Pre-Existing Condition Proposal Struck Down In GOP Session

MADISON, WI -- Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin have approved sweeping reforms in an overnight lame-duck session. The bills are aimed at limiting early voting, removing powers from the incoming Democratic Governor and Attorney General, while keeping Republican-fashioned policies in place.

Supporters of the bills say that the GOP moved to preserve a balance of power between the incoming Democratic governor and the State Legislature. Critics of the move say that the GOP went too far in grabbing power while the party still had control over the Governor's office, Assembly and Senate.

“The legislature is the most representative branch of government and the closest to the people of Wisconsin," Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said in an early-morning statement. "Our proposals guarantee that the legislature always has a seat the table. With divided government, these bills allow for more discussions and opportunities to find common ground.”

Incoming Democratic governor Tony Evers was incensed.

"Wisconsin has never seen anything like this. Power-hungry politicians rushed through sweeping changes to our laws to expand their own power and override the will of the people in Wisconsin who asked for change on November 6th," Evers wrote.

Pre-existing Conditions Voted Down

Arguably the most striking decision overnight was the rejection of a bill that would have guaranteed people with pre-existing conditions access to health insurance.

The pre-existing conditions bill failed after all 15 Democrats in the Senate and two Republicans voted against it. Gov. Scott Walker supported the measure, and made it one of his campaign promises earlier this year.

"As long as I am your governor, everyone living in Wisconsin with a preexisting condition will be covered," Walker said in a speech in Waukesha in the days leading up to the fall election. "We can protect people with preexisting conditions without protecting the failure that is Obamacare. That's what at stake here."

Critics of the bill said the Republican's proposal failed to go far enough, and would allow a lifetime cap. Republican Sens. David Craig of Big Bend and Chris Kapenga of Delafield, who voted against the bill, wanted to create a high risk-sharing insurance pool - a move fellow Republicans did not support.

Medicaid Work Requirement Added

GOP lawmakers also approved a Medicaid work requirement. The bill adds a provision that requires Medicaid beneficiaries to work, volunteer, or take classes for 80 hours a month. If the medicaid recipients fail to follow the requirement for 48 months in a row they will be dropped from coverage.

GOP Votes To Limit Early Voting

Republican lawmakers voted to limit early voting to no more than two weeks before an election. The measure was approved on a 17-16 vote with all Democrats and one Republican voting against it

Current law allows each local municipality to set its own dates and times for early voting, starting as early as 47 days before an election.

The proposed voting changes come after Democrats won every statewide office in the November election. The Wisconsin Elections Commission received 547,000 absentee ballots during the Fall midterm election. That's well over the 2014 total of 374,294, and set a new record for a midterm election.

In 2016, state Republican lawmakers attempted to pass similar limits on early voting. A federal lawsuit, One Wisconsin Institute, et. al. v. Thomsen, resulted in their efforts being struck down. Judge James Peterson wrote that GOP's early voting restriction, " … intentionally discriminates on the basis of race…"

Attorney General Powers Weakened

Republican legislators voted early Wednesday to weaken the powers of incoming Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, though one provision was struck from the bill.

Republicans voted early Wednesday to remove the Attorney General's power to remove the state from lawsuits, and instead give that power to the state legislature. After hours of negotiation among GOP leaders, a provision to replace the Attorney General with their own attorneys was removed from the bill.

Critics of this bill say that if this bill were to pass, it would give Republican lawmakers the ability to block any changes to the state's legislative districts — which currently face a legal challenge in court.

One of the first things Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers said he wants to do is order Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul to withdraw the state from a multi-state legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act. This bill effectively blocks Kaul's action and places it in the hands of the Republican-controlled State Legislature.

File Photo