The newest rules pertain to behavior in the galleries of the Assembly and Senate chambers. The Wisconsin Constitution requires that "The doors of each house shall be kept open except when the public welfare shall require secrecy" (Article IV, Section 10) when the assembly and senate are in session, so the Republican majority has come up with more ways to stifle dissent.
The Senate rules prohibit the use of cell phones and laptops, prohibit taking photographs of any kind, prohibit reading, and prohibit audio recording. An observer also must remain seated at all times, and may not talk.
Assembly rules , until yesterday, prohibited smoking, reading newspapers, eating, using cell phones, and using remote microphones to pick up conversations more than 10 feet away. The Madison Capital Times newspaper indicates that their new rules are now similar to those of the Senate.
I am sorry for the school children who will be unable to take pictures of legislators in action, and for other visitors as well. By contrast, though, I am glad that the Republicans are so willing to demonstrate the unbridled contempt they have for democracy and the voice of the people. The more they show this, the worse they look.