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Shared revenue deal approved by Wisconsin Legislature

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Both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature on Wednesday approved an historic compromise to overhaul state funding for local governments. The shared revenue bill will provide an additional $275 million to counties and municipalities. It’s now ready for Governor Tony Evers’ signature. Evers negotiated the deal with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu.

Key provisions of the measure would allow the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County raise local sales taxes with two-thirds votes by the city’s common council and the county board. Those revenue would be used to pay down pension debt and preserve police staffing.

There are also requirements of, and restrictions on, how the city can allocate the additional revenue generated. Milwaukee will be prohibited from using sales tax revenue to fund diversity, equity and inclusion or “The Hop” streetcar. The city’s police and fire commissions will lose oversight authority, and Milwaukee Public Schools will be required to hire police officers.

During Assembly debate, those provisions were criticized by Milwaukee Democrats. “I’m going to fight like hell to get these policies off our books because codifying laws that attack minority communities and attacking local control is not reasonable,” said Representative Dora Drake.          

Representative Supreme Moore Omokunde addressed Speaker Robin Vos. “This is not a good deal Mr. Speaker. But know this. Your days of futile power are coming to an end Milwaukee is strong our leaders are strong.”

Drake and Moore Omokunde voted no. And Representative Jessie Rodriguez, an Oak Creek Republican and one of the bill’s original sponsors, couldn’t support it after tax increase referendums were removed.     

“It conveys the message that legislators don’t value the public’s input or even worse that we don’t trust their judgment when it comes to critical decisions that impact their community’s financial future,” Rodriguez said.

“I do want to see the pensions for the city in the county of Milwaukee going to the state going forward, and I do want to see shared revenue being tied to inflation for the entire state,” said Milwaukee Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, one of 12 Democrats to vote yes. 

Representative Christine Sinicki of Milwaukee objected to the restrictions placed on the city, but also voted yes. “I am disappointed that the governor agreed to these policies. He along with all of us were forced into a corner on this. There were threats made. You were going to pull Milwaukee out of the deal if we didn’t come to an agreement.”

The bill passed Assembly 68-26 with 21 Democrats and five Republicans voting against it. The measure also received six votes from Democrats as it passed the state Senate 21-15.

Evers says he won’t sign budget with massive cut to UW System

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Governor Tony Evers said Wednesday that he won’t sign a state budget that includes a big cut to the UW System. The $32 million cut from Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature is equivalent to what the UW had projected for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said at the Capitol that taxpayer money should not be going to what he calls “a new religion for people on the left,” adding that “they no longer go to church on Sunday, but boy, are they trying to make sure that everybody is evangelized on campus, that there’s only one acceptable viewpoint.”

“If you want to raise money in the private sector, if you want to have a bake sale or put money into your own ideology you have every right to do that because we live in America,” Vos said. “But it’s not the right to use taxpayer dollars to try to push one ideology over another.”

During a stop at a Monroe dairy plant, Evers was asked whether he’ll sign a budget with the massive cut to the UW. “No. $32 million is a ridiculous effort on his part,” Evers said, referring to the Assembly leader. “To cut at this point in time the University of Wisconsin System when we have a $7 billion surplus is irrational. Tying that to diversity issues frankly is equally bad.”

Evers said he hopes the UW cut will be changed before work on the budget is completed.

    

Gun safety bills from Democrats are unlikely to advance

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Democrats at the Capitol are proposing gun safety measures. Lawmakers unveiled the measures during a Capitol press conference on Monday, along with Attorney General Josh Kaul and gun violence prevention advocates.

“Listen to me. How many more times do we need the same call to action before something is done? I am sick and tired of all these calls to action,” said Representative Sheila Stubbs (D-Madison).

 

The bills – a sales tax exemption for gun safes and locks, background checks for all gun sales, and extreme risk protection orders – known as red flag laws –  are all unlikely to receive hearings in the Republican controlled legislature.

Dems say some cities left behind in shared revenue deal

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Democrats in the legislature say some medium sized Wisconsin cities are getting short-charged in the shared revenue sales tax bill.

“The deal that has been negotiated certainly moves us in a better direction. The 20% minimum increase certainly is helpful to many communities including some that I represent,” state Senator Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit) said on Monday. “But there are some folks who still get left behind including the city of Janesville.”

Spreitzer said medium sized cities including Janesville, Waukesha and Eau Claire are getting left behind, and will only see relatively minor increases in the amount of shared revenue they receive from the state.

