(The Center Square) – The authors of a Wisconsin hospital price transparency bill are committed to passing it in Wisconsin.
A 2019 federal rule that went into effect in 2021 created a federal requirement for the prices of many hospital services to be posted but a November report from PatientRightsAdvocate.org showed that just 30% of Wisconsin hospitals are fully compliant with the requirements.
Assembly Bill 353 was introduced in June and has not yet progressed in the Wisconsin Legislature.
The goal of the bill is to require the prices of specific hospital services to be posted so patients can see those costs ahead of a procedure, creating a more competitive environment where costs go down.
That could lead to a projected 27% drop in costs for some procedures, due to price transparency.
The bill co-authors are Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk and Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Caledonia.
“This will empower patients, lower costs, make sure no one delays care out of fear of a surprise bill,” Bradley said in a video promoting the bill. “Because sometimes, saving money can also mean saving lives.”
The Wisconsin bill would add enforcement of the requirements, which include a full list of standard procedures and process.
If a hospital isn’t in compliance, the first action is a written notice requiring corrective action and then a penalty will be enforced.
A publicly available list of the hospitals that are not in compliance would then be created with the dates the hospital did not fulfill the bill’s requirements.

(The Center Square) – The top Republican on Wisconsin’s Elections Commission isn’t sure President Donald Trump’s plan to end mail-in voting across the country is a good idea.
Commissioner Don Millis was a guest on UpFront over the weekend, and said Republicans in Wisconsin used absentee voting, including voting through the mail, to help the president carry Wisconsin last year.
“Among my many reactions are that if we eliminate mail-in ballots, we’re going to actually make it harder for Republicans who have historically used absentee voting to vote,” Millis said. “And I don’t think that’s good for the base of the Republican Party, so I’m not sure that’s a wise strategy.”
Trump last week took to Truth Social to say he wants to end mail-in voting.
Millis said he understands the lingering questions about ballot security, and the president’s desire to count every vote.
“I understand the impulse to go hand-count ballots,” Millis added. “For me, the most important requirement, the most important consideration, is that we have a hard copy of ballots in Wisconsin. The vast majority of people fill out paper ballots. They are stored. They can be recounted. For those who have a need for accessible touch screens, in one of two ways, there’s a record of that ballot. So that’s the most important thing, and we have that in Wisconsin right now.”
But Millis did acknowledge that there are lingering questions about Wisconsin’s vote-counting-history.
“Listen, I understand the president’s concerns, and I think a lot of us have concerns that there’s a perception that elections aren’t fair,” Millis said. “I think elections have been, (there’s) overwhelming evidence that elections have been fair, that votes have been counted.”
WEC chairwoman Ann Jacobs, who was also on UpFront on Sunday, said moving to hand-counts for every ballot would change elections in Wisconsin, and not necessarily for the better.
“We sure-as-shootin’ wouldn’t have the results late on the evening of Election Day or early the next morning,” Jacobs said. “You would be looking at weeks before ballots could be counted and results announced, and in a swing state like Wisconsin, that would make a big difference for the country. I think it would just be insanity.”

(The Center Square) – A Wisconsin lawmaker has introduced a bill to prevent state and local governments from paying for health care services for undocumented individuals in the state.
Rep. Alex Dallman, R-Markesan, pointed to Minnesota’s expansion of MinnesotaCare to include undocumented individuals earlier this year as reasoning for the law, saying it will cost the state an additional $200 million over the next four years.
“I introduced AB 308 which will prohibit state and local taxpayer dollars from subsidizing health care for illegal immigrants,” Dallman said in a statement. “This bill will ensure hard-earned taxpayer money goes to Wisconsin citizens and not used to fund people here illegally.”
Minnesota Rep. Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, said earlier this year that 17,396 illegal immigrants are currently enrolled in MinnesotaCare.
“Taxpayer funds should not be going to fund welfare for undocumented illegal immigrants,” Dallman said in a statement. “I look forward to moving this bill through the legislative process and ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent on hardworking Wisconsinites.”
