(The Center Square) – Gov. Tony Evers made an unprecedented move by changing characters on a bill to make a $325 per student annual school funding levy increase each year until 2425.
Now, Republican lawmakers are pushing for him to take it back.
First, it’s the Wisconsin Assembly’s turn.
The Senate approved a bill that would limit that increase to one school year, as lawmakers intended with an 18-15 vote before Senate Bill 389 heads to the Assembly and will ultimately require Evers’ approval to become law.
“The governor stepped in and did something he’s never done before,” said Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, the bill’s sponsor. “He changed the bill in a way that no governor in the history of the state of Wisconsin has changed and that’s very concerning for us because the legislature is where the voice of the people is supposed to take place.
“He went far beyond what’s ever been done before.”
Republicans call it Evers’ 400-year property tax increase because it allows schools to raise the levy on a $325-per-child basis annually for the next 400 years.
Evers used his partial veto power to erase numbers and a hyphen to change “2024-25” to “2425” in a budget bill, a maneuver approved by the Wisconsin Supreme Court as legal in a 4-3 ruling.
“We want to clarify the original intent of the Legislature in the budget was to increase school funding for the next budget period,” Kapenga said. “We allow other Legislatures moving forward to decide what the best funding is after that.”
Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, argued that prior levy freezes have led schools to underfund local education by $3,573 per student compared to inflation.
“That means (classrooms) are overly crowded, that means teachers are inadequately compensated, that means it’s harder to attract and retain high quality teachers because they’re getting pulled in different directions and it means we’re failing our constitutional obligation to make sure every child has a quality education,” Larson said.
The League of Women Voters and Wisconsin Education Association Council lobbied against the bill while Americans For Prosperity, IRG Action Fund, MacIver Impact, National Federation of Independent Business, Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, Wisconsin Manufacturers Association, Wisconsin Property Taxpayer and Wisconsin Realtors lobbied for the bill.
“We applaud Senate Republicans for standing up for prosperity and fiscal responsibility, while Senate Democrats chose to defend a lame-duck governor instead of defending the pocketbooks of their constituents,” said AFP-WI Legislative Director Jerry Ponio. “Governor Evers’ veto was an abuse of power that put politics ahead of people. Wisconsinites deserve leaders who protect their financial future — not saddle them with 400 years of tax hikes.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s liquor rules for wedding barns are here to stay.
A judge in Trempeleau County ruled in favor of lawmakers who approved the new rules that all but ban wedding barns in the state.
“There is a conceivable rational basis for (the law) that the Legislature recognized that when alcohol is sold, served or allowed to be consumed and there’s a commercial aspect to those activities, the public health and safety risks are inherent and must be mitigated through regulation,” Trempealeau County Circuit Judge Rian Radtke ruled.
Two wedding barn owners, along with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, sued over the rules that forced wedding barns to largely abide by the same rules as bars, restaurants, and event halls.
They argued the law was overly broad, protectionist, violated the wedding barn owners’ rights, and all but outlawed wedding barns.
“They would need to completely upend their business model, and would lose their ability to allow guests to supply their own alcohol,” WILL wrote when it filed its suit last year.
Judge Radtke dismissed the lawsuit.
WILL’s Lucas Vebber said they are disappointed.
“WILL is disappointed in the Court’s decision,” deputy counsel Lucas Vebber said in a statement. “We remain committed to protecting our clients’ fundamental rights as we discuss potential next steps in this case.”
The rules for wedding barns were part of a sweeping 2023 law that brought other changes to Wisconsin liquor system. Those changes were driven, for years, largely by the state’s Tavern League.

(The Center Square) – WisconsinEye, which streams the state Legislature, committees and both news conferences and political events across the state, says that it will have to shut down event coverage Dec. 15 and takes its archives offline if it is not able to raise $300,000 to carry it through the first quarter of next year along with commitments to fund the $887,000 it says it will cost to carry on operations for all of 2026.
WisEye President and CEO Jon Henkes, however, told The Center Square that there is a different option as well. In its last budget, Wisconsin lawmakers approved $10 million in matching donation funds to go toward an endowment that would fund WisconsinEye into the future.
He’s asking legislative leaders to use those funds to keep the company afloat now.
“What fixes this really quickly is the Legislature just releasing funds from that $10 million,” Henkes said.
