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Fast break: GOP tax cuts headed to Evers

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Speaker Robin Vos

Less than a week after it was introduced, the state Assembly has sent a tax cut to Governor Tony Evers. And Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) is eager to see what the Democratic governor does with it. “Whether or not what he said during the campaign, about standing with the middle class is true, or does he stand with the far left of this chamber, which is clearly out of touch with the state of Wisconsin.”

Evers wanted some of a $392-million state revenue surplus spent on K-12 schools, a wish reiterated by Assembly Democrats. “Let’s put the focus back where it belongs. On our schools, on education, on our children, on our families, on the hard working people of Wisconsin,” said Representative Lisa Subeck (D-Madison).

Representative Marisabel Cabrera (D-Milwaukee) made her first floor speech, and directed her comments at Vos, in Spanish, and then in English. “After all, it is the people who are in charge, not you Mr. Speaker.”

The bill would reduce the average income tax bill by $106, provide a $45 million decrease in personal property taxes paid by businesses, and use $100 million to pay down state debt. Republicans said it was the right move. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: government will never, ever, ever spend your money better than you will,” said Representative Shannon Zimmerman (R-River Falls).

Thursday was the last Assembly floor action of the legislative session. Vos portrayed the session as a win for his caucus and the state. “Republicans are leading the way in Wisconsin in every way possible,” he said.

Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh)

Minority Leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) had a somewhat less rosy view. “This was a session that really began under the cloud of the lame duck, with a new Democratic governor whose powers were undermined before he was even sworn in,” Hintz said, adding that many good proposals never made it to the floor. “Remember, Governor Evers cannot sign laws if bills do not make it to his desk.”

Republicans in the Assembly were not alone in voting for the tax cut plan. Representatives Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska) and Nick Milroy (D- South Range) were yes votes. It got no Democratic votes in the Senate, where Republicans gavelled in early Thursday to vote passage.

While Thursday was the last day of action for the Assembly, the Senate is scheduled to be on the floor in March.

Last call for expanded DNC bar times bill

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State Senate Republicans have blocked – for now – an attempt to expand bar hours in Milwaukee for the Democratic National Convention this summer.

The bill would have moved the bar close to 4:00 am during the duration of the Convention. “Whether you agree with the Democrats or not, you have thousands of Democrats coming in to the state of Wisconsin, opening up their pocketbooks,” said Senator John Erpenbach (D-West Point).

Senator Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) seemed less than impressed. “We could change our drinking hours for four or five days for two hours! That’s… that’s it! That’s what we can do!”

The Senate did not vote on the DNC bar bill on Wednesday. But the chamber meets again in March. An Assembly committee unanimously passed the bill. The full Assembly was expected to vote on it on Thursday.

Assembly approves state regulations for pharmacy benefit managers

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The state Assembly has unanimously approved new regulations for companies which negotiate prices between drug makers and pharmacies. Pharmacy benefit managers are regulated by federal law, but Wisconsin has no authority over an industry that the bill’s author, Representative Michael Schraa (R-Oshkosh) said has become a major player.

“Three PBMs now control 80 percent of the prescription drug market in the United States,” Schraa said. “We finally got to a bill, I think that will really benefit . . . really anybody that’s purchasing prescription drugs in the state of Wisconsin.”

Representative Deb Kolste (D-Janesville) praised Schraa for his work — but said the bill could have been better. “This bill is better than what we have now,” she said. “At least they will be registered, there is some relief to pharmacies and there is a small portion that is consumer friendly.”

State regulations would include requiring PBMs to be licensed. The goal – holding down drug prices. The bill still needs Senate approval.

Potawatomi Chair Ned Daniels, Jr. delivers ‘State of the Tribes’

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The issues of opioid addiction and missing and murdered indigenous women were raised at the Capitol, during Tuesday’s 16th annual State of the Tribes Address, presented by Forest County Potawatomi Community Chairman Ned Daniels, Jr. He spoke of the toll opioid addiction has taken on the state. “It has likely impacted many of you sitting here today. Unfortunately I know firsthand the pain and suffering this epidemic is causing families.

