The 2023-24 Wisconsin legislative session is underway, with debates brewing on issues ranging from public safety, abortion access, tax cuts and the state's projected $7 billion budget surplus, funding for schools and more.

Here is the latest news from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Capitol bureau in Madison:

March 14: 2 weeks into March, Assembly lawmakers honor February as Black History Month

Two weeks after the beginning of March, the Assembly finally took up a resolution declaring February as Black History Month in Wisconsin.

The measure passed without argument, the first time it has done so in years. It will now go before the Senate.

Rep. Dora Drake of Milwaukee, the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, said the resolution was a long time coming, and that despite the fact that it was passed after the end of February, it still shows that “Black history is American history.”

March 6: February came to a close without a vote on Black History Month resolution

Wisconsin legislators closed the month of February without taking up the Black History Month resolution introduced by members of the Legislative Black Caucus.

This year's resolution, which was circulated to members of the Legislature the first week of February, would have recognized a number of Wisconsin residents, such as Paul Higginbotham, the first African American judge to serve on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals; Alonzo Robinson Jr., the state's first African American registered architect and Milwaukee's first Black municipal architect; and Marcia Anderson, the first African American woman to become a major general in the United States Army Reserve.

Members of the caucus were hoping to see the resolution adopted without the removal or addition of names this year, which was a different approach than previous years, where the included names were the source of controversy.

This year marks the fifth year of disagreements over a resolution to honor Black History Month.

In 2018, lawmakers passed two resolutions when they couldn’t agree on who to honor. In 2019, Republican lawmakers blocked Black legislators from recognizing National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who drew attention for kneeling during the National Anthem to protest racial injustice.

In 2020, controversy swirled when Republican Rep. Scott Allen of Waukesha, who is white, circulated a resolution to honor mostly white people who worked as abolitionists.

In 2021, the disagreements swelled to the point that no resolution honoring the month was taken up.

Last year, a resolution that would have recognized a number of people, including Kaepernick, preacher Nat Turner, actor Chadwick Boseman, Milwaukee Bucks player Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley was rejected by Republicans, and instead a measure was adopted by the Senate honoring the month but excluding the names of any historic figures.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu did not respond to questions about why the measure was not taken up this year.

— Laura Schulte

March 2: Republican leaders signal they won't support Tony Evers' local sales tax proposal

The Republican leaders of the state Legislature's powerful budget-writing committee said this week they likely won't include in the final two-year state budget they send to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers later this spring the governor's proposal to allow local government officials to increase their own sales taxes.

"That's not going to be something we're looking for. We're going to be looking at innovation for really how this money funds the future of what local governments need to provide," Rep. Mark Born, co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Finance, said this week at a luncheon hosted by WisPolitics.com. "We're not interested in funding the same old systems with just new money. We want reforms."

Born said local officials can seek referendums if they want to generate more revenue from taxpayers.

"I don't think you'll see this Legislature support new taxes," Born said.

Evers' proposal focuses on an idea from Republican lawmakers that would dedicate 20% of the state's sales tax collections each year to a source of funding known as shared revenue, which is designated for municipalities and counties. The plan would increase shared revenue to local governments by $576.2 million next year. It would separately open up new options for local sales taxes ― if approved by residents through referenda.

Born and budget-committee co-chairman Sen. Howard Marklein signaled Wednesday that lawmakers would take up a version of the shared revenue proposal but not the sales tax plan.

Evers is proposing to allow Milwaukee County to impose an additional 1% sales tax, if approved by voters through a referendum. The measure would require 50% of the new revenue to be distributed to the City of Milwaukee. Both facing looming financial crises.

The proposal also allows all counties to impose an additional 0.5% sales tax and cities with populations of more than 30,000 (excluding Milwaukee) to impose a 0.5% sales tax if approved by local referendum. Under state law, counties can adopt a 0.5% sales tax on top of the 5% state sales tax. Milwaukee is one of the counties with that tax, according to the state Department of Revenue.

− Molly Beck

Feb. 28: State budget committee leaders say a flat income tax measure is 'unlikely' this legislative session

The Republican leaders of the state's budget-writing committee signaled Tuesday they would not include a proposal from the Senate's top Republican to implement a 3.25% flat income tax in Wisconsin — an idea already doomed under Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has said he prefers a progressive tax structure.

Rep. Mark Born of Beaver Dam and Sen. Howard Marklein of Spring Green said Tuesday at an event in Madison hosted by Wispolitics.com that it's "unlikely" the proposal will be included in the two-year spending plan the committee they lead will spend the next few months writing. But Marklein said a flat income tax in Wisconsin is a "long-term goal" of Republicans.