WisconsinEye made a call for $1 million in fundraising in October, with Henkes saying the current year’s budget was $1.1 million to fund a team of six employees running the video streaming platform.
For now, Henkes says that the company has put raising money through donations for the endowment on hold with an end-of-June deadline looming for donations toward the matching funds.
“The first priority, the only priority right now, is to raise the funds needed for operations,” Henkes said.
He said the current fundraising environment is difficult, going up against some companies such as National Public Radio that have lost federal funding and having donors weigh donations to the streaming platform against donating to political candidates in Wisconsin or national races.
“Now that the word is out that we are in a dire financial situation on operations, hopefully that will motivate some donors to step forward and say ‘we want to help bridge that gap,’” Henkes said. “Part two of this is really a better solution to secure statutory language that would allow that match to go away in terms of the word match.
“In other words, the money’s already been designated for Wisconsin Eye. Legislature and governor, would you please allow the funds to be distributed into our operating budget?”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s home sales report continues to sound like a broken record.
The Wisconsin Realtors released their latest report Thursday, showing October home prices were up, inventory lacked and affordability continues to be a problem.
“For the fifth straight month, both existing home sales and median prices increased statewide,” the report states. “October home closings rose 3.4% compared to October 2024, and the median price increased to $331,500, which is a 6.9% increase over the last 12 months.”
The Realtors say home sales have increased 2.4% compared to sales last year. Prices, however, increased more.
“The median price rose 5.6% to $327,500 over that same period,” the report added.
But real estate agent leaders say there is some reason for optimism.
“As we move into the slower season for home sales, it’s good to remind potential buyers that sellers who list their homes during the colder months of the year are often highly motivated to sell. This can translate into more favorable price concessions from those sellers,” Association Chairman Chris DeVincentis said.
There is also some hope on the mortgage front.
“The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage was just under 7% in January 2025 and fell to 6.25% in October. Hopefully these trends continue and we start to see real improvements in affordability,” Realtors president Chris Larson added.
But affordability remains a problem in the state.
“Affordability fell just 1.5% compared to October 2024. Although home prices rose 6.9% over the last year, median family income is projected to have increased 3.6% over that same 12-month period,” the report noted.
While the statewide median price jumped to $327,500, regional prices vary. Madison and southcentral Wisconsin remains the most expensive housing market.
The median price there jumped to $374,5000 last month. The median home price in southeast Wisconsin hit $347,500. The median price in central Wisconsin remains the lowest, at $265,000.
Southeast Wisconsin also continues to be the busiest housing market. The report says almost 34% of all homes sold in the state are sold there. Northeast Wisconsin is the second busiest, with more than 20% of sales las month.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Assembly Republicans positioned five school consolidation bills as voluntary assistance for schools with declining enrollment, aging buildings and infrastructure and financial struggles related to both that have led to a record number of referenda across the state.
Democrats, meanwhile, termed it as attacking public education by closing schools, repeating the mantra “don’t close our schools, fund them.”
The five consolidation bills that fund both statewide and local feasibility studies, provide a one-time $1,500 per student bump to funding for schools that consolidate in a three-year window and provide bumps for whole-grade sharing and levy differentials passed the Assembly to end a marathon Assembly session on Wednesday night on 54-43 votes along party lines.
The bills must now pass the Senate and be signed by Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, in order to become law.
“Going to referendum is not the only option for school boards,” Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, said.
The measures are aimed at helping school districts use consolidation to combat decreased enrollments and aging buildings across the state. Public school enrollment in Wisconsin is expected to decline by 200,000 students by 2050. The state has seen an estimated 10,000 fewer students each year.
One bill provides a one-time $1,500 per student payment for schools that consolidate in 2027, 2028 and 2029 before providing $650 per student in the second year and then $150 per student in the next three years to help the schools through the process.
There is a statewide feasibility study and local studies costing up to $25,000.
“Conducting a study of the scope specified in the bill would be a significant undertaking for any entity (consulting firm),” the Department of Public Instruction wrote in a fiscal cost estimate. “The timeframe specified in the bill is very compressed, allowing DPI a maximum of up to four months to enter into a contract. Identifying an entity that has the capability to perform such a study would require DPI to conduct a robust request for proposal (RFP), possibly preceded by a request for information.”
