(The Center Square) – Wisconsin taxpayers are growing in their concern over property taxes, as witnessed by a recent Marquette poll showing that 60% of voters are more concerned about reducing property taxes than increasing spending on public schools.
That opinion has shifted over time as 61% of voters were more concerned about funding for schools in Aug. 2018 and polling shifted from favoring funding for schools to being more concerned about property taxes in between late 2022 and mid-2023, according to the poll.
The most recent poll asked questions of 818 Wisconsin registered voters between Feb. 11-19.
The shift comes as state lawmakers continue to debate what the best policy is to spend an expected $2.5 billion surplus at the end of the fiscal year.
Legislative Republicans sent a plan to Gov. Tony Evers that includes $1.5 billion in income tax rebates, $500 million in money for the state’s school tax levy credit and $200 million included for special education funding.
Evers said during his State of the State speech that the plan for property tax relief and education spending must balance the two “a heck of a lot better.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos acknowledged during a press conference that Evers won’t negotiate on the school funding he approved with a partial veto that Republicans refer to as Evers’ 400-year property tax increase.
Evers used a partial veto and erased numbers and a hyphen to change “2024-25” to “2425” in the budget bill, locking in a $325 per student per year funding increase for 400 years.
That veto was the subject of a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling approving the move and then legislation and a constitutional amendment proposal to change the governor’s partial veto power since.

(The Center Square) – There is a warning about pros and cons of public funding for child care in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum recently said lawmakers must be keenly aware of the “tradeoffs” that come with promising more taxpayer money for day care and other child care centers.
“With child care in Wisconsin already drawing heavily from federal funding, state sources may offer more opportunities for expanding child care revenue, albeit with important policy and political considerations,” the Policy Forum report stated. “Wisconsin could choose to increase the allocation of its current state general purpose revenue, or GPR, to child care, without a new dedicated funding source or increase in existing GPR sources…As with the federal funding, reallocating existing general fund revenues to child care would incur tradeoffs if it involved cutting elsewhere in the current budget.”
The report notes that Wisconsin already spends millions on child care. The WPF report shows that Wisconsin is ranked 10th in national TANF spending for child care. That price tag comes to $231 million.
Researchers say Wisconsin lawmakers have several options to find new money for childcare, including new sin taxes.
“Louisiana complements its tax on sports wagering with the Early Childhood Education Fund,” the report added. “The state has exercised creativity in its revenue sources; while the tax on sports wagering is the primary contributor, the matching fund also claims 50% of the revenue from sales of NBA Pelicans specialty license plates, surplus revenues from payments from casinos to the state, tax revenue from sales of hemp-derived CBD products.”
The Policy Forum said other options could include:
● An income tax credit to employers
● A child care contribution tax credit
● A child and dependent care income tax credit
“These options vary in their popularity and potential impact,” the report noted in its conclusion. “On one side of the spectrum, tax incentives tend to be more popular and bipartisan but may be underutilized and less impactful as they are typically put forward in other states (although they could be engineered to raise more money). On the other side of the spectrum, additional taxes are rarely popular but can have a large financial impact.”

(The Center Square) – A new Marquette poll shows that 64% of Wisconsin voters oppose legalizing online sports betting in the state.
This comes as the Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill last week to enable the state’s tribes to conduct online sports wagering and it waits for action in the Senate.
The Marquette poll showed that 34% of voters are in favor of the legalization.
The poll asked questions of 818 Wisconsin registered voters between Feb. 11-19.
The opposition was across the board as 61% of Republicans opposed legalizing sports wagering, 66% of Democrats opposed it and 74% of independents are in opposition.
The poll showed that 71% of those who oppose religious services at least weekly are opposed to legalized online sports wagering and 62% of those who attend religious services less often are opposed.
Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, wrote in a newsletter that legislative offices “got slammed with emails urging opposition” before the Assembly decided to delay its November vote. He compared the arguments saying that sports wagering is already happening in the state to the arguments supporting the legalization of marijuana.
The Assembly then took up the bill and passed it on its last day of business.
“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. “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, and I will be watching to see if this topic picks up steam in January.”
Senate leadership hasn’t indicated if it will take up the bill or when.

