Inside the battle over the upcoming 2-year Wisconsin budget
Over the next several months, the Republican-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will battle their way through the the 2023-25 biennial budget process as the state has a projected surplus of more than $7 billion.
(8) updates to this series since Updated
The governor's budget proposal is all but certain to receive pushback from legislative Republicans, who have championed the need to implement a flat income tax in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin's latest fiscal outlook projects the state will wrap up the current fiscal year with about half a billion dollars more than previous projections.
Evers will unveil his formal budget request on Feb. 15. From there, the Republican-controlled budget committee will rewrite the document before sending it back to the governor.
Of the more than 4.2 million licensed drivers in Wisconsin, 770,000 had at least one OWI citation or conviction as of the end of 2021.
Evers has called for a 10% tax cut for individuals earning $100,000 or less a year and married filers making $150,000 or less.
Evers on Tuesday also unveiled proposals to cut taxes, increase local government funding, spend more than $100 million to deal with PFAS contamination and support child care providers.
Around a third of students across Wisconsin feel sad and hopeless almost every day, according to the Office of Children's Mental Health.
The two top options being discussed are adjusting the state's income tax to benefit middle class earners or eliminating the current tax and creating a 3.25% flat tax.
The measure would restore an attorneys fee standard in public records lawsuits that the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down last year.
Evers' plan calls for expanding special education aid and freezing enrollment at voucher schools in the second year of the biennium.
Lawmakers enter the budget process with a more than $7 billion projected state surplus.
Political experts and operatives on both sides appear to agree that statewide trends are more encouraging for liberals than national ones.
Evers proposed creating a paid family and medical leave program that would provide eligible private-sector workers with 12 weeks of leave beginning in 2025.
"I've seen this movie before," said Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, said after Evers' address. "Deficit spending and a liberal wish list."
On Wednesday night, Evers' proposal fell on largely deaf ears. On Thursday, Evers said his plan would boost recruitment efforts in the state.
The April election promises to shape Wisconsin's political and legal landscape for years to come.
An estimated 40% of women have dense breast tissue, which can require supplemental screenings beyond a mammogram to detect cancer.
Knodl, who has had several leadership positions in the state Assembly, has sought to distance himself from former President Donald Trump.
An Assembly committee on Tuesday will also hold a public hearing on a bipartisan bill that would allow some noncitizens to become police officers.
A proposal would allow 14 counties surrounding Milwaukee to extend bar hours to accommodate GOP convention-goers.
"It’s not going to happen overnight," Sen. Howard Marklein said. "I doubt it will happen in this budget.”
Selling the three buildings, which account for more than 813,000 square feet of space, would save the state roughly $446 million in deferred maintenance costs.
"We do not have anywhere near the money that Gov. Evers spoke about yesterday," Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Wednesday.
Many of the forms in the Madison area list one name on the mailer envelope and another name on the actual absentee ballot application.
Republican Wisconsin lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers can’t seem to agree on how much extra money they have to work with in the state budget.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have supported calls to spend state funds to keep the Brewers in Wisconsin beyond the team's current lease, which runs through 2030.
Operations are "best it has been" since court-mandated reports began in 2019, but staffing is still at 50% at the juvenile correctional facilities on most days, the monitor noted.
The proposed 4 parts per trillion standard for two common PFAS chemicals is far below what the Wisconsin natural resource board set last year.
If enacted, the measure would only become active if Wisconsinites approve ballot questions in the April 4 election to consider more elements in setting cash bail.
The measure would clarify that judges can consider dozens of defendants' past "violent crime" convictions when they set cash bail.
In Wisconsin, 888 people died by suicide in 2021, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
“It is unsustainable to continue a decade-long tuition freeze, even as costs have increased and inflation has accelerated,” UW System President Jay Rothman said.
Additionally, the Senate unanimously confirmed three members of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' cabinet.
The bill would allow pregnant women to receive Medicaid benefits for a year after they give birth, up from the current standard of 60 days.
The bills come as Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has proposed spending $270 million in the upcoming two-year state budget for school-based mental health services.
Republicans have pushed for more control over how the governor doles out federal money since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw billions of dollars come into the state.