Born said Republicans who control state Legislature will include income tax cuts that move toward a flat tax, however.

"We have to be competitive, especially in the Midwest," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu earlier this year proposed a $5 billion plan that would create a 3.25% flat income tax rate by 2026.

Wisconsin’s income tax rates start at 3.54% and rise to 7.65%. LeMahieu's proposal would lower taxes for residents in every bracket within three years.

Republicans who control the state Legislature over the past decade have focused their income tax rates on the middle brackets but largely left in place the top rate, which is levied on individuals for income of $267,000 and up.

Evers has said he opposes substantial tax cuts for the state's wealthiest residents and has proposed a 10% income tax cut for middle-class filers. He said in November he likely would not sign a state budget plan that would lower the state’s top income tax rates.

More:Gov. Tony Evers released his state budget Wednesday. Here are seven key takeaways

− Molly Beck

Feb. 15: Tony Evers proposes 12 weeks of paid family leave for public and private sector workers

MADISON – All Wisconsin employees would be able to take up to three months of a paid leave of absence for family and medical reasons under a new program Gov. Tony Evers proposed Wednesday as part of a $103.8 billion two-year spending plan that would also cut taxes for the middle-class, legalize marijuana, spend $290 million to keep the Milwaukee Brewers in Wisconsin and provide the largest funding increase for schools in state history.

The Democratic governor's 2023-25 state budget sets up a new battle with Republicans who want to enact bigger tax cuts and want to spend significantly less than what Evers is proposing.

Evers in a primetime address Wednesday said the spending levels in the budget plan reflect the opportunity a record $7.1 billion budget surplus presents to the state.

Read more

Feb. 2: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos casts doubt on medical marijuana deal

The leader of the state Assembly is casting doubt on the likelihood of the two houses of the state Legislature coming to an agreement this year on a plan to implement a medical marijuana program in Wisconsin.

"We’re not that close,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said in a recent interview on WISN-TV. “I think it’s unlikely (to pass) unless we can figure out a way to try to find some middle-ground consensus.”

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in January he believed Republicans who control the state Legislature could pass a bill this legislative session and that his caucus was "close" to supporting a proposal.

Vos has suggested Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' plans to propose legalizing recreational marijuana in his 2023-25 state budget could result in Republican lawmakers abandoning support for medical marijuana.

Evers during his reelection campaign said he would again propose legalizing marijuana in the upcoming budget, a plan that would require users to be 21 to purchase and is estimated to generate $166 million in revenue that Evers wants to use to help fund schools.

— Molly Beck

Feb. 2: Republican lawmakers propose increasing penalties for carjacking, causing drug-related deaths

Criminal penalties for the crimes of stealing vehicles while armed or using force, and causing the death of another person through drugs like fentanyl, would increase under a pair of Republican-authored proposals released Wednesday.

One bill, authored by Rep. John Spiros, R-Marshfield, and Sen. Jesse James, R-Altoona, would increase the amount of prison time offenders would face if convicted of carjacking from no more than 40 years to no more than 60 years.

Anyone convicted of selling or manufacturing drugs that cause another person's death, including fentanyl, would face the same increased penalty under a separate bill released Wednesday by Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, and Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha.

"Fentanyl is a dangerous and often deadly drug. Those who distribute it, knowing full well the likelihood of death, should be punished when they do cause death. Fentanyl poisoning IS murder, and it is high time that we treat it as such," Allen and Wanggaard wrote in a memo to colleagues seeking support for the measure.

— Molly Beck

Feb.1: Legislative Black Caucus introduces 2023 resolution to honor Black History Month

Members of the Wisconsin Legislative Black Caucus released a proposed resolution Wednesday to honor February as Black History Month.

The resolution would recognize a number of Wisconsin residents, such as Paul Higginbotham, the first African-American judge to serve on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals; Alonzo Robinson Jr., the state's first African-American registered architect and Milwaukee's first Black municipal architect; and Marcia Anderson, the first African-American woman to become a major general in the United States Army Reserve.

Caucus leader Rep. Dora Drake, D-Milwaukee, said members of the caucus are hoping to see the resolution adopted without the removal or addition of names.

— Laura Schulte

Jan. 31: Felons would be banned from owning 'vicious' dogs under a new bill

Republican legislators are reviving a bill that would ban felons from owning vicious dogs.

State Sen. André Jacque, R-De Pere, said vicious dogs are just as dangerous as guns, in some cases.

"You're talking about putting a weapon in the hands of someone who is not supposed to have access to it," Jacque said.

Read the full story

— Corrinne Hess

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Legislature 2023: Updates on taxes, marijuana, vouchers