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Opinion: It is both amazing and at times downright depressing what the Republican Legislature has accomplished this year. This, with the barest of majorities and a Democratic governor.

As the Arizona Legislature takes yet another vacation, let us pause to consider the many accomplishments of the Republicans who run the joint.

No, really.

Theres been a fair amount of focus on the 72 (and counting) times Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has infuriated Republicans by vetoing their various bad bills and a few good ones.

But consider what this, the most conservative Republican Legislature in my memory, has been able to accomplish with the barest of majorities and a Democrat on the Ninth Floor for the first time in 14 years.

Everybody (OK, well, me) expected the far-right Republicans who comprise the Arizona Freedom Caucus to be rolled over as the year wore on and sanity prevailed sometime in the wee hours of late June, right before a state government shutdown.

Everybody (OK, me again) expected the partys more pragmatic Republicans to team up with Hobbs and the Democrats to make a deal, as happened last year when Republican Gov. Doug Ducey was at the helm.

Instead, Republicans have stuck together all year, making Democratic legislators look largely irrelevant and on occasion, downright silly. (See: the tamale bill wherein 12 Democrats enthusiastically voted for the bill before they suddenly voted against it to spare Hobbs the embarrassment of a veto override.)

Consider the culture war bills. Not surprisingly, Republicans have spent endless hours doing battle with drag queens and transgender children and public school teachers who they apparently believe lay awake nights plotting to groom their children.

None of their bills will become law, thanks to Hobbs and her veto stamp. But thats almost better for Republican lawmakers as they prepare to hit the trail next year to try to preserve their slim majority.

The campaign pitch writes itself.

Consider teacher pay. Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, has been pushing a bill that would boost teacher pay by $10,000 over the next two years, catapulting Arizonas public schools out of the subbasement and onto the upper floors of teacher compensation in America.

Democrats oppose the bill, saying its a poorly written proposal that contains no guarantee of funding beyond 2025 and could lead to layoffs. Besides, they say, it wouldnt apply to other educators and school staff.

Democrats have pointed to some legitimate problems with this bill, especially the need for flexibility in the event of a downturn in the economy. But theyve also declined thus far to work with Gress to address those problems.

This, as Arizona continues to face a critical shortage of qualified classroom teachers.

Consider the budget. Hobbs negotiated a $17.8 billion spending plan with Republican legislative leaders, leaving her Democratic allies on the outside looking in.

I know not everyone got what they wanted, including me, Hobbs said on Monday, during a press conference to highlight a $150 million deposit into the Housing Trust Fund, an amount more than double the previous largest contribution.

Actually, it appears Republicans got exactly what they wanted.

Their No. 1 priority was to protect their universal voucher program from a governor who had vowed to repeal it, warning that it would likely bankrupt the state.

They didnt even have to accept so much as a minuscule cap to the program that was supposed to cost $33 million year and is now at 10 times that and growing.

Instead, Hobbs stunned her fellow Democrats and public school supporters by agreeing to continue the runaway program.

How money talks: Hobbs, Ducey got bipartisan budget deals differently

She also caved on her campaign vows to exempt diapers and feminine hygiene products from the state sales tax and to offer an annual $100-per-child tax credit to low-income Arizonans.

Hobbs did win a huge pot of mostly one-time money to boost public schools and a sizable budget to help with affordable housing and the homeless.

Meanwhile, Republicans not only protected their constituents who want public money to pay their kids private school tuition, they won a one-time $250-per-child tax rebate for Arizona families (maximum $750 per family), a plan spearheaded by the Freedom Caucus.

They even managed to attach language to the budget that prevents Hobbs from trying to take any credit for the tax rebate.

To wit: No letter relating to the Arizona families tax rebate issued under this section shall be sent from the governors office, be sent on the governors letterhead or reference the governors office.Freedom Caucusers were all smiles on Monday and for good reason.

While Hobbs tax credit for the poor wilted and died, their tax credit for the non-poor funded solely with Republicans share of the budget surplus is now law, with a promise of more to come next year from Freedom Caucus Chair Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek.

Arizona families are hurting while they attempt to pay for the most basic necessities each month , he said on Monday, during a press conference to highlight the $260 million tax rebate. In the meantime, government is flush with cash and in the position to give back to our honest, hardworking taxpayers.

The money wont reach the neediest Arizonans, the ones who dont earn enough to pay taxes.

