Democrat Governor Tony Evers has used the line-item veto to give Wisconsin school districts their largest base revenue increase in history.
“I have also used my broad veto authority to provide school districts with predictable long-term increases for the foreseeable future.”
The governor cut words and hyphens from a provision on revenue increases in the Republican-authored state budget to put a 325 dollar per year per pupil increase into revenue limits for schools for the next 400 years. He also eliminated a Republican proposal to remove the state’s top tax bracket and put back over 180 positions at the UW-System. Republicans say Evers is being irresponsible with taxpayer money, and creating unsustainable programs.
Evers says all of these vetoes were necessary. “They sent the budget back to my desk without making critical investments in key areas that they know and have acknowledged are essential to the success of our state.”
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos voiced his disappointment on Wednesday. “Vetoing tax cuts on the top two brackets provides hardly any tax relief for truly middle-class families. His decision also creates another economic disadvantage for Wisconsin, leaving our top bracket higher than most of our neighboring states, including Illinois.”