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Walker addresses budget criticisms

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Gov. Scott Walker signs the budget during a ceremony in Neenah. (Photo: WHBY)

Governor Walker is responding to one of the chief concerns his fellow Republicans have about a veto he made to the newly-signed state budget.

Walker told WTAQ’s Jerry Bader Show why he vetoed a provision that would’ve provided more money to low-revenue school districts. “Those districts, including some where they failed to pass referendums, could have passed a tax levy increase anyways just by the school board, the governor said. “My sense was, if you’re going to go exceed the revenue limits and raise the property taxes, you should have to get the voters’ approval.”

The $76 billion spending plan does set aside $11.5 billion in K-12 education funding, the most in state history.

Walker also defended a budget provision that could be seen as going back on a promise not to raise fees to pay for roads – a $100 fee for electric vehicles and $75 fee for hybrids. He said that “for people who pay at the gas pump, there is no increase.  In this case, for folks who don’t pay anything or pay less, it just matches the parity of where they’re at.”

The gas tax is used to fund the state’s roads. Walker said the budget item ensures fairness for all drivers.

Legislative Democrats have been critical of the budget, saying it doesn’t adequately address transportation funding, claiming major highway and interstate projects will be delayed.

Walker said he feels the state is on track in that regard. “When you remodel your house, you don’t do 12 projects at once, you pay as you go.  We’re at a point now where we pay off more of our debts than we authorize new bonding and borrowing going forward.”

Walker signed the two-year state budget Thursday during a ceremony in Neenah.

WTAQ

Sex offender placement changes vetoed by Walker

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Rep. Katrina Shankland (D-Stevens Point)

Governor Scott Walker announced his list of vetoes for the 2017-19 budget and a motion by Representative Katrina Shankland (D-Stevens Point) and Representative Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) having to deal with the placement of sexually violent persons (SVPs) was among them.

Rep. Shankland says the provision would have allowed local officials to make the best decision for their communities. “It would require that any sexually violent person, an SVP, if they’re approved to be released, to be placed back in their home county so that we wouldn’t have this problem of counties sending their SVPs to Portage County,” she says.

Placement of sex offenders outside of their home county has proven controversial in several parts of the state, with local residents pushing back against efforts to move individuals with no connections to the community into their area. The issue has also resulted in legal battles in recent years.

Rep. Shankland says she’s already requested a meeting with the Governor to try and figure out why exactly he vetoed the motion.  “We’ve got to find out what he would sign,” she says.

Shankland notes the senate has announced that they only planning on meeting a hand full of times until they adjourn early next year so time could be running out for action to be taken on the issue.

The motion did pass through the Joint Finance Committee with bipartisan support.

WSAU

Evers opposes bill that would allow guns on school grounds

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers says he opposes a bill that would allow concealed carry permit holders to bring guns on school grounds.

A provision in the bill, which makes several changes to the state’s concealed carry law, allows permit holders to have a weapon on them if they are within five feet of their car. Backers say it will protect legal gun owners who are just dropping their kid off at school, while Evers argues it’s bad policy to allow guns near schools. “The kids in Wisconsin don’t need more guns in or near schools,” he says.

Evers, who is running for governor as a Democrat, says it’s the kind of issue he would have to “play goalie” on if he were elected.

The bill, which cleared a Senate committee earlier this week, also allows those who can legally own a gun to carry concealed weapons in most locations without a permit.

Evers talks ‘State of Education’ in Wisconsin

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers (Photo: Andrew Beckett)

Wisconsin schools face challenges, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers on Thursday laid out what he believes the state should be doing to address them.

Delivering his annual “State of Education” address at the Capitol, Evers drew heavily on the words of former President Teddy Roosevelt several times by calling on people to demonstrate leadership and confront problems by seeking solutions, instead of offering criticism. “The challenges we face in our schools, our state, and our nation have demanded that kind of grassroots, on-the-ground leadership from all of us,” Evers argued.

Evers focused in on school funding, student health, and transportation as key issues that need to be dealt with. He criticized lawmakers for reducing tax dollars sent to schools and for rejecting federal dollars to help expand Medicaid programs, and also argued the state should be able to find a way to fund road construction in the state while supporting schools.

Many of the themes are those Evers is expected to campaign on as he seeks the Democratic nomination in the 2018 race for governor.

Governor Walker signs overdue Wisconsin state budget

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Gov. Scott Walker signs the budget during a ceremony in Neenah. (Photo: WHBY)

A more than two month delay in passing a state budget ended Thursday, with Governor Scott Walker signing the $76 billion spending plan into law.

Surrounded by school children in Neenah, the governor touted the $639 million increase in funding for public schools included in the plan. Overall Walker noted there will be “$11.5 billion invested in schools, in K-12 education in this budget and, at the same time, we have lower property taxes on a median value home.”

Walker said the budget also includes another tuition freeze for University of Wisconsin System students.

Democrats criticized the plan, along with 99 full and partial vetoes the governor made before signing the bill. “This budget was bad from the start, and with his veto pen Gov. Walker managed to make it worse by cutting more funding from Wisconsin

schools while keeping a tax break for 47 millionaires,” argued Senate Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse). “Families in Wisconsin deserve better than a budget that continues to delay road projects, limits healthcare access and takes funding away from local schools.”

The budget was supposed to be in place by the end of June, but Republicans spent months debating several key issues, including whether to increase borrowing to pay for road projects. Walker opposed using tax and fees increases, while Assembly Republicans argued the state should not be so reliant on borrowing.

Affiliate WHBY contributed to this report.