(The Center Square) – A group of Wisconsin Democrats and labor leaders are pushing a minimum wage bill that would increase the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 immediately, progressively increase that to $20 by 2030 and then have it rise with inflation afterward.
“Anyone working 40 hours a week deserves to make a living wage,” said Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, who is one of a group of Democrats running for governor.
The group referred to the increase as a “living wage” and said that the state’s minimum wage remaining flat for 17 years has led to more than 1 million workers in the state making less than a living wage.
“A ‘free’ market that doesn’t give families enough freedom to survive is a failed market,” Roys said. “And we don’t have to accept it.”
The proposed bill would also allow local municipalities to pass a higher local minimum wage, something that is currently outlawed in the state.
The bill would face an uphill battle to pass in what is now a Republican-controlled Legislature.
“The rising cost of basic necessities including housing, food, and health care undermines the stability of our workers, families, and communities,” said Rep. Angelina Cruz, D-Racine. “While rising costs continue to receive attention – as they should, suppressed wages require our attention as well,“ Cruz noted. “I am proud to introduce this legislation and to continue pushing wages to the forefront of the affordability conversation. We must not allow the hard-working people of our state to be paid poverty wages.”
Thirty states currently have a minimum wage above the federal $7.25 minimum wage.

(The Center Square) – There is a new fear among education reformers in Wisconsin following the lawsuit to change how the state pays for public schools.
Cory Brewer, one of the attorneys at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, said the case filed Tuesday by Law Forward and Wisconsin’s largest teachers’ union is a clear attack on school choice.
“We think that the real targets of this lawsuit are the tens-of-thousands of kids who are participating in the private school choice, or charter school system [in the state,]” Brewer said during an interview on News Talk 1130 WISN.
Brewer said the merits of the lawsuit are thin and without evidence.
“The plaintiffs are just ignoring basic facts about education in Wisconsin,” Brewer added. “Wisconsin is spending more on public schools than we were a decade ago. Back in 2014, the state was spending about $7,600 per-student. And today it’s just over $8,300 per-student. And that’s just the state. Overall spending is even higher.”
The statewide per-pupil average actually comes in at more than $18,000 per-student. And some schools, like Milwaukee Public Schools, are spending closer to $25,000 per student.
Brewer said the intent of the case is clear.
“What it’s seeking to do, honestly, is turn the [Wisconsin Supreme Court] into having a legislative function,” Brewer explained.
WILL has defended school choice in Wisconsin for years, and Brewer said they are ready to defend school choice again.
Wisconsin’s school choice program has already survived several legal challenges, including one as recently as 2023. But Brewer is worried this approach, the lawsuit claims lawmakers give choice schools “preferred treatment,” may be different.
She said she’s also not sure the United States Supreme Court will be able to rescue school choice in Wisconsin.
“There are several recent United States Supreme Court decisions defending school choice, yes. And they are very strong decisions,” Brewer added. “However, they have more to do with funding private religious schools, and the First Amendment in that regard, or the right of parents to select schools, in that regard. Here we have a challenge to the funding mechanism.”
Brewer did say she expects this to be a “lengthy” case and said there is a chance that Wisconsin lawmakers could rework the school funding formula and end the case before it ever gets to the state’s high court.

(The Center Square) – The Green Bay, Eau Claire, Beloit, Necedah and Adams-Friendship school districts along with parent-teacher groups, educator associations and individuals are suing the Wisconsin Legislature saying that it does not properly fund K-12 public education in the state in a constitutional way.
The lawsuit was filed by Law Forward and the Wisconsin Education Association Council.
The lawsuit speaks to local property tax increases, the increased number of students with exceptional needs and changes over time in how much the state spends on education. It asks the court to “render the current school finance system unconstitutional.”
“The Legislature’s failure to provide adequate state funding for public school districts violates article I, section 22 because ‘free government’ is at risk,” the lawsuit states. “Also, the Legislature’s failure to prioritize public schools and allocate sufficient state funding to meet constitutional guarantees to public school students violates ‘recurrence to first principles.’ “
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty Research Director Will Flanders, however, argues that the lawsuit is faulty because, adjusted for inflation, the state is spending more per student on public schools than it did a decade ago and that giving more money to schools has not proven to provide better results.
