A key lawmaker reacts to the latest dismal state revenue projections. State Sen. Mark Miller (D-Monona) co-chairs the legislature's Joint Committee on Finance. "This is a small portion of the budget," Miller notes. "We've seen worse gaps in the past, but this is a gap and we'll have to close it. It'll be challenge, but we'll find a way to do it."
Miller is talking about the latest numbers from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau: Wisconsin's budget hole is $652 million for the current biennium. "I think it's important we look at some of the corporate tax loopholes, so that we have the money to invest in our most vulnerable citizens," says Miller. "To actually make sure that everybody is part of the solution." That's unlikely to be well received by Republicans, but Millers says the state has to look beyond the current two year budget.
Governor Jim Doyle is calling on state agencies to help trim an extra $111 million in spending. That's in addition to $200 million in cuts requested last month.
