No Call List"" Bill
Wisconsin citizens may soon be able to add cellular phone numbers to the ""Do Not Call"" list, a compilation of resident's numbers that do no wish to be contacted by telemarketers.
Senate Bill 99 passed unanimously through the state Senate Tuesday and now awaits approval from the state Assembly.
""The addition of cellular phones is important because more and more people are relying on a cellular phone as their main phone line for their house and travel,"" Julie Laundrie, spokesperson for SB 99's author state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, said.
The bill is not expected to receive a public hearing in the Assembly, according to Laundrie, adding it will likely be voted on in the next legislative session.
The bill will also increase the maximum possible fine from $100 to $1,000 for telemarketing companies who violate the list.
Collective Bargaining Rights
A bill providing UW faculty and academic staff with the right to collective bargaining will likely be voted on in the state Senate Wednesday, but its companion bill will not be heard in the state Assembly.
The Assembly version of the ""Collective Bargaining Rights Bill"" would be the only bill presented to the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities not to be voted on during this legislative session.
Senate Bill 353 is likely to pass Wednesday if it reaches the floor, according to a statement from the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin.
""The right to collectively bargain is widely recognized as a fundamental human right,"" Bryan Kennedy, president of AFT-Wisconsin, said in a statement.
Supreme Court Public Funding
The state Senate passed a bill that would increase public funding for Supreme Court races Tuesday.
Senate Bill 171 would attempt to create a full public funding system for Supreme Court races, along with increasing the amount taxpayers can donate on their tax forms.
The state Democrat-controlled Senate passed the bill 23-10.
State Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, authored the Assembly version of the bill. He said there was a lot of public support for the bill and the public's trust in the judiciary had been ""eroded.""
Kurt Simatic, spokesperson for state Rep. Sheryl Albers, R-Reedsburg, said in an e-mail that the authors of the bill need to show how they will pay for it.
Albers is chair of the Elections and Constitutional Law Committee, where the bill has previously been scheduled for a hearing.