This lawsuit is based on a faulty premise. Adjusted for inflation, the state is spending MORE on public schools than a decade ago ($7,693 in ’14 versus $8,361 today). Overall spending has jumped even more to $18,592 per student from $16,820 (1/3). https://t.co/FGS5LvmGzz pic.twitter.com/awnszdHXs7— Will Flanders (@WillFlandersWI) February 24, 2026
“This may be the most fiscally consequential lawsuit in state history,” WILL Attorney Dan Lennington wrote on social media. “It demands a new level of spending: infinity.
This may be the most fiscally consequential lawsuit in state history. It demands a new level of spending: infinity. And absolutely no evidence that infinite spending would make one kid smarter. The real targets of this lawsuit: 110,000 kids in the choice/charter system. https://t.co/F7HneK1218— Dan Lennington (@DanLennington) February 24, 2026
“And absolutely no evidence that infinite spending would make one kid smarter. The real targets of this lawsuit: 110,000 kids in the choice/charter system.”
The lawsuit names the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate along with individual members of the Legislature, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Senate President Mary Felzkowski and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu.
“Public education is central to Wisconsin’s identity and future,” Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. “Our state’s founders recognized its importance by enshrining in the Wisconsin Constitution a shared state and local responsibility to provide a system of education ‘as nearly uniform as practicable.’ Every child, regardless of zip code, deserves that promise to be kept.”
She said that the “current funding formula is not working” and that education and opportunity shouldn’t depend on where a student lives.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s K-12 education leadership group said that its $368,000 standards-setting meeting in 2024 at a waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells was a “common approach” for state educational leaders across the country and in the two dozen other states that work with Data Recognition Corp. for testing.
But an investigation from The Center Square on standards-setting meetings and processes across the country showed that, while some other states that work with the company do hold in-person meetings, those meetings are all in capital cities with only participants who travel more than 50 miles to the conference utilizing overnight stays.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s meeting in the Wisconsin Dells, however, meant that DPI staff also stayed at the water park, according to documents obtained by the Dairyland Sentinel through public records requests.
Some other states, such as Ohio and Minnesota, hold meetings remotely while neighboring Illinois does not work with Data Recognition Corp. but did its standards setting process in a mainly remote fashion as well.
Other states, such as Tennessee, hold smaller committee meetings such as the state’s standards review committees that will meet in Chattanooga this summer. Others hold regional small committee meetings.
But none matches up to meetings like DPI held at Chula Vista Resort.
DPI spokesperson Chris Bucher did not respond to questions from The Center Square asking for further details after he told other media outlets that the location was aimed at supporting Wisconsin tourism and stating the Wisconsin Dells meeting was a “common approach.”
Bucher said the company does testing in two dozen states.
A spokesperson for Data Recognition Corp. also did not respond to a request for comment from The Center Square on how it operates.
Data Recognition Corp., led by former Republican Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Susan Engeleiter, reportedly signed a nearly $80 million 10-year contract with Wisconsin to operate its testing and create the Forward Exam after initially bidding $63 million on the contract.
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign questioned Engeleiter’s donations to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker when the deal was signed. Gov. Tony Evers was the state school superintendent at the time.
Dairyland Sentinel and the Institute for Reforming Government are working together to fight for DPI to release a copy of a signed contract between DPI and Data Recognition Corp.
Questions regarding spending on the conference recently led Wisconsin’s Joint Committee on Finance to delay $1 million in a funding request to DPI.
“We just want to have the opportunity to at least review what’s going on there with this questionable use of funds,” Joint Finance Committee co-chair Mark Born said. “We just want to hit pause on that.”
IRG’s General Counsel and Director of its Center for Investigative Oversight Jake Curtis told The Center Square that, while the conference spending raised eyebrows and drew headlines, he believes the 88-member standards-setting group filled with school employees and leaders fits the exact definition of an Ad Hoc Committee and that meetings of that committee should be public and not subject to the non-disclosure agreements signed by conference attendees.