The audit, released Friday by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau, offers a review of the billions of dollars allocated to the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve forever told people it will never be less expensive than it is today."
The measure allows police to impound vehicles used in reckless driving offenses if the owner of that car was cited in a past offense without paying off a fine.
Both Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates have said they support the constitutional amendment.
The package of bills mirrors legislation that passed both chambers last legislative session but ultimately was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is likely to sign both measures, which have support on both sides of the aisle.
Legislators have a roughly $7 billion projected surplus at their disposal, with a good portion of that consisting of one-time funds.
The bill is one of a growing number of proposals in the state Legislature aimed at putting a portion of Wisconsin's historic budget surplus toward tax cuts.
The unemployment and health care measures slated for passage Tuesday mirror bills that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed last legislative session.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has pledged to veto a flat income tax proposal if it reaches his desk.
The proposal largely mirrors legislation last session that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed. He's also likely to veto this bill.
The unemployment and health care measures that passed Tuesday mirror bills that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed last legislative session. It's likely Evers will veto the measures again.
Preliminary data from the state Department of Workforce Development show the state's unemployment rate at 2.5% in March. But employers statewide have been struggling to find workers.
"There are things that end up in bills like this that people will love, there’s things people will not love,” Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said.
"Wisconsin has the money to fully fund its justice system, so I'm not sure why they wouldn't," State Bar of Wisconsin President Margaret Hickey said.
Republicans plan to remove more than 500 items from the governor's 2023-25 budget proposal and start drafting their own version of the state's two-year spending plan.
No matter what happens in a Dane County courtroom Thursday, the final say on the lawsuit is all but certain to come from the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
GOP lawmakers plan to build their own two-year spending plan to send back to the governor before the end of June.
“Anything that’s proposed for the city of Milwaukee will be like holding a loaded gun to our head,” Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, said.
Supporters of the measure say most hospitals aren't complying with the federal rules, warranting the separate Wisconsin legislation.
For context, the most expensive judicial election up until the latest Wisconsin Supreme Court race was one in Illinois, where just over $15 million was spent among all parties.
Evers said the proposal doesn't spend enough and imposes unnecessary controls over counties and cities.
The Dane County judge didn't rule Thursday on defendant and Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski's motion to dismiss the case.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called Vos' proposal "ridiculous" and "wrongheaded."
The victim was shot at about 12:15 a.m. Friday in the parking lot and a 23-year-old male suspect was arrested on scene, according to police.
The new appointees are coming as Department of Natural Resources secretary Adam Payne calls for prioritizing the state's water quality.
The measures come as lawmakers confront an ongoing housing crisis, with older adults retiring from work but remaining in their homes, leaving fewer places to live for working Wisconsinites.
Gov. Tony Evers, has already promised to veto the bill as written, saying it doesn't spend enough and imposes unnecessary restrictions on counties and cities.
Over 100 people died and 9,700 were injured in crashes involving school buses in 2021, according to the National Safety Council.
Citing statewide court backlogs and understaffing, attorney organizations in Wisconsin have called for more pay to boost public attorney staff retention and prevent a constitutional crisis.
It remains to be seen if the changes offered by Republicans will move the needle for Evers, who earlier this month promised to veto the bill as written.
More than 7% of Wisconsinites in prison are there for crimes they committed when they were 17 or younger, more than double the percentage nationwide, a new report stated.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said discussion on Wisconsin's two-year budget will be put on hold until an agreement is reached.
The legislation comes after the state Department of Health Services last year reported a record 1,427 opioid overdose deaths in 2021.
As part of the overall education boost, the Joint Finance Committee approved spending $107 million to cover 33.3% of school districts' special education costs.
Evers reportedly told a group of reporters during a tour of a Monroe-area cheese manufacturer that any attempt to cut the System's budget would be a "ridiculous effort."
The average income yearly cut for each taxpayer would be $573 per year under the plan, Rep. Terry Katsma, R-Oostburg said.
At this point, Protasiewicz has a nearly 7-to-1 committed ad spending advantage over conservative Dan Kelly in the general election phase.
