opportunity Attraction Fund worth $30 million for events such as the NFL Draft in Green Bay or the USA Triathlon in Milwaukee but bill sponsors say that the funds have not been able to be used in many cases due to the approvals necessary to distribute those funds.
Assembly Bill 813 would change the definition of fund distribution from grants to sponsorships from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
Grants require six to eight weeks to process, committee approval if they are worth $501,000 or more and additional approval of the WEDC Board of Directors if they are valued at more than $2 million.
Sponsorships require background and conflict of interest checks along with legal review but only need the approval of the WEDC marketing division and CEO.
“Unfortunately, WEDC and the tourism industry have run into some bumps with the current program not being able to function in an expedient enough fashion to help the tourism industry in a fast pace bidding situation,” sponsors Sen. Pat Testin, R-Stevens Point, and Rep. Tony Kurtz, R-Wonewac, said in testimony for committee. “This prevented the money from being used, or in some cases, communities ultimately turning down their awards because they had already missed deadlines to bid.
“The changes in this bill aim to ensure this program is working effectively and getting money out the door in an efficient manner while promoting Wisconsin and growing our economy through our incredible tourism industry.”
The fund had five events and $2 million committed as of the end of 2025 for events in 2026 and 2027. The bill also allows up to 25% of the annual large event funds to go to events that are not open to the public.
The events cannot be a regular in-state event or one that rotates destinations within Wisconsin.
“This bill is a product of conversations with WEDC and the tourism industry on how to make sure the program functions properly and promptly to ensure the money is getting out the door and we’re not missing out on great opportunities for Wisconsin,” the sponsors testified.

(The Center Square) – A bipartisan Assembly bill that would contribute funding to WisconsinEye to focus on live video of the Wisconsin Legislature, committees and state government operations is expected to be taken up in front of the full Assembly on Tuesday.
The bill does not have an attached Senate companion as of noon Monday.
WisconsinEye is a private nonprofit that shutdown Dec. 15, but received $50,000 in funding through the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization to go on the air through February and Assembly Bill 974 would then allow the network to receive grants for the interest earned on a $9.75 million endowment each year, estimated to be between 4-7% interest or between $390,000 and $682,000.
“Moving forward, I think it’s important that WisconsinEye works toward the ability to cover every committee hearing, every open meeting of our state government,” Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, said in testimony on the bill. “But that requires a strong, private fundraising operation to build their long-term viability. I sincerely hope that they’re able to work towards this goal.”
WisEye board chair Mark O’Connell testified in from of the Assembly Committee on State Affairs, saying that WisconsinEye raised more than $56,000 through donations on GoFundMe since it went off the air Dec. 15 and that there are seven donors willing to give $25,000 annually and one that will donate $50,000 annually if the legislation passes, which he said would put the network in a “relatively strong position in partnership with the state.”
The bill requires that appointees of the Assembly Speaker, Senate Majority Leader, Assembly Minority Leader and Senate Minority Leader that are not members of the Legislature be added to the WisEye board of directors.
It states that the focus of coverage must be on official state government meetings and business that free online access be provided to its live broadcasts and digital archives and that WisEye provides an annual financial report to the Legislature and Joint Finance Committee.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor says she misspoke and is clarifying a statement she made to CBS 58 that she would support Immigration and Enforcement agents making arrests in the state.
“Yes. If they have an administrative warrant, that somebody has been asked to leave the country,” Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez said during the interview. “Because they know they are there and they’re looking for a specific person.”
Rodriguez took to social media on Sunday with a different explanation.
“I misspoke and have been very clear on this issue and my calls for Wisconsin to lead in our response to unlawful ICE activity – no arrests without a judicial warrant,” she wrote. “Unmask federal agents and require clear identification. No raids at schools, churches, or hospitals. No additional funding for ICE. And it’s past time for leadership to be held accountable.”
Judicial warrants mainly deal with other crimes. Administrative warrants usually deal with only immigration violations – a point that one of Rodriguez’s opponents in the crowded Democratic race for governor quickly made on X.
“An ‘administrative warrant’ is how ICE unlawfully detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos,” candidate Missy Hughes wrote. “We must be strong against ICE’s lawless impunity, and restore the Constitutional rule of law.”
State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, who is also running for governor also jumped on Rodriguez’s comments.
“I strongly disagree. We need a governor who is willing to defend our rights and not bow to ICE’s illegitimate administrative warrants. Our law enforcement officers should only honor judicial warrants,” Roys added.
The back-and-forth came during the same weekend that a third Democratic candidate for governor, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, said there was “no scenario” where he could see Wisconsin or Milwaukee County working with ICE.
ICE and immigration have become a major issue in the crowded Democratic primary in Wisconsin. All of the seven candidates have taken a hard line against ICE and against potential cooperation with the president and his immigration policies.

