Biden pointedly placed the blame on Putin throughout his remarks, declaring, “It is Putin, it is Vladimir Putin who is to blame. Period.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/vets-coming-home-s5.jpgGrant recipients include Aurora Medical Group of Milwaukee, T.S. Inc. of Appleton, the UW-Superior Foundation, and the Ashland Area Development Corporation.

Entire Republican Field Would Ban Abortion with No Exceptions

Thursday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the Wisconsin governor’s race will determine the future of abortion rights in the state — highlighting how Gov. Tony Evers has remained a brick wall defending the right to choose while the entire GOP field would ban abortion with no exceptions.

If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, it would immediately reinstate an archaic Wisconsin law banning almost all abortions. In that case, the Republicans running for governor have all said they would not create exceptions for rape and incest.

On whether they would create exemptions for rape, incest, or the health of a woman, here were the GOP candidates’ responses:

• Rebecca Kleefisch: “I would see no change and I would be happy.”

• Kevin Nicholson: “I’m not looking to add exceptions to anything.”

• Timothy Ramthun: “I am hardcore, 100% pro-life without exceptions.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Evers has broadly supported abortion rights, vetoing legislation that would ban abortions and defund Planned Parenthood. 

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again today: as long as I'm governor, I will veto any legislation that turns back the clock on reproductive rights in this state — and that’s a promise,” Gov. Evers said.

Read key excerpts from the article below.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin candidates for governor offer sharp differences on abortion as Supreme Court weighs the future of the procedure

Abortion could wind up as a central issue in the race for governor.

The U.S. Supreme Court this summer will decide whether to keep in place the Roe v. Wade decision. A ruling overturning it could immediately reinstate Wisconsin's 19th-century law banning almost all abortions.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said he believes abortion should be easily accessible. His Republican opponents want to ban most abortions and say they do not want to create exceptions for rape and incest.

The issue offers one of the starkest differences between Evers and his opponents.

[...]

Wisconsin has a law on the books from 1849 that bans abortion except to save the life of a woman. That law has been on hold since Roe was decided in 1973 but would go back into effect if the justices overturned that ruling, as attorneys for Mississippi have requested.

The Republicans running for governor — former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, management consultant Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun — don’t want to create additional exceptions if Wisconsin’s abortion ban is reinstated.

"I would see no change and I would be happy that we would be protecting the unborn," Kleefisch said when asked if she would want to create exemptions from an abortion ban for rape, incest or the health of a woman.

Nicholson struck a similar tone.

"Whatever legislation moves the ball forward and protecting more innocent life, I'm for it. And so I'm not looking to add exceptions to anything," he said in an interview.

Ramthun in a campaign video said he opposed any exceptions to an abortion ban.

“I am hardcore, 100% pro-life without exceptions,” he said.

[...]

The Supreme Court could rule in favor of Mississippi's 15-week ban without explicitly overturning Roe. Such a ruling likely would not immediately change Wisconsin's abortion laws but would give Republicans who control the Legislature a chance to impose new restrictions.

Evers would likely veto any new limits while his opponents would welcome them.

[...]

Ramthun in February joined about two dozen other Republican lawmakers in co-sponsoring a Texas-style bill that would allow private citizens to sue doctors who perform abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The bill never made it to the floor of the Assembly or Senate before the legislative session ended this month.

Evers has broadly supported abortion rights. When he first ran for governor in 2018, Evers said if abortion were banned in Wisconsin, he would pardon doctors who performed the procedure. He said then that he would veto legislation to ban abortion after six weeks.

During his time in office, Evers has vetoed legislation that would ban abortions based on sex, reduce government funding for organizations that offer abortion services and give lifetime prison sentences to doctors if they do not provide medical care to babies who are born after attempted abortions. Evers has said Wisconsin already has laws in place to ensure doctors who don’t provide medical care are prosecuted.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again today: as long as I'm governor, I will veto any legislation that turns back the clock on reproductive rights in this state — and that's a promise,” Evers said in a written statement he issued in December when he vetoed abortion restrictions.

[...]

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers announced Thursday his appointment of Ashley Morse to the Rock County Circuit Court–Branch 4. The appointment fills the vacancy being created by Judge Daniel T. Dillon’s resignation, effective April 5, 2022. Morse will complete a term ending July 31, 2023.

“Ashley Morse is a recognized and accomplished leader whose dedication to improving the legal system, especially the juvenile legal system, and tireless commitment to justice will make her an excellent judge for the people of Rock County,” said Gov. Evers. “I am proud to announce her appointment today, and of the strong, positive impact she will continue to have in the community and in our state.”

Morse has worked for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office since 2010, and has been based in Janesville since 2014, representing indigent clients as an assistant state public defender in a variety of criminal and civil proceedings in several counties across the state. Locally, she has served on the Rock County Trauma Task Force, the Rock County Youth Justice Racial Disparities Committee, and has coached the Turner High School Mock Trial Team.