“We’re just trying to be sure that we are listening to the, to those midsize cities,” said Senator Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire). “This is like the doughnut hole.”

An amendment from Spreitzer and Senator Jeff Smith to address the issue was was rejected in a committee vote on Monday. The Joint Finance Committee will exec on shared revenue legislation on Tuesday.

Alcohol regulations overhaul set for hearing at Capitol on Tuesday

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A bill to overhaul Wisconsin’s alcohol regulations is on the fast track at the Capitol.

The 156-page bill is a product of years of negotiations between Republican lawmakers and industry representatives. It was just announced last week and will get a committee hearing on Tuesday.

There are many moving parts, but consumers are most likely to notice new venues to purchase alcoholic beverages directly from producers, as opposed to liquor or grocery stores. Owners of wedding barns and other private event venues that serve alcohol or want to serve alcohol but are not taverns would also see changes. 

 

Legislative Republicans push for return to phonics-based reading lessons in public schools

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Legislative Republicans are making another attempt at a bill that would require more reading education in grade school.

State Senator Duey Stroebel says lawmakers want to see a return to using phonics as a method of teaching. 

“We put a significant amount of money aside to make this program work.”

State Representative Joel Kitchens says new methods of teaching have failed children.

“We need to reteach our teachers because our universities over the last couple of decades have not been teaching reading properly.”

The bill would spend 50 million dollars on the program to send coaches to districts to help teach phonics. Governor Tony Evers vetoed a similar measure last year that had no funding attached. 

Republican budget writers reject Evers’ broadband funding plan

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At the Capitol, Republicans who control the legislature’s budget committee have rejected Governor Tony Evers’ plan to spend $750 million for broadband expansion. 

“I think it’s wise for the state to not throw more state money at the at the issue when we’ve got an phenomenal amount of federal money coming in,” Joint Finance Committee co-chair, Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said Thursday. “I would prefer that we wait to see what the federal money is going to do and then come back later on and use additional state money to maybe fill in the holes.”

An Evers spokesperson said “Republicans have absolutely nothing to show for plans to actually address the pressing challenges facing our state.”

In a tweet, Evers called the decision irresponsible.

 

 

 

Shared revenue bill passes Assembly but remains in doubt

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At the Capitol, Assembly Republicans have passed their shared revenue bill on Wednesday. But Democrats say the measure falls short, and it’s unclear whether Governor Tony Evers and the state Senate are on board.

At a press conference prior to Wednesday’s floor vote on the amended legislation, Speaker Robin Vos was clear that this is take it or leave it. Vos sad the final bill was the result of months of “good faith” negotiations. He said the amended version will provide a guaranteed 15% increase in state shared revenue for every community in Wisconsin.

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer said Republicans haven’t done their due diligence on the measure, calling it “not ready for primetime.” An Evers spokesperson said he hasn’t signed off on any amendment to the bill, which devotes 20 percent of future state state sales tax revenue to local units of government.

On Thursday, state Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu told the Associated Press that caucus would likely strip out a provision that would require approval from voters in Milwaukee to raise local sales taxes. Vos said could kill the bill that the Assembly passed.

State Sen. Ballweg calls for more funding for rural roads and bridges

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A Wisconsin State Senator says the state budget needs to include money to improve local roads serving farmers. 

Markesan Republican Joan Ballweg says smaller county and town bridges are in need of serious repairs. “Making it difficult for our farmers to get their product to the main arteries, I think is something that has been overlooked for some time.”

Ballweg says lack of maintenance has led to stricter and stricter weight limits on rural roads. “There’s really no good way to unload big pieces of equipment out on a town or county highway”

Ballweg wants to see 150 million dollars in the budget for those bridges and roads. Ballweg serves on the state’s legislative joint finance committee, so she will have some say in the budget presented to the Governor.

Knodl wins special election in 8th state Senate District

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A win Tuesday for Republicans in a state Senate special election. Republican state Representative Dan Knodl defeated Democrat Jodi Habush Sinykin, who conceded on Wednesday.

Knodl’s victory in the 8th State Senate District special election gives Senate Republicans the 22nd vote needed for a supermajority to override vetoes by Governor Tony Evers. Assembly Republicans are two seats shy of the 66 votes needed in that chamber.

The Senate does have the votes to impeach elected officials, and Knodl has said he wants to impeach Milwaukee County Judges and District Attorney John Chisholm.