But the amended bill would ensure Republicans would maintain control of an 18-member board through September, at which point Democrats and Republicans would have equal influence over a 16-member board. The GOP-dominated board also would control who the agency's CEO would be until Sept. 1.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said at a news conference Wednesday morning he hopes current WEDC CEO Mark Hogan would stay on in the position for the next nine months to change Evers' mind on the agency, which he has vowed to dissolve.

Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, said this timeline raises the question of what the agency will be doing, and why Republican lawmakers want to protect it, for the next nine months.

The Senate amendment preserves the bill's restrictions on early voting, permitting it to begin no sooner than two weeks before an election.

That would more than halve the current date window for early voting in large cities such as Madison or Milwaukee — shortly after record early voting totals, especially in those large cities, helped Democrats win every statewide race in the November election.

It also could land the state back in court, as a federal judge struck down a similar restriction in a 2016 ruling.