Fiscal estimates on the bill say that the Department of Revenue does not have detailed expense data and the Department of Public Instruction also does not have a count of how many individuals between students, staff or teachers would be impacted by the bill.
The Department of Corrections wrote that it was concerned about the bill conflicted with the Eighth Amendment in terms of providing health care.
“The 1976 Supreme Court case Estelle v. Gamble, established the deliberate failure to address medical needs of an inmate constitutes cruel and unusual punishment,” the Department of Corrections wrote. “In Fiscal Year 24, the Department’s cost of providing healthcare was $7,700/person. This amount excludes salary and fringe benefit costs of healthcare personnel.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Republican legislative leadership is pushing back on Gov. Tony Evers’ attempt to push through rulemaking without legislative oversight.
Evers sent an Aug. 12 letter to his cabinet members stating “there no longer remains any statutory requirement to wait for legislative committee review before promulgating a rule once I have approved it.”
The ruling came in a pair of cases, including one where the court determined that the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules overstepped its power by indefinitely blocking a zoning rule until a new law could be created in the future.
But the court was careful to maintain who could retain the power in the rulemaking process.
“Before concluding we note that the Legislature retains power over the administrative rulemaking process regardless of our determination here,” the majority opinion from Justice Jill Karofsky said. “The Legislature created the current process. It alone maintains the ability to amend, expand, or limit the breadth of administrative rulemaking in the other branches—as long as it adheres to the constitution, including the provisions of bicameralism and presentment.”
In response to Evers’ recent directive, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate President Mary Felzkowski said “We are following the law and maintaining the fundamental checks and balances of lawmaking. The governor is flagrantly disregarding the rule of law and egregiously abusing the power of his office. If the governor’s actions go unchecked, Wisconsinites would no longer have an opportunity for public testimony on rules that carry the full force of law. We will not let this happen.”
Evers had advised cabinet members to review previous rulemaking and propose items that were blocked in the past.
“I am directing agencies to review your statutorily provided authority to promulgate rules and, where appropriate, initiate rules,” Evers wrote. “More specifically, I respectfully request that you analyze areas in which the Legislature’s prior abuse of power forestalled, delayed, or halted prior rulemaking in service of the people of our state.”

(The Center Square) – Unemployment rates rose in the majority of Wisconsin counties in July.
That came despite the overall adjusted unemployment rate dropping from 3.2% in June to 3.1% in July.
Localized data showed that 37 counties saw increased unemployment rates, 19 had rates remain the same and 16 saw decreased rates for the month.
That compares to year-over-year data with 28 seeing unemployment rate decreases, 19 counties seeing increases and 25 having the rate remain the same between July 2024 and July 2025.
The city and metropolitan area data showed that 14 of the largest 35 cities saw unemployment rate increases, 11 saw decreases and rates remained the same in the other 10. Sheyboygan was the only metropolitan area that saw a decrease while seven saw increased rates and six remained the same.
Milwaukee and Waukesha’s metropolitan area went from 3.6% unemployment to 3.7% over the month, the Madison area remained at 2.7% and Appleton went from 2.7% to 2.9%.
The city of Milwaukee had the worst unemployment rate again, going from 4.6% to 4.8%.
Fitchburg had the lowest rate, remaining at 2.4%.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin lawmakers are looking at a bill that would exempt tips from state income tax, a measure that would match an end to taxes on tips in a federal reconciliation bill.
The Wisconsin bill would be a tax that is capped at a $25,000 benefit for employees in jobs that are tip-based and an amendment assures that Assembly Bill 28 applies to both cash and credit-based tips.
“I really think we’ve got to do it and we’ve got to do it now,” Sponsor Rep. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison, said during a public hearing in the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means.
The bill would exempt an estimated $33.7 million in tip income from taxes. A 2013 study showed that about 20% of tips are cash.
Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, said that the proposal is similar to one proposed during the 2019-2020 session, which had bipartisan support, and a measure that Gov. Tony Evers put in his budget proposal.
Jacque noted that the measure would be more encouragement for tip-based employees to accurately report tips in taxes, something that can benefit them when looking for a home, mortgage or credit.