Memo raises concerns about Foxconn bill

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Sen. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse)

A newly released memo argues changes to the appeals process for cases tied to Foxconn’s proposed flat-panel display factory may be unconstitutional.

The bill signed by the governor this week allows appeals in lawsuits related to the factory to be heard directly by the state Supreme Court, bypassing the appeals court. Legislative Council staff, who provide legal analysis for lawmakers, warn the expedited appeals process could be challenged, although it does predict whether a court would strike the provision down.

Senate Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse), who requested the memo, says the change erodes public trust in the court system, while giving preferential treatment to a foreign company. “Everyone should be treated fairly, everyone should have equal access to the process…that’s what people expect out of the court system,” she argues.

A spokesman for Governor Scott Walker says they believe the provision is constitutional, and will prevent frivolous lawsuits from stone-walling the creation of thousands of jobs.

Budget language could impact sidewalk and bike path projects

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That state budget Governor Scott Walker will sign Thursday includes a surprise provision that could make it much more difficult for local government units to acquire land needed for trails and sidewalks. They’ve long had power to “condemn” or acquire through eminent domain property needed for public purposes.

“We’ve heard from municipalities all over the state who are concerned about,” said Dave Cieslewicz, executive director of the Wisconsin Bicycle Federation. “Other municipalities will say that they’ve never used it for this purpose. But it’s very existence makes projects possible.”

Language slipped into the 2017-2019 state budget denies municipalities the ability to use condemnation. And as Cieslewicz noted, its origins are unknown. “This has no public hearing, no one had an opportuinity to ask questions, we don’t even know where it came from.”

Cieslewicz said the change will inevitably mean some projects will be stopped or delayed, and will lead to litigation.

 

Walker releases list of state budget vetoes

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Governor Scott Walker

Governor Scott Walker will sign the state budget Thursday afternoon, but he’s already detailing what in the $76 billion spending plan he will veto.

The governor on Wednesday released a list of 99 vetoes he plans to make to the budget. It includes several he already agreed to in order to help get the bill through the state Senate last week – such as moving up the start date of a prevailing wage repeal and changes to restrictions on school district referendums. Dozens more will be made though, and some are already drawing criticism from Republicans.

They include the removal of a provision that would have allowed low-spending school districts to raise property taxes, if they spend less than the state average per student. Walker said he was vetoing the provision because it could result in a “substantial increase in property tax capacity” without voter approval.

Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette), who co-chairs the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, said he was “severely disappointed” in the governor’s decision to remove the provision from the budget, which he believes would address a long-term inequity in K-12 education funding. “As a result of this veto, low revenue school districts will continue to be required to meet their constitutional educational obligations with less resources than neighboring districts; a funding inequity that has existed for over 20 years,” Nygren argued.

Other vetoes Walker plans to make include scaling back the size of a tax credits for historic rehabilitation projects, cutting five positions that would have been added to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, and removing legislative oversight of bonding for transportation projects tied a proposed Foxconn factory in southeastern Wisconsin. “By depriving the Joint Committee on Finance of a passive review, we are continuing to deny the Wisconsin taxpayer a responsible and accountable transportation fund,” Nygren said.

Walker will sign the budget Thursday at an elementary school in Neenah.

Millennial lawmakers form ‘Wisconsin Future Caucus’

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Rep. Amanda Stuck (D-Appleton) helps announced the Wisconsin Future Caucus.

Younger members of the state Assembly are joining together to address topics important to Wisconsin’s millennial population.

Republican state Representative Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee) is a co-chair of the effort the Wisconsin Future Caucus, which he says will work to focus on finding common ground on issues that should be bipartisan for all younger voters. “We’re not always going to agree on things, but there are certain issues that I think we can lead on,” he argues.

Those shared concerns include entrepreneurship and emerging technologies, like self-driving vehicles. Neylon says it’s important that the state allows the technology to be developed in Wisconsin. “It’s going to improve our economy and it’s going to save lives,” he says.

Rep. Amanda Stuck (D-Appleton) admits some more controversial issues, such as student loan debt, may be more difficult to work on. “I think that will probably be part of the discussion,” she says. “Whether or not we can agree on a specific piece of legislation remains to be seen.”

Majority Republicans in the Legislature have opposed efforts by Democrats to create a state-based system for refinancing student loan debt.

Still, by working together, Stuck says they hope to show that they can put aside the bickering and partisanship that has taken hold across the country.

Senate committee advances ‘constitutional carry’ bill

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Wisconsin Capitol (WRN photo)

A bill that would allow Wisconsin residents to carry concealed weapons without a permit has advanced out of a state Senate committee.

The legislation makes a number of changes to the state’s concealed carry law, which include allowing anyone who can legally own a gun to carry a concealed weapon in most places. It would also allow permit holders to have a gun on school grounds, if they are within a few feet of their vehicle. Felons, who currently are not allowed to have guns in Wisconsin, could also possess muzzleloaders and firearms made before 1898.

State Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which approved the bill Tuesday on a 3-2 vote. He noted the state already has an open carry law, and he believes extending that right to concealed carry would create “less tension” in situations where a person has a weapon on them. “I think this is good policy,” he said.

Democrats on the committee opposed the bill, which Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) argued supports those who are seeking to weaken firearms laws. “We have a problem in this country with too much liberalization on firearms laws, and this just adds to it,” he said.

Wisconsin adopted a concealed carry law in 2011, and there are now more than 330,000 people who have a permit.

The bill now heads to the full Senate, where it could be voted on next month. While Governor Scott Walker has previously said he is fine with the system the state currently has in place, Wanggaard believes the governor will sign the legislation if it makes it to his desk.