Governor Doyle is calling a special session of the Legislature for Wednesday afternoon, so lawmakers can take up a bill that would re-estimate Wisconsin's existing hospital tax. The measure is aimed at helping the state collect more federal dollars to balance the budget.
Doyle says the bill needs to pass the Legislature by June 29th so it can go into effect at the end of the month. Otherwise, the state would miss out on $74 million in additional federal Medicaid revenues.
Doyle says he'd prefer lawmakers to include the new hospital assessment in the state budget currently being negotiated at the Capitol, but the state is facing critical financial deadlines so he's calling on them to act.