“Currently there is a disincentive for accurately reporting tips,” Jacque said.
Susan Quam, Wisconsin Restaurant Association Executive Vice President, said that while tips might not have been the group’s top suggestion for tax relief in the industry, it does support the measure in what is “overall a tight margin industry.”
She noted that the Internal Revenue Service carefully tracks tip reporting at restaurants, comparing the reported tips on credit against cash tips to ensure that a similar percentage of tips are reported for each form of payment and charging businesses if the percentages do not match.
Tusler was asked by a fellow lawmaker why tipped workers were being separated out for tax relief and noted that those workers are some of the most in need of tax relief as they attempt to make ends meet.
“I’m thinking about how to lower taxes every day,” Tusler said. “Less taxes would mean less government.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin cannot shake its home affordability problems.
The latest report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association says there are more homes for sale across the state, but prices continue to rise.
“Housing affordability is a national problem, and while the Midwest fares better than the other regions of the country, we’re not immune to the challenge,” Realtors CEO Tom Larson said in a statement.
The July 2025 report shows that total statewide listings improved 7.3% from July of last year. But prices also jumped 4.5% over the same 12 months.
The median price for a home in Wisconsin is now $322,500.
“The moderation of price appreciation and income growth both help, but the stubbornly high mortgage rates have kept Wisconsin affordability near record-low levels. Hopefully, we see mortgage rates improve over the next year,” Larson added.
While prices are up, Larson said price increases were under 5% for the third straight month.
Year-to-year home sales are down less than half-a-percent, while year-to-date home sales are up a half-a-percent.
“All of our measures of inventory improved in July, which continues a general trend we’ve seen since April. Addressing the inventory shortage is key to improving sales and moderating the rapid appreciation of prices,” Realtors board chair Chris DeVincentis added.
The Milwaukee-area and the Madison-area continue to lead Wisconsin’s home sales numbers. The two account for almost 55% of all homes sold in the state, though the Realtors said there has been an uptick in sales in northern Wisconsin.
“Rural regions led sales growth, fueled by stronger inventory. In the North region, supply rose 13% to 6.1 months, driving a 12% increase in closed sales compared to last year,” the report notes.
So far, the Realtors said, there have been 37,819 homes sold in 2025. That’s an increase of less than 200 homes from July of last year.

(The Center Square) – A group that lobbies for utility companies in Wisconsin claims that recent reports on the increase of transmission rate increases in the state were presented out of context and legislation to create right-of-first-refusal laws in the state would actually lower rates.
The Wisconsin Utilities Association is a registered lobbying group on behalf of gas and electric utilities.
“Rates vary based on generation mix, geography, and investment levels,” the group said. “Wisconsin’s rates reflect its commitment to reliability and a diverse generation mix, not just transmission costs.
“If this group was interested in the facts, they would note that average customer bills, what people actually pay, are significantly below the regional and national averages, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.”
The transmission rates for American Transmission Co. have gone up 43% since 2019 while the consumer price index has increased 27% over that time, according to the Ratepayer Protection Coalition.
The utility group said that comparison was improper because “transmission infrastructure is a capital-intensive investment with long-term benefits, unlike consumer goods tracked by CPI.”
The group also said that the ROFR legislation requires competitively bid engineering, labor and materials rather than creating a monopoly.
The legislation would allow companies doing business in Wisconsin the chance to bid on work on the electric grid before any out of state companies can offer a price.
But the utilities group said that ROFR would be a good thing to lower consumer costs.
“Its passage will enable Wisconsin’s existing transmission providers to spread out more of their costs associated with new transmission lines among the states that benefit from the construction of the transmission lines,” the group said. “Developers without existing Wisconsin customers cannot spread costs across the region at the same scale that Wisconsin utilities can. ROFR laws, far from being anti-competitive, reduce project risk, streamline execution, and ensure accountability by relying on experienced incumbents.”
The ROFR legislation has been introduced in multiple forms but has yet to gain enough footing to pass the Wisconsin Legislature.