The bills also include grants for districts that consolidate but have differing levy limits and school board consolidation grants of $500 per student for whole grade sharing.
“Wisconsinites want us to fund our public schools,” said Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine.
Republicans pointed to a University of Michigan study showing that student bases of 600 to 900 high school students are the best educational environment in terms of advanced placement class availability and learning environment, showing that much smaller schools sometimes do not provide the same level of course access and higher-level learning.
“The issue of declining enrollment is not going away,” Nedweski said in a statement after the votes. “There is no referendum, no funding increase, and no talking point that can reverse decades of falling birth rates. Democrats want you to believe that spending more money to educate fewer kids in half-empty buildings will solve the problem. That’s not a strategy—it’s denial. These bills offer long-term, sustainable alternatives to the endless cycle of referendums, increasing affordability for taxpayers and creating access to more learning opportunities for students.”

(The Center Square) – In the past three years, the state of Wisconsin has paid millions to settle claims that stemmed from car crashes, inmate complaints, discrimination and other allegations against its employees, according to data obtained by The Center Square.
The state made about $3.1 million worth of the claim payments, mostly for traffic incidents. But it also paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to prison inmates and to one university employee who claimed she was compelled to resign from her diversity-related job because she is white.
The payments had a wide range, from $13 for a torn document to nearly $800,000 for a severe crash.
Those who alleged they were wronged by state employees filed more than 800 claims from July 2022 to October 2025, the data show. Wisconsin has made payments for about a third of them.
Wisconsin, like many other states, is self-insured. That means taxpayer money is used to settle claims.
White employee discrimination
In 2022, the University of Wisconsin launched a merger of two diversity, equity and inclusion programs into one, the Multicultural Student Services office.
Rochelle Hoffman, a white woman, had been an assistant director of one of the merged programs and was selected to be interim director and, later, assistant director of the new office, according to federal court records.
But her appointment drew the ire of students, faculty and staff who questioned her appointment because she is white, she alleged in a lawsuit. A student senate resolution questioned Hoffman’s interim director status without naming her, and “coworkers and staff also opposed Hoffman’s appointment … because she was white,” the lawsuit alleged.
Hoffman alleged she resigned her assistant director position “after eight months of intense hostility.” In a letter to her boss, she said that despite enjoying her work before the controversy, “for my mental health and professional safety I don’t believe I can stay in this department,” according to an excerpt of the letter that was included in court records.
The lawsuit alleged the university did not intervene to assist Hoffman and failed to follow its policy to create a work environment that is “free of discrimination.”
The university responded in court that it was not responsible for creating a hostile work environment for Hoffman, but this year it settled the lawsuit by paying Hoffman $265,000.
The crashes
The most significant payouts were tied to a June 2023 crash on a rural highway in southwest Wisconsin.
State employee Kelli Rose Neitzel, 35, was eastbound on a curve of state Highway 60 when her state-owned pickup truck crossed into the oncoming traffic lane and struck another truck with four people inside, according to a sheriff’s crash report.
The collision tore off the back half of the other truck, but the report did not note any obvious major injuries.
In December 2024, the state agreed to pay the driver and three passengers a total that was just shy of $800,000.
The second-highest payout was for another crash – in November 2024 – that happened when a state patrolman looked away from the roadway and struck the back of a stopped vehicle in the Fox Cities area, according to a police department report.
Trooper Cory Frances Sotka, 29, was southbound on Interstate Highway 41 in Grand Chute when he looked to see if a vehicle parked along the roadway had someone inside. His sport-utility patrol vehicle struck a minivan with four people inside, which then struck a car. The two vehicles were stopped in a turn lane waiting for traffic to flow, the report noted.
No one had apparent major physical injuries, according to the report, but in August 2025 the state paid the driver and a passenger of the minivan a total of about $274,000.
Another crash in 2022 — the details of which were not immediately available — resulted in a $251,000 payout.
The state also paid $250,000 to someone who was struck by a backhoe in a state park in 2022 and suffered unspecified injuries.
Many of the traffic incidents included minor vehicle damage that resulted in payments of several thousands of dollars apiece. They included employees backing into parked vehicles, wind catching a door and swinging it into another vehicle, plows damaging vehicles, parallel parking mistakes and others.