“In Wisconsin, we have very robust open meetings laws, public records laws and we have a strong sunshine set of laws in Wisconsin,” Curtis told The Center Square. “What the Department of Public Instruction did here was pretty obvious, just did not want the scrutiny from the public. And that’s frankly why it’s such a problem for DPI.”

(The Center Square) – Madison’s public school managers say they need $60 million just to keep up with special education requirements next year.
And they say they don’t know where they will find the money.
The Madison Metropolitan School Board this week began work on its 2026-2027 school budget.
“Our budget reflects what we value most as a school district,” Superintendent Joe Gothard said. “We are committed to uplifting the student experience, supporting our staff and making strategic investments that move our schools forward. At the same time, we must plan responsibly for financial realities that continue to challenge public education.”
Madison Metropolitan’s current school budget is $668 million – about 10% higher than the 2024-2025 school budget.
There is no proposed price tag for the next budget.
MMSD says it needs to find at least $30 million more for teacher pay raises and benefits. That includes:
● $4.7 million for compensation step increases
● $9.5 million for inflationary compensation increases
● 14 to $16 million for health insurance increases
● And the new costs for expanded parental leave benefits
“These increases reflect contractual obligations, market conditions and our responsibility to remain competitive as an employer,” Assistant Superintendent of Financial Services Bob Soldner said. “We begin planning early so we can evaluate multiple scenarios, manage risk and minimize disruption to schools and classrooms.”
Madison schools are also expecting less money from the state. MMSD officials say they could see $7 million less.
Voters in Madison agreed to give the city’s school district $600 million more in 2024. The school district proposed two referendum questions, one for $100 million to hire more teachers and staffers. The other was for more than $500 million for facility upgrades.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin is a leader in pushing for legislative authority over the authority of unelected bureaucrats, according to the Institute for Reforming Government’s Wisconsin Administrative Reform Toolbox.
The group highlighted 15 years worth of legislation pushing the state in the direction of legislative authority as many states and governmental entities have seen power shift in the other direction.
IRG is hoping to have explained to other states outside of Wisconsin how to simplify legislative authority, from the 2011 Act 21, which put in requirements before agencies could regulate to the 2017 REINS act requiring legislative approval for rules costing more than $10 million to this year’s Red Tape Reset bills, which would need the approval of Gov. Tony Evers before becoming law.
“Wisconsin has an amazing story to tell,” IRG General Counsel and Director of the Center for Investigative Oversight Jake Curtis told The Center Square. “We’ve laid that out for years, about how Wisconsin really has this amazing model for administrative reforms and, the reality is that there’s.a lot of states, even red states or very red states, that don’t have good administrative processes in place.”
The current bills include one addressing the 165,000 restrictions in state law with a sunsetting bill requiring all chapters of administrative code be reviewed, updated or allowed to expire every seven years.
The other is a bill requiring that if a new rule adds costs for businesses, families or local governments, those costs must be offset.
“Those are reforms that IRG has been calling for along with others for years,” Curtis said, pointing to a REINS Act report released last year.
Pitfalls in that process, however, can occur.
The report pointed to a ruling last year from the Wisconsin Supreme Court stating that legislators cannot indefinitely block rules, leading to an agency free-for-all on rulemaking that has led to more proposed legislation and a constitutional amendment.
“States seeking to replicate this tool should consider working closely with legal counsel to structure the committee’s power as a temporary suspension rather than a permanent veto, or consider pursuing a state constitutional amendment, to avoid a similar legal challenge,” the toolbox explains.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Assembly approved a bill that would make the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association subject to open meetings and public records and now that bill will be sent to Gov. Tony Evers.
The Senate passed the legislation in November.
Former Gov. Scott Walker vetoed a similar bill in 2015 and Evers vetoed one in 2021. Evers could veto and block the legislation again.
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.
But lawmakers that passed the bill argue that the WIAA needs more transparency on its decision-making authority over public high school athletes and schools.
“WIAA’s membership is made up of schools whose boards are subject to open records and open meetings laws, but WIAA is not,” Sen. Cory Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, said in testimony on the bill. “When taxpayer dollars are involved, proceedings should be open and honest. While WIAA receives no taxpayer funds, it uses taxpayer funded facilities and is a fixture in our public school system. While exempting referee and pupil records to keep their personal information safe, SB 16 aims to bring to light what is going on behind the scenes at WIAA and increase transparency between the organization and its members, students, and parents.”
