It was the celebration that was particularly galling. On the 46th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, signed into law a protocol that gives practically unrestricted access to abortion, permitting the killing of an unborn child up until the moment of delivery.
Tag: governor
Recall season overlays final legislative sessions
A year ago, the first thing the newly elected Legislature did was to adopt its scheduling resolution for the 2011-12 legislative session.
This resolution defined the floor periods during which the Legislature would meet to debate and pass legislation. In so doing, the legislators determined that they would convene for three “general business” floor periods between January 17 and March 15 in 2012, the last day of regular business for the year.
Complicates legislative schedules
When they adopted that resolution, our lawmakers had no way of knowing that their session schedule would mesh with Wisconsin’s first ever recall of a governor and recalls of several state senators. But that is what appears will happen and it will affect what lawmaking takes place in these final floor periods.
Is conceal carry proposal necessary?
The right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and by the Wisconsin Constitution.
But that right, like many others, is not absolute and may be regulated to a certain extent. One such regulation is our state’s current ban on carrying concealed weapons.
Proposal up for consideration
Wisconsin is nearly alone in that regard. For some time this fact has fueled a desire to join other states in permitting citizens to carry a concealed weapon (CCW). Such legislation has passed twice in recent years only to be vetoed by Governor Doyle.
Catholic conferences bring Church’s message
The springtime of the year is a season for debates over state budgets. Here, as in other places, state Catholic Conferences are part of the conversation.
And here, as in other states, the issues of concern to state Catholic Conferences don’t fit neatly into the conventional liberal-conservative categories.
WCC and the budget proposal
In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) backs the governor’s recommendations regarding the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and his proposal to remove the mandate that health insurance policies include contraceptive services coverage, even when religious organizations do not want to purchase such coverage.
The WCC also supports budget provisions that limit or end funding for family planning programs, but also urges that those funds be redirected to programs that help pregnant women and their children.
Common good must be focal point of budget debate
Now that the governor has presented his state budget to the Legislature, fiscal issues and spending priorities will dominate the legislative agenda for the next several months.
First, the Joint Committee on Finance will hold hearings on the proposals. Then some of the standing committees may hold “subject matter” hearings on aspects of the budget related to their areas of expertise.
New governors must hit the ground running
Our state Constitution provides that officials elected in November take office on the first Monday of the following January. That gives them eight weeks to prepare for their new duties.
Two months may seem like a long time to get ready for most jobs, but if you are governor-elect, that time will go by all too quickly.
During this eight-week period, the governor-elect must do the following:
Bishops share resources on faithful citizenship
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC), the public policy voice of Wisconsin’s bishops, is distributing several resources to help Catholics reflect on their duties as faithful citizens. The state primary election will be held on September 14.