Today’s state Senate session marked the debut of the long-awaited WisconsinEye with a broadcast of the floor session online at the web site, www.wiseye.org.
At the beginning of today’s session on the floor, I said that the citizens of the state owe a debt of gratitude to former Lieutenant Governor and state Senator Margaret Farrow, the mother of WisconsinEye who worked for years to bring the service to Wisconsin. WisconsinEye, the state version of C-SPAN will bring state government directly to citizens, allowing them to see their state government in action and serving to make them better informed. For now, the broadcasts will be online with cable television broadcasts available sometime this summer.
An announcement was made on the floor near the end of the session that Senate President Fred Risser will schedule a public hearing on the bill to eliminate the sick leave benefit for elected officials. Senate Republicans have tried during the past few floor sessions to bring the bill up for a vote due to refusal of Senate Democrats to place it on the schedule. Senate Democrats have refused to allow the bill to be considered and have even resorted to quickly gaveling the session to an abrupt end to avoid debate or a vote. Senator Risser did not say when he will schedule the bill for a public hearing.
To see the bills that were taken up today and the votes, please click
here and then click on the bills under the 10th and 11th orders of business.