- The repeal of the Affordable Care Act is just one item that
Republicans in Washington could pass that will impact future
legislation in Wisconsin.
In tonight's closer look, the new legislature was sworn into
office Tuesday and "Here and Now's" Zac Schultz tells us how
this session will be different from years past.
- If you will please stand and raise your right hand.
- The 103rd legislative session started the way they all do,
with newly-elected members taking the oath of office.
- Do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution
of the United States.
- Republicans returned with even larger majorities in the
Assembly and the Senate.
- And the constitution of the state of Wisconsin.
- This is the fourth straight two-year session the capitol
will be under complete Republican control.
And for the first time the leaders of the Senate and
Assembly don't have a clear agenda from the start.
- I haven't rolled out kind of a long list of bills that would
be part of an agenda.
- In 2011, Republicans had an aggressive agenda headlined by
what became Act 10.
In 2013 the mining bill was at the center of the attention.
And in 2015 right to work was a key early bill.
But in 2017, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says they will take
their time.
- I think the decision our leadership team has made is to
not rush into any package of bills that we'll bring to the
floor right away.
- There are certainly big issues on the table, but Speaker
Vos doesn't expect to come to the floor until February.
- We don't necessarily have AB1 written saying this is the way
we're going to deal with funding transportation.
This is the way we're going to deal with rewriting the school
aid formula.
- The budget will be the biggest battle at the capitol,
with Speaker Vos and Governor Scott Walker already sparring
over transportation funding.
But the biggest wildcard will be action at the federal level.
If Republicans in Washington repeal the Affordable Care Act
or pass an infrastructure package, that could lead to
changes in Wisconsin law.
- I'm optimistic that there is going to be a shift and that the
responsibility is going to once again fall on the states for
many of these areas.
- Democrats hope to be part of the debate on these issues, but
their biggest fears are the bills that haven't been
discussed.
- The part that worries me most, though, are the issues
that they're not talking about, because if history is any guide
over the course of the last three sessions, it wasn't so
much the issues that they talked about.
It was the issues that were sort of brought forward seemingly out
of nowhere.