Or to taxpayers who wipe out their state tax liability by making charitable contributions that qualify for a tax credit.

But itll be an effective bullet on Republicans reelection brochures, as will the substantial slab of bacon they delivered to their districts in the form of road and bridge projects.

All this, they got without having to agree to allow Maricopa Countys transportation tax to be put to a public vote next year.

And without Hoffman and his fellow Republican senators having to agree to stop gumming up the works as Hobbs tries to fill out her Cabinet.

Certainly, both sides got something out of the budget.

But theres a reason Hoffman, one of the Legislatures most conservative members, signed on as a primary sponsor of this years budget bills.

Reach Roberts atlaurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at@LaurieRoberts.

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Arizona Republicans have gotten most of what they wanted this year - The Arizona Republic

In late April, Juliet Harvey-Bolia, a Republican New Hampshire state representative, was one of dozens of elected officials whose endorsements former President Donald Trump announced at a packed rally in Manchester.

On Tuesday, officials at Never Back Down, the super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said Harvey-Bolia is throwing her support to their guy. She is one of four New Hampshire legislators the others are Reps. Brian Cole, Lisa Smart and Debra DiSimone whom Never Back Down identified as flipping from Trump to DeSantis as it rolled out endorsements from 51 lawmakers in the state who signed a pledge to back DeSantis.

But thats not how Harvey-Bolia sees it.

Im endorsing both, she said in a telephone interview. DeSantis has a lot of promise for the future, and Trump is great now.

Smart, one of the other three legislators, said Tuesday that she remains with Trump dropping DeSantis' total to 50 state lawmakers.

"I was so incredibly proud to join many of my colleagues in endorsing President Donald J. Trump last month and my support for him has not changed," Smart said in a statement provided to NBC News by the Trump campaign. "I'm dismayed by the games being played by Never Back Down and I will NOT be participating in any activities with Ron DeSantis."

The unusual dual endorsement and Smart's reiteration of her support for Trump added intriguing twists to DeSantis' efforts to show momentum as he nears making his bid official. Last week, his super PAC revealed endorsements from 37 Iowa legislators just before he launched a three-city tour of the state.

And NBC News confirmed Tuesday that he has summoned his top donors to meetings in Miami on May 25 in conjunction with his expected campaign launch.

DeSantis team expects more than 100 donors and other supporters to attend a briefing with him and his senior team, said a person familiar with the plans.

But the drama surrounding Harvey-Bolia and Smart also points to an intense behind-the-scenes battle for endorsements and the immense pressure on lawmakers to avoid making an enemy in the eventual nominee as Trump and DeSantis jockey for position. The two other New Hampshire Republicans who endorsed Trump in April and DeSantis on Tuesday didnt return calls seeking comment.

Smart did not reply to NBC News' request for comment Monday on her apparent backing for DeSantis, or phone and text messages sent Tuesday about her decision to restate her support for Trump. But Never Back Down shared her pledge to support DeSantis, which was signed on May 9.

Still, DeSantis allies say theres excitement for him in the early-voting states and those that hold primaries later on next years calendar. Iowa and New Hampshire are of outsize importance in the Republican nominating fight because their caucuses and primary are the first two contests.

I think you get a sense from what you saw in Iowa over the weekend that those legislative endorsements are indicative of what were seeing and feeling on the ground, said a Never Back Down strategist who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss political machinations. And I think what youre seeing and feeling on the ground in New Hampshire is going to be very similar.

DeSantis, whose poll numbers have flatlined in recent months, has an uphill battle to supplant Trump, the two-time GOP nominee, as the partys standard-bearer. In the RealClearPolitics average of national polls, Trump stands at 55% and DeSantis at 21%. Public surveys of Iowa caucus-goers and New Hampshire voters show Trump in the lead in each state.

DeSantis allies say the endorsements in Iowa and New Hampshire are just the beginning of their effort to close the gap and win the nomination.

This is about building a movement, the Never Back Down strategist said. This is about building an organization to win. And so this is just one step in the process. Its not the end game.

Dasha Burns is a correspondent for NBC News.

Jonathan Allen is asenior national politics reporter for NBC News, based in Washington.

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2 Republicans on DeSantis' endorsement list say they back Trump - NBC News

TOPEKA Torn between his Catholic faith and commitment to public service, Rep. Henry Helgerson struggled to keep his composure as he spoke to colleagues from the House floor near the end of this years legislative session.