(The Center Square) – One Wisconsin lawmaker is asking the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewas to reimburse the town of Lac du Flambeau more than $600,000 after what he calls an “illegal shakedown” related to payments for the use of roads on the reservation.
Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany, 7th Congressional, sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi asking for the return of the payments, which he called “extortion,” as the tribe charged monthly installments in an attempt to regain access to four roadways that the tribe had roadblocked.
The tribe had asked for $20 million from the town for access.
A federal judge recently ruled that the roads be opened for public use and that the 50 non-tribal landowners could use the roads.
The roads were blocked Jan. 31, 2023, cutting off access until the town began monthly payments to the tribe.
“I am asking the Department of Justice to investigate this matter and seek compensation from the tribal government to reimburse the town,” Tiffany wrote. “Not only did the town hand over in excess of $600,000 as part of this illegal shakedown, it also incurred significant legal expenses and administrative costs associated with responding to the actions of tribal leaders and the Biden administration’s BIA.”
Lac du Flambeau has a population of 3,000 and was heavily impacted by the payments, Tiffany said, stating in the letter the town “saw its finances pushed to the absolute limit by the unlawful standoff created by the reckless and irresponsible actions of the tribal government.”
Tiffany said that he believes the tribe should be held accountable. Tiffany has been considering a run for Wisconsin governor but has not yet declared he is entering the race.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Democratic U.S. Senator says there is a difference between the move to redraw Texas’ congressional map and the move to do the same in Wisconsin.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin told reporters the request to redraw Wisconsin’s political map is not inherently political.
“While Wisconsin, I don’t think, is one that is going to be one that does partisan redistricting, I can’t criticize too harshly those governors in blue states that are saying ‘We should reconsider our maps,’” Baldwin said.
Democrats from Texas fled to the state earlier this month to try and stop Texas Republicans from redrawing their map to add five more Republican-heavy congressional districts. Baldwin blamed that move on President Trump.
But she also said Democrats cannot sit by and watch it happen.
“We can’t fight back with one hand tied behind our backs,” she added.
There is a push to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional map, as well.
A handful of law firms filed a lawsuit in June that asks the liberal-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court to correct the state’s “anti-competitive gerrymander.”
Specifically, the firms want to redraw western Wisconsin’s 3rd District where Republican Derrick Van Orden has won two close races in the past two elections.
The firms also want new boundaries for southern Wisconsin’s 1st District. Republican Congressman Bryan Steil has won that seat with slightly larger margins than Van Orden, but the firms say both should be more Democrat-friendly.
The Wisconsin Court has not said if it will take the case. The court has already rejected a separate request to redraw Wisconsin’s maps.
Baldwin continued to say that she would prefer to see politics taken completely out of the redistricting process.
“I’d like to see us move, nationally, in the direction of non-partisan redistricting,” Baldwin explained.

(The Center Square) – A pair of Wisconsin Democrats are proposing the state start a new back-to-school sales tax holiday.
The holiday would apply on closing items priced no more than $150 and school supplies priced at no more than $100. The sales tax holiday would be the Friday through Sunday of the first weekend in August.
The proposal was introduced by Sen. Brad Pfaff, D-Onalaska, and Rep. Jenna Jacobson, D-Oregon.
“I have two grown children,” Pfaff said. “I know just how expensive it can be to get the family ready to return to the school year. A back-to-school tax-free holiday is just one way that we can help parents keep more of their hard-earned cash in their own pockets.”
The bill would require the Department of Revenue to give annual estimates on the total sales taxes that would have been paid to cities and municipalities and then would require the state to reimburse those local governments to hold them harmless.
There are 19 states that will have some form of sales tax holiday in 2025, according to the Tax Foundation.
The group cited studies showing that tax holidays do not increase purchase and instead lead people to transfer spending from other times to the tax-free weekend.
“Sales tax holidays are politically popular with elected officials because they offer direct discounts, whether real or perceived, to consumers in a highly visible way,” the Tax Foundation wrote. “Consumers often believe they’re getting a good deal. Thus, they remain popular despite their economic inefficiencies, unintended consequences, and frequent inability to achieve their stated goals.”