Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Voting R

Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Voting Record

2005-2006 Wisconsin State Legislature

Summary of Bills

STATE ASSEMBLY

ASSEMBLY BILL 49

Minimum Wage Ordinances

(Unfavorable on Passage) This bill prohibits a municipality from setting a minimum wage that is higher than the state minimum wage for private sector workers employed in its jurisdiction. AB 49 was initiated by business interests to stop the successful campaigns by labor and community groups in Madison, Milwaukee and other cities to enact local minimum wage ordinances to raise the wages of low-income workers. [AB 49 does allow a local government to establish a living wage ordinance that applies to employees who work for a private firm under government contract to provide services, or work that is funded with financial assistance from the municipality. Prevailing wage laws can also still be enforced.] The recorded vote of 58 to 37 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “wrong” vote. AB 49 passed the Legislature and was signed into law by the Governor.

ASSEMBLY BILL 105

State Contractual Procedures

(Favorable on Passage) The State of Wisconsin can contract out public sector work to private firms under current law, but AB 105 requires a fairer, uniform framework to do the cost-benefit analysis in the future. State agencies often fail to account for the full cost to taxpayers of privatizing public services, wrongly assuming that tax dollars can be saved by contracting out work now done by public employees. Private firms later raise the rates charged to taxpayers when experienced public employees are no longer employed to perform the work. The recorded vote of 88 to 7 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “right” vote. AB 105 passed the Legislature and was signed into law by the Governor.

ASSEMBLY BILL 268

Attack on Bargaining Rights: Public Sector

(Unfavorable on Passage) This bill promotes the privatization of public sector work. Under AB 268 the decision by a municipal employer to contract out services currently provided by its own public employees would no longer be a mandatory subject of bargaining, if certain procedures were followed. This would allow the employer to act unilaterally, without regard for the consequences to employees or taxpayers. The recorded vote of 51 to 43 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “wrong” vote. AB 268 passed the State Assembly but was not scheduled for a vote in the State Senate. The bill died at the end of the session.

ASSEMBLY BILL 441

Power-the-Future Energy Needs

(Favorable on Passage) This legislation clarifies Public Service Commission practice related to the approval process for constructing large electric generating facilities. One such project is the power plant being constructed in Oak Creek by Wisconsin Energy Corporation which will

create nearly 1,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent utility jobs. The recorded vote of 74 to 22 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “right” vote. AB 441 passed the Legislature and was signed into law by the Governor.

ASSEMBLY BILL 766

Medical Malpractice

(Unfavorable on Veto Override Attempt) Limiting the rights of victims in cases of medical malpractice is not a workplace issue for the labor movement, but it is an important health care consumer issue. AB 766 set a cap on non-economic damages (pain and suffering and loss of companionship) caused by medical malpractice of $550,000 for children and $450,000 for adults, limits which penalize those most seriously harmed. AB 766 passed the Legislature but was vetoed by the Governor. The recorded vote of 63 to 36 was on a Republican attempt to override the Governor’s veto and a vote in favor was a “wrong” vote. A two-thirds vote is needed for an override so the attempt failed. A bill that established a higher cap of $750,000 was later passed and signed into law by the Governor.

ASSEMBLY BILL 834

Affordable Health Care Action Plan

(Favorable on Motion to Withdraw from Committee) State legislators must make the reform of our health care system a top priority because the federal government is failing to respond to the health care crisis. AB 834 was offered by Democratic legislators. The Affordable Health Care Action Plan requires the Wisconsin Legislature to introduce and pass a health care financing plan by January 2008 that will provide health coverage for 98 percent of the people in our state and reduce overall health care costs by 15 percent. The recorded vote of 37 to 58 was on the first motion by Democrats to pull the bill from a committee where it was being denied action. A vote in favor of the pulling motion was a “right” vote. The motion was defeated on a party-line vote and AB 834 died at the end of the session.

ASSEMBLY BILL 857

Bargaining Limits: Public Sector

(Unfavorable on Passage) This bill drastically undermines the bargaining rights of local government employees by setting a cap on wages and benefits if revenue limits are in place for local governments. This will allow state law to dictate the terms for final contract offers that are submitted to independent arbitrators and collective bargaining rights will be gutted. The process already requires arbitrators to consider a public employer’s ability to pay. The recorded vote of 51 to 43 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “wrong” vote. AB 857 passed the State Assembly but was not scheduled for a vote in the State Senate. The bill died at the end of the session.

ASSEMBLY BILL 860

Fair Share Health Care

(Favorable on Motion to Withdraw from Committee) The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO joined a nationwide campaign to expose and address the failure of large profitable firms like Wal-Mart to provide affordable health coverage for their employees. AB 860 requires a firm of 10,000 or more employees to pay at least 80 percent of the cost of family health insurance, or pay an assessment into the state’s Medical Assistance Trust Fund. The assessment would cover the cost to Wisconsin taxpayers for providing health care to employees of the firm who enroll in BadgerCare or Medicaid for health coverage. The recorded vote of 35 to 59 is on a motion by Democrats to pull AB 860 from a committee where it was being denied action. A vote in favor of this pulling motion is a “right” vote. The motion failed and AB 860 died at the end of the session.