The Eastborough Democrat referenced an avalanche of anti-abortion legislation produced by Republicans in defiance of voters who rejected a constitutional amendment on abortion in August.

The Legislature was debating House Bill 2060, which addresses the states shortage of gynecologists by offering tuition assistance to medical students. The program is not available to anyone who receives training to perform abortions.

Fighting back tears, Helgerson talked about his role three decades ago in helping pass legislation that bans abortion at state-funded facilities. But he couldnt understand why the state would prohibit health care professionals from being trained to provide a legal service.

That crosses a whole different line, he said. I believe that if the voters have made a decision to allow abortion in this state, I want the doctors to have the best training. To prohibit them from having that is not in anyones best health interests.

I walk a real close line because I am torn on this issue. I am torn because, raised Catholic, go to church on a regular basis, but I still have everything that you all have, those feelings. But the state and our obligation is different than my religious obligation. And today, the last few days, we have crossed the line where my religious beliefs, or other peoples religious beliefs, suddenly takes over what the state policy is.

Kansas Reflector is examining the influence of religious beliefs on state government through a series of stories.

Despite the 59-41 margin in a statewide vote on the constitutional amendment last year, Republican lawmakers passed new anti-abortion laws. Abortion providers will have to tell patients the abortion pill can be reversed, a dangerous proposition based on junk research. Doctors will continue to provide medical care for infants who are born alive, thanks to legislation designed to promote a false narrative that failed abortions are performed on infants who are capable of surviving. And abortion providers would not have been able to obtain liability insurance through the state Health Care Stabilization Fund, even though they are required to contribute to it, but the Senate fell just short of the votes needed to override Gov. Laura Kellys veto.

Additionally, the Legislature allocated tax dollars to support pregnancy crisis centers, which actively discourage women from seeking abortions.

We are moral people, said Rep. Ron Bryce, a Republican physician from Coffeyville who claimed he personally provided aid to 27 babies who survived an abortion. We provide care for those who are weak, for those who are disadvantaged, for those who are innocent and powerless.

Abortion has dominated Kansas politics for decades, but attention to the issue was heightened last year by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and Kansas voters rejection of the proposed constitutional amendment.

In March, supporters of access to reproductive health care gathered en masse to celebrate bodily autonomy and protest anti-abortion legislation. At other times throughout the session, Kevan Myers, of Kansas City, Kansas, and Clifton Boje, of Bonner Springs, picketed the third floor railing with large anti-abortion signs. They are leaders of an abortion abolitionist ministry based in St. George.

One sign read: We are ambassadors of Jesus Christ pleading from God a message of reconciliation.

Another: The laws against murder should be applied equally to all people.

Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen, a Topeka Democrat and senior minister at First Congregational Church, said in an interview for this series that he talked to a Republican leader, who I shall leave unnamed, who said to me: We dont really care about all this stuff, Tobias. We just bring all these abortion bills because we need to let the people who support us know that were carrying water for them despite the referendum last summer.

The attack on abortion rights in Kansas preserves the status quo.

Since the Summer of Mercy in 1991, powerful faith-based lobbying forces have influenced elections and established barriers to reproductive health care. Under Kansas law, a woman who seeks an abortion will be given state-mandated propaganda designed to change her mind. She will then have to look at an ultrasound image, wait 24 hours and pay for the procedure out of her own pocket.

State law prohibits abortion after 22 weeks, except to save the life of a mother.

In 2009, Scott Roeder, a member of a militant Christian Patriot group, gunned down physician George Tiller in his Wichita church. Tillers clinic had been bombed in 1986, and he had survived a 1993 shooting.

The Kansas Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in 2019 that determined the state constitutions right to bodily autonomy extends to the decision to terminate a pregnancy. The ruling, which was a response to state law that banned a procedure used in 95% of second-trimester abortions, ensuredabortion rights would be preserved in Kansas after the U.S. Supreme Court removed federal protections last June.

The Catholic Church, Kansans for Life, Family Policy Alliance and others funneled millions of dollars into a campaign to overturn the Kansas Supreme Courts decision through a constitutional amendment. Secret audio obtained by Kansas Reflector revealed that state lawmakers planned to ban abortion without exception if the amendment passed.

