It was a good week in Madison for conservative legislation. Both the REINS Act and the repeal of prevailing wage cleared legislative hurdles and since the full legislature is on the floor during the first two weeks of May, these bills should be able to continue advancing.
The REINS Act passed the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection on Wednesday. Following it’s 3-2 passage in committee, the bill is now available for a final floor vote in the State Senate on Tuesday, May 2. In the State Assembly, the bill has received a public hearing and now needs a committee vote in the Assembly Committee on State Affairs. The REINS Act will dramatically improve the regulatory climate in Wisconsin by ensuring proper oversight from elected officials.
The repeal of prevailing wage had a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform. The full repeal of prevailing wage would save taxpayers millions each year by eliminating the mandate for artificially inflated wage costs on public projects. This session, the public hearing for this proposal attracted far fewer opponents than last session, and the bill’s detractors failed to put forward any new objections to the reform.
Additionally, the Assembly has announced that it will vote on the high capacity well bill next week. This bill has already passed the State Senate and would provide farmers and other businesses in Wisconsin much needed stability in their operations.
All three of these bills would be key victories early in this legislative session.