The WIAA’s Executive Director Stephanie Hauser told a committee that the group’s eligibility decisions can become controversial and “I think we’re going to get pummeled with them” regarding public records requests.
“This legislation advances even though the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the WIAA is not a government or quasi-government entity,” the WIAA said in a statement after the vote. “SB 16 imposes burdens typically meant for public offices, and we are concerned this will disrupt our ability to effectively serve our member schools and student-athletes.”
Those advocating for the law, however, argue that more transparency is needed in the WIAA’s decision-making authority over public high school athletes.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin voters are going to get to decide on the governor’s veto powers after lawmakers in Madison approved a constitutional amendment aimed at limiting what the governor can do with a veto.
“Shall section 10 (1) (c) of article V of the constitution be amended to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating or increasing or authorizing the creation or increase of any tax or fee?” the ballot question will read.
The amendment comes after Gov. Tony Evers used a veto to order a 400-year school funding increase.
In that veto, Evers crossed out a few numbers and some punctuation to turn a two-year school funding increase into a four-century funding increase.
Evers’ veto touched off a wave of property tax increases this year.
Wisconsin’s governor has one of the most powerful vetoes in the country, and Evers has used it several times during his two terms in office.
The Republican-led legislature tried to ban future, similar vetoes, but the governor vetoed those efforts. That is why lawmakers chose to push a constitutional amendment.
It’s not the first time Republicans in Wisconsin have gone to voters with proposals that Evers blocked.
The legislature approved four other proposed constitutional amendments between 2023 and 2025. Voters approved all of them.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Assembly passed a pair of bills on Friday aimed at combatting issues with teachers in the state who have faced accusations of sexual misconduct.
Assembly Bill 1003 would require any teacher that voluntarily surrenders a teaching license due to an investigation to be informed that the surrender is permanent, that their name will be listed on the Department of Public Instruction’s website as having their license suspended permanently after an investigation into immoral conduct and the personnel records will be subject to open records requests.
Assembly Bill 1004 prevents schools from entering into confidentiality agreements related to investigations into immoral conduct.
Both bills passed the Assembly and were sent to the Senate.
Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, said that the first bill addresses that “voluntary surrender” is not in state statute and that it will now be clear that the term is a permanent revocation of a teaching license while the ban on confidentiality agreements is aimed at allowing problem teachers to move from one school district to another after immoral conduct.
“Together, these bills also address the misuse of confidentiality agreements—both at the DPI level and at the local school district level,” Nedweski said.
She cited an investigation from the Capital Times into 200 cases of sexual misconduct that DPI had hidden from the public eye.
“These ‘pass the trash’ policies simply move problematic staff from one school to another, putting more students at risk of being preyed upon,” Nedweski said.
She noted that 10 states – including Michigan, Iowa and Illinois – have bans in place on confidentiality agreements.
“Taken together, these bills close dangerous loopholes, prevent quiet exits, and put student safety first by ensuring accountability and transparency at every level of the system,” Nedweski said.

(The Center Square) – The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is asking the Iron County Circuit Court for judicial review of a recent ruling from Administrative Law Judge Angela Chaput Foy, who allowed permits for a Line 5 reroute to move forward.
The petition is the latest attempt by the tribe to challenge a 41-mile Line 5 reroute in northern Wisconsin. This challenge relates to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permits for the project.
The pipeline transports more than 500,000 barrels of crude oil and natural gas liquids each day through the Bad River Band reservation.
Proponents of the reroute say that energy and jobs throughout the state are dependent on the pipeline and reroute project. The Bad River Band has said that it believes the reroute could threaten water quality, habitats and rice beds on the reservation.
The group is also appealing permits issued for the project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a separate case.
“For generations, the Bad River — Mashkiiziibii — and the waters that flow into Lake Superior have nurtured our healthy walleye, sustained our wild rice beds, and kept our community vibrant and strong,” Bad River Band Chairwoman Elizabeth Arbuckle said in a statement. “The Band River watershed is not an oil pipeline corridor that exists to serve Enbridge’s profits. It is our homeland. We must protect it.”