But six weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Kansas voters jolted the political establishment by rejecting the amendment in an unexpected landslide.

In an email to supporters a day after the election, Sen. Mike Thompson, a Shawnee Republican, said it was his fervent hope that more than a half-million Kansans who voted against the amendment were simply misled by campaign ads and a complicit media. The alternatives, he said, were disturbing and unthinkable.

Thompson wondered if Kansans were really OK with infants being torn apart, limb from limb, or the prospects of Kansas becoming an even bigger destination site for abortion tourism. He listed other possible explanations for the popular vote that involved false narratives about abortion clinics.

I know that some are absolutely satisfied with the end result and are likely celebrating today, Thompson wrote in his email blast. I hope and pray that someday they realize the devastation they have left behind.

May God have mercy on Kansas. We will need to reprove to Him, somehow, that we deserve His grace.

Correction: This story has been updated to note the Senate failed to override the governors veto on a law banning access to liability insurance.

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Church and state: Kansas Republicans ignore voters and pass new ... - Kansas Reflector

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher bangs the gavel on the final day of session. Plocher believes Missouri voters would approve an abortion rights measure. Tim Bommel Missouri House Communications

As Missouri girds for an anticipated fight at the ballot box next year over an amendment overturning its near-total abortion ban, some Republicans have begun saying they expect a majority of voters to support restoring access to the procedure.

The stark admissions have also been accompanied by intense efforts to make it harder for Missourians to amend the state constitution an extraordinary acknowledgment that the Republican-controlled General Assembly must erode direct democracy in the state or risk decades of anti-abortion policy unraveling in a single election.

I think we all believe that an initiative petition will be brought forth to allow choice, House Speaker Dean Plocher, a St. Louis Republican, said Friday. I believe it will pass. Absolutely.

Click to resize

Plochers remarkable comments come near the beginning of what is almost certain to be a furious 18-month race to the November 2024 general election, when an abortion rights amendment is likely to appear if one qualifies for the ballot.

Missouri, the first state to ban abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, could also potentially become the first state where voters reverse an abortion ban.

Ending the ban would be a seismic event in Missouri, opening a path for the return of abortion clinics after years of restrictions imposed by the General Assembly effectively whittled access down to a single location in St. Louis even before the ban, sending residents into Kansas, Illinois and elsewhere for the procedure.

Eleven amendments have been proposed so far that would allow various levels of abortion access and abortion rights supporters are expected to seek signatures through an initiative petition to place at least one on the ballot. Republican lawmakers have until then to pass an overhaul to the initiative petition process that would raise the threshold for passing an amendment at a statewide vote and, the thinking goes, place a victory out of reach for abortion rights supporters.

A compromise lawmakers agreed to last week but couldnt pass through the Missouri Senate would have required amendments to receive 57% of the vote instead of the current simple majority, a threshold that would have prevented recreational marijuana legalization from passing last November (the measure received 53% of the vote). GOP leaders have already said they will try again next year.

Whatever changes the General Assembly approves must then itself go to a statewide vote and pass with a simple majority. Republicans have signaled they would try to win support for the overhaul with arguments that the state constitution, at 253 pages, has grown too complex and that a higher bar for passage will require amendments to receive more buy-in from rural voters.

One idea that was discarded during negotiations, but could be revived next year, would require amendments to also win a majority of congressional districts if they only obtain a simple majority statewide. The change would empower residents in the rural areas to block amendments even if a majority of voters support them.

The threat of abortion with no restrictions looms large and we are committed to finding the answer early next year. That timeline allows us to see the actual language of abortion advocates and plan a path to defeat it, Senate Majority Leader Cindy OLaughlin, a Shelbina Republican, wrote in a newsletter to constituents Monday explaining that the Senate would act on initiative petition changes in 2024.

The anti-abortion group Missouri Right to Life has been even more blunt, calling the initiative petition overhaul the Resolution to Protect our Constitution and Keep Missouri Pro-Life.

For abortion rights supporters, the urgency among Republicans and abortion opponents only underscores their belief that they hold the upper hand with voters.

We know that Missourians positions and personal thoughts on abortion can be nuanced and complex, but regardless of an individuals personal opinions, by and large, they do not think that it is politicians business, and they dont think that politicians should have the final say over individuals access to this basic health care, said Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Pro-Choice Missouri.