An incident in which a state employee struck a motorcycle while following the vehicle for a driving test resulted in a payout of about $6,500.
Inmate complaints
There were more than 100 complaints from prison inmates who claimed correctional officers ignored their legitimate problems, used excessive force and for other reasons.
Wisconsin made payments that totaled more than $300,000 for about a third of the complaints.
The largest was $65,000 for an inmate who, according to federal court records, suffered frostbite and hypothermia while working as part of a garbage crew at the Jackson Correctional Institution in west-central Wisconsin.
The inmate was outside in temperatures near 0 degrees for more than an hour in December 2022. But despite his complaints about pain in his feet and hands, the inmate wasn’t allowed to go inside until he fell to the ground and was picked up and escorted by other prisoners who were working with him, court records show.
Other inmates who alleged officers ignored their unspecified problems received payouts that ranged from $1,500 to $43,000.
An inmate with physical disabilities who alleged he didn’t receive proper assistance when he was moved to a more-restrictive cell was paid about $26,000.
Claims are wide-ranging
Most claims against the state did not result in a payout in the past three years, according to state data.
Many of them were made by people who slipped or tripped and fell on state property or who were otherwise potentially injured because of their own actions.
There were multiple claims related to a Labor Day pier collapse at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2023, but none resulted in payments, state records show. An investigation determined that the collapse was primarily driven by numerous people jumping on the pier.
However, the state did pay $123.76 to someone who ordered an easter basket to be delivered to a University of Wisconsin location because it was given to the wrong person in 2023.
And the state paid about $790 to the Wrightstown Community School District when a state trooper shattered an oven door with the butt of his shotgun during a tactical response training in 2024.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s recent Public Service Commission approvals of energy rates for Alliant Energy and Xcel Energy will amount to a $300 million increase in rates for residential customers over the next two years, according to a Public Service Commission report.
That includes $156.4 million in a rate settlement for Alliant Energy and $148.3 million in rates for Xcel.
The group is set to vote on an increase for Madison Gas and Electric on Thursday. The increases will go into effect Jan. 1. Both utilities were recently approved to hold 9.8% profit margins for investors.
The commission reviews the company’s rate increase requests and reasoning and then approves the measure. In the case of Alliant, the settlement was between Alliant, Blacks for Political and Social Action of Dane County, Inc., Clean Wisconsin, Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 965, RENEW Wisconsin, Walmart and Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group.
“CUB deliberates carefully before agreeing to settle a rate case, as opposed to litigating all the way to the end,” CUB Executive Director Tom Content said. “In this year’s Alliant case, our team’s review concluded that, while some increases were unavoidable, the settlement amount is well below Aliant’s ask.”
Alliant has requested a $128.1 million increase for 2026 while $76.6 million was approved and the cumulative requested increase for 2027 was $215.7 million with $156.4 million approved.
The increase was mainly $144.1 million for electric rate increases while the natural gas increase amounted to $12.3 million for the two years.
“The wins achieved for Alliant Energy customers in the settlement were significant: Reduction in the size of the overall increase vs. the amount requested in March, creation of new and innovative programs to help customers use energy more efficiently and save money and commitment for stepped-up financial support from Alliant Energy shareholders to customers who are struggling the most to pay energy bills,” Content said.
Xcel requested $113.8 million in the first year and $175.1 million of cumulative increase over the two years and was granted $85.9 million in 2026 and $148.3 million cumulative in 2027.
That included $126.1 million in electric increases and $22.2 million for gas.
Content felt that there were “clear missed opportunities for more savings.”
“We argued strongly that the utility’s profit should have been reduced from 9.8%,” Content said. “After all, the same utility on the other side of the river in Minnesota is able to operate a healthy utility at a much lower profit, 9.25%.
“And the PSC should have gone further to push board of directors’ costs to shareholders rather than to customers. Boards of directors are in service to shareholders, and the utility was asked to demonstrate how customers benefit from the board experiences and it did not do so.”

(The Center Square) – There were no “no” votes from Wisconsin on the Jeffery Epstein files.
Every single one of Wisconsin’s members of Congress voted Tuesday to release the files that show some of the background of Epstein, and his connections to Washington, D.C.
“After months of delay and embarrassing public infighting over protecting child predators, House Republicans finally voted to release the Epstein files,” Milwaukee Democrat Gewn Moore said on X after the vote. “I commend the few who broke with Trump early and recognized that the nonpartisan priority needs to be the victims.”