The band is joined in the case by Clean Wisconsin, Earthjustice, Midwest Environmental Advocates, the Sierra Club, 350 Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.
Permit applications for the project were initially submitted in 2020.
“For five years, Wisconsin’s skilled trades workers have stood ready while this critical infrastructure project completed a rigorous approval process. Today, that wait ends,” Emily Pritzkow, executive director of the Wisconsin Building Trades Council, said in a statement. “Now, 700 union workers will soon get to work to construct the safest and best-built section of pipeline in the country.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s housing market is starting 2026 in the same place it ended 2025.
The latest Realtors Report shows houses became more expensive and harder to find in January.
“New listings fell significantly in January, leading to tighter inventory statewide. This resulted in fewer existing home sales and higher home prices relative to a year ago. Specifically, Wisconsin’s existing home sales fell 3.9% compared to January 2025, and the median price rose 7.9% over that same period to $315,000,” the Realtors wrote.
Wisconsin saw just 3,484 homes sold in January, and just 4,969 homes listed. The Realtors said those homes spent an average of 90 days on the market.
Wisconsin has faced a shortage of houses for sale for years, and 2026 is not looking to be any different.
One sign of hope, however, is that interest rates are falling.
“The spike in mortgage rates that began in 2022 saw rates topping out over 7%, and as a result, affordability fell to record-low levels. We really didn’t start seeing improvement until the middle of last year. Since June 2025, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate has fallen by nearly three quarters of a percent to 6.1%, and the Wisconsin Housing Affordability Index has increased nearly 16%,” Realtors President Tom Larson added. “Hopefully these improvements in affordability continue.”
As usual, Wisconsin’s housing market is skewed by regions.
Most of the homes that were sold were sold in either the Madison or Milwaukee areas. With 1,120 homes sold in southeast Wisconsin, and another 731 homes sold in south-central Wisconsin.
Those are also the places where homes are the most expensive. Houses in the Madison-area had the highest median price at $374,900. Southeast Wisconsin had the second highest median price in the state, with a price tag of $325,000. Northern Wisconsin remains the most affordable part of the state, with a median price of $239,450.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Assembly approved a bill that would send $14.6 million in general purpose taxpayer funds to University of Wisconsin-Madison annually for maintenance and debt service on athletics facilities.
The bill was labeled a name, image and likeness bill that also would require athletes to disclose to the school any third-party NIL deals but would make those deals exempt from public records.
The athletic department is currently required to pay for 40% of the principal and interest costs on athletic facilities from athletics funds.
The Assembly approved the bill on a 95-1 vote Thursday, the final day the Assembly was scheduled to be in session. Rep. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, was the lone “no” vote.
It remains unclear if the Senate will take up the bill and send it to Gov. Tony Evers.
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.
UW-Madison Athletic Director Chris McIntosh told the Assembly Committee on State Affairs recently 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.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, announced Thursday he won’t seek reelection in the fall.
Vos said he had a mild heart attack in mid-November and that doctors said he would be fine but “I do need to reduce my stress.”
Vos has been the assembly speaker since 2013 after first being elected in 2004. He was the Assembly Chair for the Joint Finance Committee before being elected speaker.
Vos made the announcement to begin Thursday’s Assembly floor session, which started nearly three hours after its scheduled time of 11 a.m., after session lasted until nearly midnight on Wednesday.
“The decision wasn’t easy,” Vos said, noting he had been thinking about it for a long time.
He joins Gov. Tony Evers in not seeking reelection in the fall.
“The Speaker’s retirement marks the end of an era in Wisconsin politics, and I’m grateful to have served as governor during Speaker Vos’ tenure,” Evers said in a statement. “Although we’ve disagreed more often than we didn’t, I respect his candor, his ability to navigate complex policies and conversations, and his unrivaled passion for politics.”
Vos said that he believes that the Legislature worked properly under his guidance, which was sometimes slower than others wanted it to work.
“What kept me grounded was the reminder that the gavel belongs to the institution, not an individual person,” Vos said. “Strong institutions matter and I believe I am leaving this institution stronger and ready to endure the road ahead. I have confidence in Wisconsin’s future and in those who will work to carry this work forward.”