Polling by Saint Louis University and YouGov of nearly 450 voters in August 2022 found that 48% support reversing the ban, while 40% would vote to continue the ban. The question had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.93%.

The poll appears to show Missourians support some restrictions on abortion, even if a plurality also support overturning the states ban. While 58% of voters said abortion should be legal during the first eight weeks of pregnancy (a period during which many women dont know theyre pregnant), only 40% said it should be legal through the first 15 weeks compared to 46% who said it shouldnt.

Just 32% said abortion should be legal when a woman wants one for any reason. The poll didnt ask about support for legal abortion up to the point of viability (around 24 weeks).

While all of the pending petitions would guarantee the right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution, they range from allowing all abortions to only restricting abortions after a certain time period such as 24 weeks.

Without knowing what policy might be able to move forward, we have an opportunity to create a level of access that has not existed in years with something that can pass, Schwarz said. And I think the policies proposed could restore 99% of access in our state and would be a dramatic expansion of access broader than weve seen in Missouri in decades.

Anna Fitz-James, a retired St. Louis pediatrician, filed the Missouri petitions in March on behalf of a political action committee called Missourians for Constitutional Freedom. The group appears to have no public presence, hasnt responded to reporter phone calls, and reports to the Missouri Ethics Commission show it has raised very little money, if any.

Fitz-James declined to comment. Michael Pridmore, Missourians for Constitutional Freedoms treasurer, didnt respond to a request for comment.

Tori Schafer, deputy director for policy and campaigns at the ACLU of Missouri, said lawmakers know abortion is popular, and thats why theyre afraid of majority rule.

The ACLU of Missouri is representing Fitz-James in a lawsuit against Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, all Republicans, over delays in posting official ballot summaries and fiscal notes for the petitions. A scheduling hearing is set for Wednesday.

Even though some Republicans say that while an abortion rights measure of some kind could pass, its chances depend in large measure on how far the proposal goes in allowing the procedure. Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, a Columbia Republican, said it would depend on what the left does.

I think if the political left decided that they were going to be reasonable in how they put something on the ballot relative to abortion, they probably have a chance, Rowden said.

Abortion rights supporters have won every statewide election on abortion access across the country since the end of Roe last June. More than 59% of Kansas voters in August rejected an amendment that would have allowed state lawmakers to ban abortion the first election since the Supreme Court decision. Other states including Kentucky, Montana and Vermont have followed in voting in favor of abortion rights.

Against that backdrop, Missouri Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, an Independence Democrat, said Republicans had let the cat out of the bag after Plocher tied the initiative petition overhaul to abortion.

If he wants to explicitly link abortion or the ability for a woman to have autonomy over her body to (initiative petition), great, he said. They wont like the outcome of that. I promise you. Go ask Kansas.

Missouri Republicans have been trying to restrict the initiative petition process for years, either by tightening signature-gathering requirements or raising the bar for passage at a statewide vote. The proposals have never passed, either becoming overtaken by larger priorities or bogged down by infighting.

But Republicans have now linked the initiative petition overhaul effort to one of their core political issues opposition to abortion in a way that could place enormous pressure on any GOP holdouts.

Peverill Squire, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said Republicans could have likely headed off some of the anger at the states ban if they had enacted additional exceptions this year. However, the potency of abortion politics among the Republican base makes that effectively impossible.

Theyre in a position politically within their primaries where they cant really do that, Squire said. And so now theyre facing giving the voters a choice of all or nothing.

Samuel Lee, a lobbyist for the anti-abortion Campaign Life Missouri, said a proposal with enough ballot candy official ballot summary language that entices voters could have a chance of passing with a simple majority (opponents of initiative petition changes have also leveled ballot candy accusations at GOP proposals).

But whether any of the 11 abortion amendments currently put forward could pass is a different story, he said.

Democrats have issued their own criticism of the deceptive ballot language on the initiative petition proposal that would be placed in front of voters, saying that Republicans were using confusing ballot candy to get voters to agree to take away their voting power.

The ballot initiative considered by lawmakers this year would have asked Missourians to Allow only U.S. citizens to vote on ballot measures, despite the fact that the Missouri constitution already requires voters to be U.S. citizens. State Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Columbia Democrat, last week likened the summary to dog poop with icing on it.

Ashcroft, who is running for governor, has proposed a summary for the abortion amendments that would say that they allow for dangerous, unregulated, and unrestricted abortions, according to late April letters from Bailey to Ashcroft that have been released publicly.