Daniels said he and his wife are now raising some of their own grandchildren. “We need to continue to work to stop this devastation,” he said. Daniels thanked Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and other lawmakers who he said had been “tenacious” in advancing the HOPE agenda to combat opioid addiction.

Daniels also brought up the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women. “Native women and girls are being exploited, trafficked and subjected to violence at disproportionately high rates,” he said. “We encourage you to include missing, murdered Native women and girls when advancing any human trafficking legislation.”

Wisconsin is home to 11 Native American tribes, and the address has been delivered annually since 2005. This was the first time a Chairman from the Potawatomi has delivered the speech, according to a release from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. “It’s through increased communications and an understanding of our mutual concerns that we can better address the issues together,” Vos said.

Republican tax cut plan headed to Assembly

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At the Capitol, a $247 million dollar Republican tax cuts package is on the fast track in the Assembly. In the Joint Finance Committee on Monday, Representative Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee) called the process “incredibly fast”

“This bill was introduced Friday afternoon, and we’re here on a Monday, and the majority party wants to get it to the governor’s desk by the end of the day Thursday.” The budget panel approved the package on a partisan vote Monday.

Committee co-chair, Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette), said it’s happened before – and Democrats did it. “A few of us were involved in the legislature when there was actually a tax increase that former Governor Doyle and Democrats who were in power at the time moved forward without actually any hearing at all.”

The package draws on increased state revenues, to increase the maximum deduction on income taxes, provide a property tax exemption for manufacturers and pay down state debt. It does not include money for K-12 education, which Evers had sought.

The Assembly’s final session day of the floor period is Thursday, and the state Senate is expected to complete its work in March.

GOP legislators want $250 million income tax cut

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At the Capitol, Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature want to use a projected increase in state tax revenue to provide nearly $250 million in reductions to the personal income tax. “This is going to put money in the pockets of low-and-middle-income tax flilers,” said state Representative Joan Ballweg (R-Markesan). It’s going to be direct mony to those folks.

The tax cuts would start in the 2020 tax year. The average income filer would see an additional $105 in tax reduction,” Ballweg said.

The GOP plan includes a nearly $45 million cut to personal property taxes paid by manufacturers, and another $100 million towards paying down state debt. It’s expected to be ready for an Assembly vote next week, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald is supportive.

Democratic Governor Tony Evers wants some of those revenues to go to K-12 education. In a statement, his office said Assembly Republicans made it clear today that they would rather break their promise to the people of our state than work together on funding our schools and reducing property taxes in Wisconsin.”

Joint Finance Committee scuttles plans for full Lincoln Hills replacement

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The Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance has pulled the plug, on plans to fully replace the state’s troubled Lincoln Hills youth corrections facility in northern Wisconsin.

During committee deliberations on Wednesday, Representative Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) said that the plan to create smaller, regional youth jails will be a stopgap. “Lincoln Hills and our current juvenile justice system wasn’t created overnight,” Born said. “We have money in the budget to move forward with it (smaller facilities) if the governor chooses to bring that before the building commission.”

Representative Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee) was incensed by the cancellation. “I’ve been working on this issue for years. So I’m not going to apologize for being emotional, for being loud, for being angry.”

Goyke said that time is of the essence to replace Lincoln Hills. “The next budget, the time we would be able to appropriate dollars to build type 1 facilities to bring the closure of Lincoln Hills, is like the day before that facility is to close under the law.”

Under current state law, officials have to close Lincoln Hills by the middle of 2021. Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr said it is very unlikely the youth prison will close on time according to the law. Republicans said local governments in both locations where the full jails were planned, in Milwaukee and Hortonia, objected to the construction of prisons in their communities.

