The legislature has finished work for the year having tackled several contentious issues in the final days of session.  Bills of interest included a plan to help the Milwaukee Brewers pay for maintenance on Am Fam Field in a deal designed to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee until at least 2050.  While the bill sailed through the State Assembly it ran into resistance in the State Senate.  There was bi-partisan support and opposition as some legislators believed it necessary for the state to help facilitate a deal to keep the Brewers from leaving while others argued that the taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for the upkeep on a stadium owned by the team.  The Senate passed the bill 19-14 with eleven republicans voting for it and eleven voting against.  The Governor promptly signed the legislation. 

Another bill that came to a head on the final session day of 2023 was an alcohol enforcement bill that had become contentious over the issue of “wedding barns”.  While the Assembly passed the bill by a 90-4 vote in June, the Senate as of November had not had a hearing on the bill.  The bill clarifies several issues related to alcohol sales, distribution and taxation, most of which were supported by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.  However, one provision would change how Wisconsin’s growing wedding barn industry must classify themselves to serve alcohol, and the industry adamantly objected to the change.  Some legislators support their position, which stalled the bill. However, through a procedural play, Senate leadership brought the bill to the floor and it passed 21-11. The bill was signed into law by Governor Evers.