MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Senate has passed a Republican bill that would prohibit investigators from using secret John Doe probes to look into political misconduct. The Senate took up the measure around midday Tuesday. Debate stretched into the late afternoon before minority Democrats objected to the bill’s final reading, the last step before a vote. The move meant the Senate couldn’t come back to the bill until the next calendar day. The chamber adjourned Tuesday evening and Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald reconvened the body at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. Debate went on for nearly another hour before the chamber passed the bill 18-14. The Assembly is expected to take its final vote on the bill Wednesday afternoon. Passage would send the proposal on to Gov. Scott Walker.