(The Center Square) – The Republican running in one of the WOW counties’ senate districts says his race is almost as important as the race for governor.
Dr. Mike Roberts is looking to replace Rob Hutton in the Wisconsin Senate and says his race could decide who has control of the entire state legislature.
“I was talking to one of the [police] chiefs in our district, and I said ‘when it comes to law enforcement and supporting law enforcement, the [police] chief up in Superior has probably never cared about District 5 Senate. He needs to now,’” Roberts said in an interview on News Talk 1130 WISN. “Because I will most likely be the swing vote when it comes down to a vote.”
Hutton announced last month that he is not running for re-election, and Roberts jumped into the race last week.
State Rep. Robyn Vining, D-Waukesha, is the only Democrat in the race so far.
“I bring real-world experience and accountability to government,” Roberts added. “I’ve built and run a business. I’ve managed budgets. I’ve worked closely with law enforcement. And I have spent my career in health care solving complex problems where consequences matter.”
Roberts is a physical therapist with his own clinic in Wauwatosa. He said his background as a doctor will be key in both the campaign and what he hopes to do in office.
“Before we expand or reinvent coverage, we need to fix access,” Roberts explained. “We gotta make sure doctors, nurses, therapists, and rural providers especially, can afford to stay in practice. We also need to focus on prevention and cause upfront, not just insurance expansion after people get sick.”
Almost all of the seven Democrats who are running for governor want to expand Medicaid in Wisconsin.
Roberts said he is trying to make his senate district race into a statewide race. And he is not underselling its importance.
“I’m coming at this with a statewide approach,” Roberts said. “Almost all of us want the same things. We all want a better economy. We all want better health care. We all want safe communities. And we all want the best education for our children.”
Republicans currently have a three-vote majority in the Senate.
Democrats in Wisconsin are hoping the recently redrawn legislative maps are enough to flip the State Senate and perhaps the Assembly this fall.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin utility rates have continued to increase – with $300 million in rate increases over two years approved in November – and one Wisconsin lawmakers wants to ensure that Public Service Commission board commissioners are not benefiting personally from the increases.
Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, is proposing to create a three-year cooling off period where former PSC commissioners cannot accept employment with one of the public utility or transmission companies it regulates in an executive level capacity.
Wisconsin utility rates and rate increases must be approved by the PSC commissioners before they can go into effect.
The bill was introduced after former PSC commissioner Rebecca Valcq stepped down in February 2024, was hired by Alliant Energy six months later and became the company president in December 2025.
“As families are told to tighten their belts, PSC commissioners are approving massive rate hikes and then walking through a revolving door to work for the very companies they regulated,” Nedweski said in a statement. “This is a straightforward, good-government reform that protects ratepayers and restores public trust. Wisconsin families deserve affordability, accountability, and a Public Service Commission that works for them—not powerful special interests.”
Rate increases have been approved for Alliant, Xcel Energy and Madison Gas and Electric since November.
“Under the Evers-Rodriguez administration, the Public Service Commission has repeatedly sided with utility companies over ratepayers—approving more than $2.2 billion in rate hikes since taking control of the PSC,” Nedweski said. “This legislation helps rein in the Commission and ensures that PSC members are focused on protecting ratepayers, not auditioning for their next job.”

(The Center Square) – Six Wisconsin voting groups are now joining the Democracy Defense Project and Gov. Tony Evers in objecting to Madison and former Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl’s legal argument that absentee voting is not a constitutional right.
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Common Cause Wisconsin, ACLU of Wisconsin, All in Wisconsin Fund and All Voting is Local joined to make a statement that Madison and Witzel-Behl should drop their defense that absentee voting is not a constitutional right in a class action lawsuit for the 193 absentee ballots that were found sealed in courier bags and had not been counted in the Nov. 5, 2024, election.
“We call on the City of Madison to immediately abandon this dangerous legal argument, take responsibility for disenfranchising voters, and work toward a remedy that respects voters’ constitutional rights,” the groups said in a joint statement. “We call on elected leaders across Wisconsin to reject rhetoric that undermines absentee voting and to recommit to protecting every eligible voter, regardless of how they choose to cast their ballot.”
Evers echoed what the Democracy Defense Project said in mid January, stating that the argument creates a dangerous precedent.
“Wisconsinites who choose to vote absentee are not second-class citizens, and I cannot and will not accept the suggestion that they have any fewer rights or that their vote counts any less than a Wisconsinite who chooses to cast their ballot in-person on Election Day,” Evers said.
The Wisconsin Constitution states that voting is a constitutional right but that absentee ballots are a privilege exercised outside the traditional safeguards of a polling place.
“The legislature finds that the privilege of voting by absentee ballot must be carefully regulated to prevent the potential for fraud or abuse; to prevent overzealous solicitation of absent electors who may prefer not to participate in an election; to prevent undue influence on an absent elector to vote for or against a candidate or to cast a particular vote in a referendum; or other similar abuses,” the constitution states.