“Just voted YES on releasing the Epstein files!,” Madison Democrat Mark Pocan added.
“I voted YES to release the Epstein files,” southeast Wisconsin Republican Scot Fitzgerald said. “This vote promotes greater transparency and oversight by giving the public access to information held by the government. I am confident the DOJ will handle this responsibly and not let it turn into another political witch hunt but instead treat it as a genuine effort to uncover the truth. Americans have a right to know what the government knows, and this is a step toward justice for those affected by Epstein’s horrific crimes.”
Green Bay-area Republican Tony Wied also said he voted to release the files to promote “transparency.”
“Today’s vote makes our government more transparent to the American people — exactly the way it should be,” Wied wrote on X. “While Democrats did nothing to release the Epstein files while they were in power, we have already released 60,000+ documents and now the rest are on the way.”
Only one congressman, Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins, voted against releasing the Epstein files. He said the move to release the files “abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America. As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people — witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc.”
The Epstein file question immediately moved to the U.S. Senate, but there wasn’t a vote. Senators accepted the vote from the House by “unanimous consent.” That required each senator to agree but spared them from an up or down vote.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s online sports wagering bill won’t be voted on during session Wednesday, Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, said.
Neubauer said she wasn’t certain yet the reason it was pulled but conservative radio host Dan O’Donnell reported the move came after eight Assembly Republicans objected to the bill, putting the total supporters under 50, which he said is a long-standing rule that 50 members of the majority party must support a bill in order for it to be put on the calendar.
Neubauer, meanwhile, said she would support Assembly Bill 601.
“We know that our tribes in Wisconsin have the right to control gaming in our state and that’s not happening with online sports betting,” Neubauer said. “I do hope that we pass a bill that puts control of that industry back in their hands.”
The move comes after Rep. Tyler August, R-Walworth, sent a memo to fellow lawmakers earlier in the week urging the bill’s passage as prediction markets – similar to sports wagering but allowed through federal oversight – are available across the country.
“If we leave a gray area in state law, national prediction platforms will fill it without our compact framework, Wisconsin oversight, or Wisconsin consumer safeguards,” August wrote. “AB 601 does the opposite: it channels activity into a regulated, Wisconsin-based, compacted environment with clear jurisdiction and accountability. This protects consumers, respects tribal sovereignty, and keeps revenue tied to Wisconsin operations rather than flowing to unaligned national apps.”
The proposal would also need to be approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Tony Evers, who has indicated he would approve of a bill keeping gaming with the tribes.
The proposal would change the state’s definition of “bet” to allow the tribes to offer mobile sports wagering as long as the better 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.
Prediction markets, however, have taken off this fall during football season with offerings very similar to sportsbooks where operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket offer what they call event contracts where users pick a side in a matchup or election and put their money behind that side against other users.
States tax regulated sportsbooks but are not able to tax the prediction markets. In Wisconsin’s case, the bill would pave the way for tribal online sports wagering that is subject to revenue sharing pacts between the 11 recognized tribes and the state.

(The Center Square) – Schools in the University of Wisconsin system will have to justify online class fees if a bill that passed the Senate becomes law.
The bill would prevent University of Wisconsin schools from assessing the online class fees unless the school can show actual additional costs to conduct the classes online.
“SB 532 eliminates unwarranted hidden fees that needlessly add to the cost of college coursework, classes that are often required to graduate and start a career. This bill is about transparency, affordability and fairness, but it’s also about embracing change,” Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, said in a statement.
The bill passed the Senate with an 18-15 vote.
Representatives from the UW System said in committee that online courses can cost more for technology purposes and due to training of professors but those costs are sometimes difficult to identify clearly.
Hutton said that the fees at six UW campuses are $150 for a three-credit course and some of the classes are only offered online, forcing students to pay the fee.
“Technology should make a higher education more accessible and less costly, not the other way around,” Hutton said. “This bill helps UW campuses step into the future as more students seek greater flexibility and affordability.”

(The Center Square) – One of the sponsors of Wisconsin’s statewide sports wagering legislation is warning prediction markets could take over the sports wagering marketplace if state lawmakers don’t pass a law in the Assembly Wednesday allowing the state’s 11 tribes to offer online sports wagering in the state.