They know that in order to block an abortion access ballot from being able to get the votes that it would need, they have to rely on tactics of manipulation and coercion, Schwarz, the Pro-Choice Missouri director, said.

Lee called Ashcrofts proposed language pretty strong stuff but acknowledged a lawsuit will probably be filed against it.

The voters will decide based on whats in front of them, Lee said, And the jurys still out on what is even going to be promoted.

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Missouri voters likely to reinstate abortion rights if given the chance, Republicans say - Kansas City Star

MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Wednesday that Republicans were done negotiating on a bill that would increase state aid to local governments, unveiling a new proposal that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the GOP-controlled Senate have yet to agree to.

The Assembly passed the latest version hours after Evers expressed optimism that a bipartisan agreement could be reached. But he was not included in the discussion that led to the latest proposal, which boosts the increase in aid for local governments from at least 10% to 15% but retains provisions that Milwaukee and Evers had objected to.

We are done negotiating, Vos said. We have negotiated in good faith literally for months.

The Assembly passed it 56-36, with all Republicans in support except for three who joined all Democrats in opposing it. The measure now goes to the Senate, where its future is uncertain. Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Vos did not say if the Senate agreed to the latest version of the bill.

Is this bill perfect? Hell no its not perfect, said Republican Rep. Tony Kurtz, the measures sponsor. But he emphasized that Milwaukee officials, Democratic lawmakers, Evers and those representing cities, counties, towns and villages have all been involved with crafting the proposal.

Wisconsins local governments have clamored for years for more state aid to help cover basic services, including police and fire protection, after decades of frozen funding and cuts.

Under the bill, $1.5 billion in aid to municipalities known as shared revenue would be paid for by tapping 20% of the states 5-cent sales tax, an idea Evers has supported. Aid would then grow along with sales tax revenue.

The bill would increase funding to counties, cities, towns and villages by $261 million at least a 15% increase for everyone over the next two years, but that could only be spent on police and fire protection, emergency medical services, emergency response communications, public works and transportation. The city and county of Milwaukee would see a 10% increase, but could ask voters for more.

Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said the governor had not signed off on any changes and he looked forward to continuing negotiations, which he previously said he expected to take weeks more. Evers promised to veto the original bill.

Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, during Assembly debate, said the bill was not ready for prime time.

We need to go back to the negotiating table and get it right, Neubauer said. We can and must do better.

Under the bill, Milwaukee could levy a 2% sales tax and Milwaukee County could add 0.375% sales tax to its current 0.5% sales tax. One of the biggest sticking points has been whether Milwaukee taxpayers would have to approve that tax increase before it could be enacted. Milwaukee city and county officials dont want to have to take it to a vote.

Under the Republican amendment, that requirement for taxpayer approval would remain.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson warned lawmakers last week that the city faces bankruptcy by 2025 without help. He, along with groups representing municipalities, police and firefighters, as well as numerous mayors and other local officials, all testified in support of reaching a deal that increases funding.

Milwaukee, the states largest city and a Democratic stronghold, faces an underfunded pension system. Milwaukee has increasingly become reliant on federal pandemic aid to fund its essential services, which city leaders have said cost $150 million more per year to maintain.

Evers, and many of the local officials who testified last week, had complained that the proposal came with too many strings attached. Those include cutting aid to communities that reduce the number of police officers and firefighters and banning public health officials from ordering businesses closed for more than two weeks,

The Assembly amendment would allow health officials to close businesses for up to 30 days, with the local governing body able to extend that once for another 30 days.

The amendment also still bans local advisory referenda questions on everything except those for certain projects that would be funded with property tax money. The bill would not allow questions on hot-button issues like whether voters support abortion rights or legalizing marijuana.

It would also mandate that local governments approve projects under the states land stewardship program that are north of U.S. Highway 8, which runs across roughly the northernmost quarter of the state. Republicans have long raised concerns about such projects that protect the land from future development.

The shared revenue program to fund local governments, created in 1911, has remained nearly unchanged for almost 30 years, despite overall growth in tax revenues. Shared revenue for counties and municipalities was cut in 2004, 2010 and 2012 and since then has been relatively flat.

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Vos says Republicans 'done negotiating' local aid; Evers optimistic ... - The Associated Press