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 32

Protect Social Security

(Favorable on Motion to Withdraw from Committee) This resolution calls on U.S. Governors to join in lobbying Congress to oppose any proposal to privatize Social Security. State legislators can express their views on national issues by passing such a resolution. Privatization would allow individuals to take

part of their Social Security contributions and place them in risky private accounts where investments are subject to the whims of a fickle stock market. Any privatization scheme will require cuts in retirement benefits because payroll taxes will be diverted from the Social Security Trust Fund. The recorded vote of 37 to 59 was on a motion to pull AJR 32 from a committee where it was being denied action. A vote in favor of this pulling motion was a “right” vote. The motion failed and AJR 32 died at the end of the session.

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 36

Voter Photo ID Requirement: Constitutional Amendment (First Consideration)

(Unfavorable on Passage) For many people, a requirement to produce a photo ID to vote is simple because they have a driver’s license. For thousands of seniors, the disabled, students and many low-income workers who use public transit, it will discourage and restrict participation and basically deny a constitutional right to vote to untold numbers of people. AJR 36 is a Constitutional Amendment that requires each person to present a state or federal photo ID to register to vote or vote at the polls. The integrity of our election process would be better assured and addressed with adequate staffing by trained poll workers, rather than denying certain people the right to vote. The recorded vote of 57 to 36 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “wrong” vote. AJR 36 passed the Legislature, but an amendment to the State Constitution must pass two consecutive sessions before it appears on the ballot, so AJR 36 will be given Second Consideration in the 2007-08 legislative session. The Governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment.

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 77

Taxpayer Protection Amendment/TABOR: Constitutional Amendment (First Consideration)

Applies to All Units of Government: ASA 3

(Unfavorable on Assembly Substitute Amendment 3) This amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution is similar to the disastrous Taxpayer Bill of Rights TABOR constitutional experiment in the state of Colorado. Voters there suspended TABOR because it had decimated public services and education.

AJR 77 would embed in the Wisconsin Constitution rigid limits on how much revenue the state, counties, cities, villages, public schools and technical colleges can collect each year, and allow anyone to sue if they disagreed with how the constitutional amendment is applied. This so-called Taxpayer Protection Amendment is a risky tax gimmick that takes fiscal responsibility away from elected representatives, creates a potential legal nightmare for communities, and cripples the ability of all levels of government to provide vital services and public education. The recorded vote of 32 to 66 was on adoption of Substitute Amendment 3 and a vote in favor was a “wrong” vote. ASA 3 was defeated. Another version of AJR 77 did pass the Assembly, but it died in the State Senate. [See next recorded vote.]

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 77

Taxpayer Protection Amendment/TABOR: Constitutional Amendment (First Consideration)

Applies to State Government Only: ASA 5

(Unfavorable on Assembly Substitute Amendment 5) This amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution is similar to Substitute Amendment 3 listed above but the rigid revenue limits apply only to the State of

Wisconsin. Under this version of AJR 77, the loss of state revenue would result in major cuts in state aid to local governments and reduced property tax relief for schools, so public services and quality public education would be severely diminished. The recorded vote of 50 to 48 was on adoption of Assembly Substitute Amendment 5 and a vote in favor was a “wrong” vote. ASA 5 was adopted by the Assembly, but it died in the State Senate.

SENATE BILL 426

Unemployment Insurance

(Favorable on Passage) This is the balanced package of changes to the Unemployment Compensation

Law negotiated by labor and management representatives on the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council. SB 426 increases the maximum weekly benefit rate from $329 to $341 as of January 2006, and to $355 in January 2007, plus other changes. The recorded vote of 82 to 11 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “right” vote. SB 426 passed both houses of the Legislature and was signed into law by the Governor.

SENATE BILL 447

Victims’ Rights

(Unfavorable on Passage) This legislation would make it virtually impossible for workers who are severely injured or killed on the job as a result of reckless corporate conduct to be awarded punitive damages. A court awarded punitive damages to the families of three ironworkers killed during the construction of Miller Park Stadium and the purpose of punitive damages is to help deter similar future reckless decisions made by corporations. Currently, an injured party can show that a corporation acted with “intentional disregard” for workers’ safety. If SB 447 would become law, a worker needs to prove that the corporation “intended” the accident or death to happen, which is a legal standard rarely possible to prove. The recorded vote of 56 to 37 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “wrong” vote. SB 447 passed both houses of the Legislature but was vetoed by the Governor.

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 53

Ban on Civil Unions and Domestic Partner Benefits: Constitutional Amendment (Second Consideration)

(Unfavorable on Passage) This amendment to the Wisconsin State Constitution will not only ban civil unions for lesbian and gay couples, but also jeopardize domestic partner benefits for all employees and probably make such benefits illegal. This applies to partner relationships that are heterosexual as well as committed gay and lesbian families. Unions have negotiated domestic partner benefits for employees they represent, which can include access to health care, family and medical leave and bereavement leave, and this amendment threatens those negotiated benefits. This would be the first time in history that the Wisconsin Constitution is amended to deny some citizens rights that are afforded to all others. The recorded vote of 62 to 31 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “wrong” vote. SJR 53 passed the Legislature and will appear on the November 2006 ballot as part of the required process for amending the Wisconsin Constitution. The Governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment.