Here & Now

New Administration, New Legislature Sworn In at Capitol

Tony Evers:
In case you may have forgotten, I’m Tony Evers and I’m incredibly proud to be the 46th governor of the great state of Wisconsin.

[cheers and applause]

Frederica Freyberg:
Of course, Governor Evers was not alone in being sworn into office. Mandela Barnes made history, sworn in as the first African-American lieutenant governor in Wisconsin.

Mandela Barnes:
The people of our state have called for change, to end the era of division. So from this day forward, we’ll strive to lead this nation once again.

Frederica Freyberg:
Attorney General Josh Kaul wasted no time making his first words about the legislature’s lame duck session and its effects.

Josh Kaul:
That action, unprecedented in Wisconsin, and designed to hinder our ability to do the jobs that the voters elected us to do will have an impact. But I want to make clear that irrespective of the action taken by the lame duck legislature, the priorities of the Wisconsin Department of Justice are changing.

Frederica Freyberg:
Kaul said the agency would lead on public safety and environmental protection and called for universal background checks for firearm purchases.
Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette and Treasurer Sarah Godlewski were also sworn in and newly-appointed Superintendent of Public Instruction, Carolyn Stanford Taylor, was recognized at the inauguration. She joins us later in the program. As for the lame duck session, late this week a coalition of groups, including the League of Women Voters, Disability Rights Wisconsin and Black Leaders Organizing for Communities filed suit in Dane County circuit court asking to void the laws and the 82 appointments enacted during the extraordinary session that clipped some authority from the governor and attorney general. Governor Evers will be dealing with Republican majorities in the legislature. And members say it could take a while for both side to figure out how to work together. “Here & Now” reporter Zac Schultz explains.

Pat Roggensack:
I, who have been elected to the office of state senator

Zac Schultz:
As the Senate and Assembly swore in their newly-elected members Monday, it would be easy to think things were the same as they’ve been the last eight years. After all, Republicans retain solid majorities in both chambers.

Tony Evers:
I, Tony Evers

Zac Schultz:
But with Tony Evers as governor, the new reality is divided government and the vast majority of the legislature is trying to figure out what that will mean.

Scott Fitzgerald:
Just trying to get people to anticipate how much it slows down the process.

Zac Schultz:
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald is one of just seven Republicans in the Senate who was in office in 2007, the last time the parties had to share power.

Scott Fitzgerald:
But I have run into members already where they said to me, “Hey, I got a bill I want to bring out.” And I say, “Well, go back and think about it, because it’s never going to become law.” So do you want to put the rest of the members of that caucus through that cut or not.

Zac Schultz:
Most Republicans were voted in during the Scott Walker era and have never needed Democratic support for a bill, including members of leadership, like Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke.

Jim Steineke:
We don’t know what expectations are going to be you know, because it’s new for a lot of us.

Zac Schultz:
Only eight of 63 Republicans in the Assembly remember the threat of the veto pen, which is why they expect their first bill to be a bipartisan effort to protect pre-existing conditions.

Jim Steineke:
We’re going to have to figure out what the lay of the land is going to be but I think one of the issues that’s going to be first out of the gate is protecting pre-existing conditions and making sure people are covered in case they have those pre-existing conditions.

Zac Schultz:
A similar bill passed the Assembly in the last session, but died in the Senate. And Senator Fitzgerald says they need to include Democratic input this time around.

Scott Fitzgerald:
But I don’t want all the Democrats in the state Senate to vote against it this time, so I would think you would want to work on something that, again, would be bipartisan. So yeah.

Jon Erpenbach:
It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

Zac Schultz:
Jon Erpenbach is one of 14 Democrats in the entire legislature that have dealt with divided government. He’s hoping it means moderates will have more influence.

Jon Erpenbach:
I think the middle may very much matter. The middle may matter in passing budgets out of both houses. It may matter very much so in passing even a budget out of the Joint Committee on Finance. The middle is going to have a lot of say in what will be done here.