“If we leave a gray area in state law, national prediction platforms will fill it without our compact framework, Wisconsin oversight, or Wisconsin consumer safeguards,” wrote Rep. Tyler August, R-Walworth. “AB 601 does the opposite: it channels activity into a regulated, Wisconsin-based, compacted environment with clear jurisdiction and accountability. This protects consumers, respects tribal sovereignty, and keeps revenue tied to Wisconsin operations rather than flowing to unaligned national apps.”
The proposal would also need to be approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Tony Evers, who has indicated he would approve of a bill keeping gaming with the tribes.
The proposal would change the state’s definition of “bet” to allow the tribes to offer mobile sports wagering as long as the better 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.
Prediction markets, however, have taken off this fall during football season with offerings very similar to sportsbooks where operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket offer what they call event contracts where users pick a side in a matchup or election and put their money behind that side against other users.
Those markets are regulated federally through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and do not require separate state taxes that Wisconsin would receive while the tribes would pay the state a revenue share based upon amended compacts that would have to be approved by the U.S. Department of Interior.
Kalshi, for instance, saw $230.2 million in activity on Week 11 NFL football alone and an overall $1.3 billion in activity the week of Nov. 3, up from $900 million in the first full week of October.
Both FanDuel and DraftKings recently announced they are quitting the American Gaming Association and will put large investments toward prediction markets in states without legalized mobile sports wagering.
“While we debate a narrow clarification that keeps wagering inside Wisconsin’s compact system, large national platforms are racing to roll out ‘prediction market’ apps that let users trade real-money contracts on sports, politics, and economic data,” August wrote.
August’s memo to fellow lawmakers included a 15-page response to legal questions about the bill from Attorney Ryan Walsh on behalf of the Forest County Potawatomi Community.
He argued the bill doesn’t change anything legally and it just amends the current pacts between tribes and the state, which is allowable.
“In my view, the Bill and associated compacts would not violate any provision of the U.S. Constitution, federal law, or the Wisconsin Constitution and should be upheld in any litigation,” Walsh wrote.
He said that Equal Protection Clause claims that the tribes are being treated differently due to race are no different than the current gambling pacts in the state and that the bill is not the Legislature creating a bill to allow for gambling but instead is simply allowing for an amendment to the agreements already in place.
The Sports Betting Alliance – which represents DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Fanatics and Bet365 – has said it supports Wisconsin increasing its mobile sports wagering to statewide but believes the state should allow for a change that would allow those companies to work with the tribes and pay less than the 60% of gross revenue required by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for its services, an amount that SBA Counsel Damon Stewart said would be too much to allow those companies to operate in the state.
“I think our citizens in Wisconsin are better served by keeping this new platform within our current gambling structure,” Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Caledonia, said as the bill was approved in committee.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Senate voted 22-11 on Tuesday to make the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association subject to open meetings and public records.
The private organization that governs high school athletics for the state’s public and private schools has fought the legislation, saying it is private and does not accept tax money.
The legislation would have to also pass the Assembly and be signed by Gov. Tony Evers before becoming law.
The group makes most of its funding from “host tournaments and through private donations” which includes hosting events featuring public high school teams at public high schools and making eligibility decisions on athletes.
Executive Director Stephanie Hauser told a committee previously that those eligibility decisions can become controversial and “I think we’re going to get pummeled with them” regarding public records requests.
Those advocating for the rules, however, believe that the WIAA needs more transparency on its decision-making authority over public high school athletes.
Hauser told a committee that “subjecting a private organization to open records policies is akin to forcing a church, small business or any other sort of private organization to such policies.”
The WIAA noted in a letter against the bill that former Gov. Scott Walker vetoed a similar bill in 2015 and Evers vetoed one in 2021.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty advocated for the bill, saying the Legislature has never granted power over public school athletics to the WIAA.
“WIAA is a nominally private membership association that exercises governmental power by playing gatekeeper over interscholastic athletics, a government-provided benefit,” WILL wrote.
After the vote, WILL Attorney Lucas Vebber wrote a post applauding the vote, which came after no debate on the bill.
“A great bipartisan group of state senators just voted to advance legislation to ensure the WIAA complies with the public records law. Long overdue legislation,” Vebber wrote.