Assembly passes GOP rape test kit bill

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The Wisconsin Assembly has passed a controversial Republican bill, aimed at preventing another backlog of rape test kits. It adds language on immigration and private school vouchers to legislation that’s already passed the state State Senate. Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz (D-Ohskosh) lambasted the bill – and Republican leaders – on Tuesday.

“When you do the kinds of things that you’re doing, your goal is to muddy the waters, and to try to play political games in the final two weeks,” Hintz said. “How sick do you have to be to play political games when we’re talking about the testing of rape kits?”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) argued that the additions improve the measure. “Let’s remember that Representative Hintz, his job is to be a bomb thrower, and to exagerate and create division where none should really exist,” Vos said. “We’re choosing to take the things that we put in, which I think are better.”

Vos added that Democrats are “objecting to the bill because of their own personal ideology.” The Assembly bill, just like the earlier Senate legislation, provides for procedures to test the kits. It now requires Senate approval. Hintz said he’d surprised, if the Senate takes it up.

Assembly GOP moving ahead with package to assist Wisconsin farmers

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At the Capitol, Assembly Republicans are moving forward with plans to assist the state’s farmers. It’s something Democratic Governor Tony Evers called for, during his recent State of the State Address.

“We really appreciate that the governor is finally paying attention to rural Wisconsin and those issues, after being in office for over a year, focusing seemingly only on the Madison and Milwaukee areas,” said Assembly Speaker Pro-Tem Tyler August (R-Lake Geneva).

During a Monday press conference, Republicans provided details on the bills they’ll take up. They plan to expand of some of what Evers requested in a special session, as well as introducing measures of their own. A bill from Representative Travis Tranel (R-Cuba City) would provide an income tax credit for the property taxes paid on agricultural buildings.

“The reality is when you farm, even though income is down 15 percent from 2013, the bills just keep coming in,” Tranel said. He said the $7500 credit would get farmers some immediate short-term help. “Their number one issue is cash flow.”

Another proposed tax break would allow farmers and other “sole proprietors” to deduct the cost of health insurance from their income taxes. Representative Amy Loudenbeck (R-Clinton) said that would carry a cost of some $9 million. She wasn’t able to say how many farmers would qualify for the tax break.

Anything that passes the Assembly would also need Senate approval in the final weeks of the current legislative session. Senators were expected to caucus on measures on Tuesday.

Evers wants special session on K-12 education funding

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Governor Tony Evers

As the legislative session enters its final weeks, Governor Tony Evers seems to think calling the Republican led Senate and Assembly into special session can be an effective policy tool. He wants to do it again, this time to allocate money from a projected revenue surplus for K-12 education.

“The proposal I’m announcing today will invest $250 million, which includes increased funding for school based mental health services, and special education aid,” Evers said during a press conference at the Capitol on Thursday. He said that new funding would restore the state’s previous “two-thirds commitment” funding formula for public schools, which fell by the wayside more than ten years ago due to state budget constraints.

He also wants to invest $10 million towards sparsity aid for rural districts. Eves said all this is a needed reinvestment. “That reinvestment will help districts get out from under of going to referendum every two years,” Evers said. The governor did not take questions following his remarks.

Senator Scott Fitzgerald

Republican legislative leaders were quick to indicate their lack of support for Evers’ proposals. “Every time the state has surplus revenue, Republicans look for ways to return that money to taxpayers. Democrats keep looking for ways to spend your money,” tweeted Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald.

“It shouldn’t come as a surprise that when there’s a surplus, Republicans look to return those dollars to the hardworking taxpayers of the state” tweeted Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. “Democrats are fixated on growing the size of government, which they know we won’t do.”

Speaker Robin Vos

State government is expected to see $452 million more in the general fund to end the biennium than previously projected, according to figures released last month by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

Evers’ Executive Order directs the legislature to meet in special session next Tuesday, February 11. Lawmakers are not obligated to meet on that date.