The possibility of a deal to have the state help finance a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks being included in the state budget is facing uncertainty, as several Republicans in the state Senate indicated Wednesday that they want the issue taken us as standalone legislation.
According to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a majority of Republican senators said the issue should be addressed outside of the budget. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s office said he has not ruled out pursuing the arena as its own bill, but work continues on making it “a budget provision as it was framed as such in the Governor’s original proposal.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) told reporters Wednesday that he thinks the focus of the talks right now need to be on the final product itself, not the process for voting on the issue. “The most important thing is making sure all of the members, especially in our chamber, understand what’s in the proposal, what the benefits are. They can ask questions to see if there are things that have to be changed to make the proposal better, and then we’ll figure out the process to either take it to the floor or take it through the budget process.”