“I am proud that Attorney Ashley Morse will be Rock County’s first woman of color to serve as Judge,” said Beloit City Councilor Regina Dunkin. “I know that her caring, intellect, and experience as a public defender will ensure that she applies the law fairly. I am happy to support her appointment and look forward to her many years of dedicated service to the community and rule of law.”

“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg once said that: ‘real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.’ I welcome Ashley Morse to the Rock County bench as she takes the next step forward,” said Rock County Circuit Court Judge Barbara McCrory.

Morse lives in Janesville and is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and of the University of Wisconsin Law School. She has worked extensively with the National Juvenile Defender Center (now The Gault Center), including her selection as an Ambassador for Racial Justice. This program, which is jointly sponsored by the Georgetown Juvenile Justice Initiative, is highly selective and seeks defenders committed to challenging racial injustice in the juvenile legal system. As a capstone project, she developed a local training program on the impacts of racial trauma on youth. Her leadership led to her selection as the Racial Disparity Practice Coordinator for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office, where she is expanding this training.

“I am truly grateful to Governor Evers for the opportunity to serve Rock County as a circuit court judge,” said Morse. “I would like to thank my family, friends, and colleagues for supporting me in this endeavor, and for their unwavering confidence in my ability to serve as a fair and impartial jurist dedicated to treating all individuals with dignity and respect. I am committed to ensuring the dispensation of justice equally for all by bringing a new perspective, expertise, and extensive experience to the bench.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/kewaunee-harbor-family-s450.jpgLocal investments in maritime transportation strengthen supply chain, build jobs.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/healthcare-family-dr-s440.jpgTwo bills signed Wednesday allow hospitals to provide services in a home and creates a new crime of battery or threat to a healthcare provider.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/wi-fair-maps-s5.jpgHigh court says Wisconsin Supreme Court committed error in its application of legal standards, deciding to reject maps selected just a few weeks ago.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/farm-family-s450.jpgSen. Jeff Smith writes about farmers’ contributions to our state and how the legislature must support them.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/evers-2019-sos-s450.pngWisconsinites are becoming increasingly frustrated by politicians in Madison who seem more interested in partisan bickering than the people back home.

Mostly housekeeping acts signed on Friday, March 18.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today took action on 15 bills, including:

Senate Bill 312, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 192:

• Requires local governments to make a good faith effort to appoint a physician assistant and/or advance practice registered nurse to the local board of health if the local government is unable to find a willing physician and/or nurse to appoint to the local board of health.

Senate Bill 335, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 193:

• Authorizes the Department of Natural Resources, upon request, to transfer up to 15 sturgeon carcasses to Sturgeon for Tomorrow Inc., so that the organization may raffle them off as part of a fundraiser and use the proceeds to promote sturgeon management, conduct sturgeon habitat management, promote sturgeon reintroduction, or further sturgeon research.

Senate Bill 341, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 194:

• Creates a five-year statute of limitations (formally a statute of repose) for actions against licensed real estate appraisers.

Senate Bill 344, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 195:

• Modifies the requirements to obtain an optional interior designer registration;
• Makes various changes to the scope of practice of interior design;
• Modifies requirements for interior design firms; and
• Generally transfers oversight of interior designers from the Department of Safety and Professional Services to the amended Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Registered Interior Designers.

Senate Bill 533, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 196:

• Authorizes a housing authority created by a first-class city to undertake certain mixed developments and increases the bidding threshold for those housing authority projects.

Senate Bill 812, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 197:

• Defines battery-powered, alarmed electric security fences; and
• Prohibits local units of government from regulating such fences, if the fence is not on residential property.

Senate Bill 835, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 198:

• Modifies certain restrictions on local land use, including limiting annexations and boundary agreements for newly incorporated cities and villages, allowing annexation of territory across county lines, limiting municipal extraterritorial land division and zoning powers, prohibiting condemnation on certain blighted properties, and modifying requirements relating to interim ordinances to freeze extraterritorial zoning.

Senate Bill 865, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 199:

• Establishes basic requirements for homeowners' associations so that the owners, or prospective owners, of property within these associations can obtain information on an association's covenants and actions.

Senate Bill 867, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 200:

• Makes changes to county shoreland zoning ordinances and vegetative buffer zone requirements.

Senate Bill 893, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 201:

• Creates a procedure for any interest in a farm implement to be transferred without probate to a designated beneficiary on the death of the sole owner or the last to die of multiple owners of that farm implement.

Senate Bill 969, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 202:

• Allows the Oneida Nation to erect signs in the highway right-of-way that the Oneida Reservation is a Purple Heart Reservation.

Assembly Bill 653, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 203:

• Allows pawnbrokers to use electronic communications with customers who consent to receive email or text communications.

Assembly Bill 722, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 204:

• Allows parties in family actions to agree to certain items prior to obtaining a judgement.

Assembly Bill 723, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 205:

• Creates a procedure for de novo review of court commissioner decisions in family actions.

Assembly Bill 775, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 206:

• Provides funds to conduct planning and design services and prepare a design report for the construction of a new engineering building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.