Wisconsin Government Accountability Board to Consider Challenges to Recall Candidates

On Friday, June 24, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board received challenges to four candidates running against two Democrats in the recall election.

Challenges were filed to the nominations for candidates Robert H. Lussow and Kim Simac; the two are looking to oust Sen. Jim Holperin (D-12). Challenges were also filed to the nominations for candidates John Nygren and David Vanderleest; these candidates are looking to challenge Sen. Dave Hansen (D-30) for his Senate seat.

Simac, Lussow, Nygren and Vanderleest have until 8 a.m. Monday to file responses, the GAB will meet at 1 p.m. on Monday to consider the challenges.

In both districts, if only one of the two candidates is approved, July 19 will be the recall election between the approved candidate and the incumbent. If both candidates are approved in either district, than July 19 will be the primary election between the two challengers and the recall election will take place on Aug. 16.

In the event that neither candidate is approved in each of the districts, the challengers could choose to run as write-in candidates.

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Rep. Dean Knudson (R-District 30)

• SB 93, more frequently referred to as the conceal and carry legislation, passed in through the Assembly with a 68-27 vote. Co-sponsored by Rep. Knudson, the bill seeks to create a licensing system under which an individual is permitted to carry a concealed weapon. Individuals would be able to apply for said permit through the Department of Justice. Having passed through both the Senate and Assembly, this act awaits the signature of Gov. Scott Walker.
• SB 107, an act co-sponsored by Rep. Knudson, has made some significant progress lately. The bill recently passed through the Senate with a 18-14 vote. The bill seeks to prohibit any town, village, city or county from imposing restrictions on residential landlords. The legislation will prohibit any ordinances that limits the landlord from obtaining or using various types of information about a tenant or prospective tenant, such as household income, occupation, court records, rental history, and credit information and prohibits any ordinances that limits how far back in time a prospective tenant's records may be used by a landlord in the rental process. Having passed through the Senate, the bill has made its way to the Assembly, where it has been referred to the Committee on Housing.
• Knudson has no committee meetings scheduled for the week.

Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-District 10)

• The Wisconsin Republican Party with the Government Accountability Board against Sen. Harsdorf's recall challenger Shelly Moore on Wednesday, June 22.
• Two bills previously introduced by Sen. Harsdorf were signed into law this week. On Friday, Gov. Walker signed SB 26 and SB 54 into law. SB 26 is legislation that will remove the federal requirement to provide bonding authority for the new Stillwater bridge project. SB 54 is a bill that will ban synthetic marijuana and other dangerous synthetic drugs in the state of Wisconsin. 
• Harsdorf has no committee meetings scheduled for the week.

Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI)

• On Wednesday, June 22, Rep. Kind voted against H.R. 2021; the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011. The bill would amend the Clean Air Act to require the air quality effects of oil drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf to be measured only with respect to its impact on the corresponding onshore area, instead of at the site of the drilling. The bill report from the House Energy and Commerce Committee stated that the objective of this act is to prevent “lengthy and unnecessary air permitting delays of energy exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf.” The legislation passed with 253 in favor and 133 voting against it, 12 Representatives did not vote. Having passed through the House of Representatives, this act now awaits a vote in the U.S. Senate.
• On Thursday, June 23, Kind voted against H.R. 1249, the America Invents Act. The bill would begin a transition of the current U.S. patent law from a "first to invent" to a "first to file" system. In other words, the patent would be given to the first applicant, instead of the first inventor of said product. The bill passed with a 304-117 vote, 10 House members abstained from voting. Having passed in the House, this bill now awaits a vote in the Senate.
• On Friday, June 24, Kind voted in favor of House Joint Resolution 68. The resolution was intended to allow President Obama to continue limited use of U.S. Armed Forces in Libya. The resolution failed to pass the house with a 123-295 vote; 13 Representatives did not vote.
• On Friday, June 24, Kind voted against H.R. 2278. The legislation seeks to prohibit funds appropriated or otherwise available to the Department of Defense (DOD) from being obligated or expended for U.S. Armed Forces use in the current conflict in Lybia. The bill failed to pass the House of Representatives, with 238 voting against it and only 180 voting in favor. Thirteen members of the House did not vote on this legislation.
• Kind has no committee meetings scheduled for the week.
• In his weekly YouTube video, Kind discusses President Obama's strategy for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.
• Tweet of the week: "It's time to take the training wheels off in #Afghanistan. We need to be looking for the exit ramps NOW: http://youtu.be/ns_aP1xzx5k."

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)

• On Tuesday, June 21, Sen. Johnson appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, to discuss current negotiations on the debt ceiling.
• On Tuesday, June 21, Johnson voted in favor of the confirmation of Leon E. Panetta to the position of Secretary of Defense.
• Sen. Johnson has two meetings schedule for the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
• Tweet of the week: "A scary scenario predicted by the CBO: federal debt could be 109% of GDP by 2023."

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)

• On Wednesday, June 22, Sen. Kohl released the following statement in response to President Obama's announcement of troop withdrawals in Afghanistan: "We've been in Afghanistan for longer than any war in our history, our troops have made outstanding progress and Osama bin Laden is dead. It's time to bring our people home and rebuild our country. As the President said, it's vital that we end our combat mission in Afghanistan and shift the responsibility for their security to their own government."
• On Thursday, June 23, Kohl announced that the YWCA of Greater Milwaukee would receive $5.7 million from the Department of Labor's Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration Project grant program. The grant is intended to help Milwaukee residents enter the workforce and obtain job security. Kohl stated that "The funding provided by this Department of Labor grant will support the YWCA of Greater Milwaukee and their partners in providing job skills training and other employment supports so they can find well-paying jobs that will allow parents to continue to provide for their children."
• On Tuesday, June 21, Kohl voted in favor of the confirmation of Leon E. Panetta to the position of Secretary of Defense.
• Kohl has two Committee on the Judiciary meeting scheduled for Wednesday, June 29.
• Kohl has three Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs meetings scheduled for the week. They are on Tuesday, June 28, Wednesday, June 29 and Thursday, June 30.