Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker issued an executive order calling special elections for two legislative seats.

He initially refused to call the elections, defying a court order issued last week. He lost on appeal Wednesday and was forced to call the elections by noon today.

Special primary elections will be held on May 15 with special general elections on June 12.

Republican lawmakers sought to change election laws after the court order was issued so Walker could avoid calling the elections; they have since abandoned their efforts.

Wisconsin Republicans plan to call an extraordinary session to amend state election law rather than comply with a court order to hold special elections.

Last week, a judge ordered Gov. Walker to schedule special elections by March 29 to fill two vacant legislative seats.

Current law requires the governor to call a special election for any vacancy occurring prior to May of an election year.

Walker doesn’t believe the law applies in this case, as the vacancies occurred in December; he claims the requirement only applies to vacancies occurring between January and May of an election year.

Democrats argue Walker is refusing to hold the elections because Republicans may lose the seats.

Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds ruled Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker must call special elections to fill legislative vacancies.

Two seats were left vacant in December when Republican lawmakers resigned to work in Walker’s administration.

Reynolds, whom Walker appointed in 2014, found he has a duty to call the elections; failure to do so would infringe on the voting rights of the districts’ residents.

He must issue an order by March 29 calling elections within the next 11 weeks.

Michael Haas, administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, announced he is stepping down after Republican lawmakers rejected his confirmation last month. GOP lawmakers thought they had essentially fired Haas by failing to confirm him, but Haas initially disagreed with their legal interpretation and continued in the position.

In his resignation letter, Haas said the battle to remain in office would hinder the commission’s work and drain it of its resources. He will temporarily serve as staff counsel at the Elections Commission before leaving the agency entirely.

Assistant Administrator Meagan Wolfe is expected to be named interim administrator.

On the same day Haas announced his resignation, the Wisconsin Ethics Commission named ethics specialist Colette Reinke as interim administrator to replace Brian Bell. Bell resigned from the position last month after the Senate also rejected his confirmation.

Democratic lawmakers have criticized Republicans for targeting ethics and elections workers because of their connections with the former Government Accountability Board.

After being rejected by the Wisconsin Senate, a bipartisan commission has voted to retain Mike Haas through April 30 as the state’s top election official.

Attorney General Brad Schimel has told Gov. Scott Walker someone new must be appointed in order to be in compliance with state law.

Commissioner Mark Thomsen, however, contends only the bipartisan commission has the authority to remove Haas from the post.

Upcoming elections take place on February 20 and April 3.

Wisconsin lawmakers are scheduled to convene this morning specifically to consider and act upon legislation to bring Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturing services provider, to the state.

Though the legislature is still in regular session, Gov. Walker called a special legislative session to take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Wisconsin to lead the nation in high-tech manufacturing.

The legislation to be considered could bring 13,000 direct Foxconn jobs, 10,000 direct construction jobs, and 22,000 additional project-related jobs to the state.

Wisconsin State Sen. Chris Larson is introducing eight bills aimed at amending state campaign finance laws.

The bills would restore lower contribution limits, amend the definition of political action committee, require transparency in political communications, limit coordinated campaign expenditures, expand reporting requirements for committees receiving a contribution exceeding $100 from an individual, and prohibit corporations and labor unions from contributing to segregated funds established by political parties or legislative campaign committees.

Larson says the proposed changes reflect common sense and would not drastically overhaul the current campaign finance system.

Former Attorney General Peggy Lautenschlager is stepping down from her post as chair of the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

In her resignation letter, she claims circumstances exist mitigating her ability to continue serving on the commission.

Lautenschlager is the second commissioner to resign since the commission was formed last year.

Wisconsin legislators introduced a bill to prohibit lawmakers from lobbying for at least one year after leaving legislative office.

The bill, identical to a bill proposed during the last legislative session, was introduced with wide bipartisan support.

Current state law establishes a revolving door provision for state employees and officials seeking to become lobbyists; the prohibition does not, however, extend to legislators.

Gov. Scott Walker called the Wisconsin Legislature into special session on Thursday, January 5.  The Legislature is currently in regular session; a special session operates under different rules to speed up the legislative process.

Citing a public health crisis, Walker called the special session so lawmakers would consider a package of heroin and opioid abuse bills. The Senate will consider the bills after they are introduced and move through committee.

Walker also issued executive orders directing state agencies to follow the recommendations of his opioid abuse task force and directing the Department of Health Services to apply for federal funding to help in its response efforts.

Photo of Gov. Scott Walker courtesy of Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons.

Wisconsin state ethics commissioner Robert Kinney announced his resignation Monday. Kinney cited his disappointment in the agency as his reason for stepping down. He claims the relatively new Ethics Commission operates too secretly and does not adequately enforce ethics, campaign finance and lobbying rules.

Moreover, he contends several members of the commission demonstrate an obvious lack of commitment to the underlying purpose of the agency. In June, Gov. Scott Walker appointed Kinney from a pool of candidates provided by the Democratic Party.

State Sen. Rick Gudex took his own life on October 12, 2016. Gudex was elected to represent District 18 in 2012 and served in 2015 as the president pro tempore before announcing he would not run for re-election in 2016. Gudex was a former mayor of Mayville and also a member of the Fond du Lac Common Council.

Gov. Scott Walker does not plan to call a special election to fill Gudex’s seat as the Nov. 8 election is less than a month away, leaving the seat vacant until January when the new term begins.

Members of the Wisconsin Ethics Commission are now able to make political contributions to candidates.

The commission is comprised of partisan appointees selected by legislative leaders and the governor; it replaced the Government Accountability Board. The previous board was nonpartisan and, therefore, members were officially barred from giving to candidates.

In a meeting yesterday, only two of the commission’s six members voted to consider a ban on contributions. As a result, no final vote was taken.

Wisconsin’s new Ethics Commission will begin its work on June 30. It is one of two commissions created to replace the Government Accountability Board (GAB).

Twenty-three people submitted applications to be the first commission administrator; the GAB released a list of their names and hometowns Thursday.

Applicants include Paul Dauphinais, head of the Alaska Public Offices Commission, and Bre Injeski, deputy director of New York City’s Conflict of Interest Board. The position is a four-year term subject to Senate confirmation.