(The Center Square) – The Republican running for governor in Wisconsin wants a full audit of the state’s public school managers after a report on a nearly $400,000 four-day workshop.
Current Northwoods Congressman Tom Tiffany on Wednesday said he wants a full audit of the Department of Public Instruction.
“INSANITY:@WisconsinDPI blew $368k in taxpayer funds on a 4-day water park junket to lower student standards,” Tiffany wrote on X. “They did it to hide a failing system where 69% of 4th graders can’t read at grade level, and@GovEvers vetoed efforts to raise standards.We need a full audit of DPI.”
The Dairyland Sentinel broke the story about DPI’s water park retreat this week. The Sentinel revealed that 88 educators spent four days at the Chula Vista Resort in the Wisconsin Dells in 2024.
The Dairyland Sentinel asked for information about that meeting last year, but DPI delayed Sentinel for over a year by ignoring a public records request.
“First,@WisconsinDPI hid 200+ cases of educator sexual misconduct. Then, they stalled an open records request for a year, revealing nearly $400k wasted on a water park junket to lower standards,” Tiffany added. “Meanwhile, 7 in 10 kids can’t read at grade level. This failure can’t continue.”
Tiffany is not the only one calling for action.
Republican Assembly budget chief Mark Born said lawmakers may “pause” on releasing $1 million in state funding to DPI.
A DPI spokesperson told Wisconsin Public Radio on Wednesday that if lawmakers that would have serious repercussions.
“Without that money, (we) will need to consider layoffs which will impact our ability to investigate educator wrongdoing, license teachers, pay choice schools, and operate the agency,” spokesperson Chris Bucher said.

(The Center Square) – After concerns were raised about spending on DEI, the University of Wisconsin-Madison shuttered a department but kept most of the staff and their titles working on equity issues, an investigation by The Center Square found.
The former Division of Diversity, Equity and Education Achievement – which employed about 100 people who earned more than $7 million annually – had been mired in financial mismanagement and attacks from Republicans before the university closed it last year.
An audit found that the university had no grasp of its total diversity spending and whether it was effective, and auditors identified problematic employee bonuses, travel and other expenses in the division.
Its former leader, LaVar Charleston, was demoted to a professor job in a different department in January 2025. The university announced the division’s closure in July.
Charleston had been paid more than $360,000 each year. The move slashed his salary by about two-thirds.
Employment data obtained by The Center Square show that – like Charleston – nearly all of the division’s employees were transferred elsewhere in the university, and they retained their diversity-related monikers.
“The closure was purely cosmetic,” said Wisconsin state Rep. Amanda Nedweski, a Republican who is vice chairperson of the House Committee on Colleges and Universities. “Not only is the university not tracking what is being spent, it doesn’t even have a way to measure whether it’s producing the results it was set out to produce.”
The division’s goal had been “to create a diverse, inclusive and excellent learning and work environment,” according to the university.
At the time of its closure, 98 people were employed in the diversity division. Seven of them lost their jobs in August, September and October, university records show.
The other 91 employees moved to other departments. Nearly all of them kept the same job title, including nine whose titles explicitly contain “diversity” and “DEI,” an acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Several of them have annual salaries of at least $100,000.
A university spokesman said the employees’ duties might have changed regardless of their static titles, and that many of the employees had overseen “sponsorship-linked student support programs.”
“These types of programs continue to exist and are working to further broaden or revise programming within their new units,” spokesman John Lucas said in an email.
He said the university has increased the frequency and scope of its financial reviews and made other changes to help prevent future spending problems.
State Rep. Jerry O’Connor, a Republican member of the House universities committee, has been frustrated by university leaders who he says lack transparency and recognition of lawmakers’ concerns.
“The university system doesn’t think they’re accountable to anybody but themselves,” he said in an interview with The Center Square.
State Republican lawmakers commissioned the audit that preceded the closure of the university’s diversity division. But O’Connor said they have little ability to make direct changes to public university functions — even though they hold majorities in the state House and Senate — because Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, can block them.
Evers’ office did not respond to an interview request. He is not seeking reelection this year.
Limiting or ending programs in state government that give preference to racial minorities and others has been a priority in recent years for Republicans in state and federal office.
In 2023, Wisconsin state lawmakers withheld $32 million in university funding until its Board of Regents agreed to curtail the expansion and scope of diversity-focused jobs. President Donald Trump last year threatened to investigate and withhold federal funding from universities because of the diversity efforts.
Wisconsin’s 13 public universities get more than $1 billion each year of state funding.