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Budget panel Republicans cut hundreds of items from Evers’ budget

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Democrats on the legislature’s budget committee are calling Republican cuts to  Governor Tony Evers’ proposed budget “foolish and embarrassing.”

Those comments came after the Joint Finance Committee removed a total of 380 items from the Governor’s budget on Thursday.

Representative Evan Goyke said the cuts would leave a “fiscal hole we will not be able to climb out of.” The Milwaukee Democrat expanded on that, in a YouTube video.

Governor Evers is calling on Wisconsinites to contact their lawmakers to push for items to be reintroduced into the budget, including expansion of Badgercare. “This is an embarrassing decision that will cost Wisconsin for decades to come,” said JFC Democrat, Senator Jon Erpenbach said of the Republican decision to reject federal funding for that.

Other provisions axed by the Republican majority included legalization of marijuana, and increased spending for education.

“The budget that we’re going to be adopting, I believe is going to be reasonable, responsible and realistic,” Joint Finance Committee co-chair, Senator Howard Marklein said prior to Thursday’s first JFC work session.

“It’s pretty clear the governor’s budget is unworkable, unrealistic and unsustainable,” said co-chair, Representative Mark Born. “No Wisconsin business or family would budget the way the governor has, and legislative Republicans will not either.”

Republicans will be working up a new budget off of base — that is, from current budget signed by Evers two years ago. A completed budget is expected to be ready by June or July, at which time Evers can use his extensive veto authority to modify it.

WRN’s Raymond Neupert contributed to this report

Assembly Republicans want state’s American Recovery Act money used to provide property tax rebate

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State Assembly Republicans want some things out of the latest COVID-19 relief package from D.C. – including a tax rebate for property owners.

“We want to make sure our homeowners receive the assistance they need after a difficult year. So we are suggesting providing one billion dollars, to give the equivalent of ten percent return on property taxes to property owners in Wisconsin,” said Representative Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam).

Born co-chairs the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, which will have no say in how the state’s $3.2 billion share the latest federal stimulus will be allocated. Governor Tony Evers this week vetoed a bill passed by Republican lawmakers last week to give JFC oversight  over federal COVID-19 spending.

Born said the tax rebate would pass legal muster, even though the federal money can’t be used for tax relief.

“We’re not impacting tax law or taxes in any way,” he said Tuesday. “This is aid to households. We’re using property taxes that were paid to arrive at the amount.”

Also during Tuesday’s press conference at the Capitol, Representative Barb Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc) asked for more money for long-term facilities.

“It’s important that we recognize this industry, and the difficult year its been through. And yet the governor didn’t even mention it in his priorities,” she said.

Evers said he’s got that covered in his budget, and in the state’s share of the American Recovery Act. “We will also be prioritizing nursing homes, especially as it relates to the things that they need in order to maintain a safe environment.”

Republicans also want $500 million for broadband expansion. Evers this week said he’ll allocate $600 million for businesses, $200 million toward infrastructure, including expanding broadband access, and another $500 million for continuing the state’s pandemic response.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has said Republicans may go to court, in order to get that oversight of the federal money.

Representative Pat Snyder (R-Schofield) said that remains a possibility, and that if the shoe was on the other foot, Democrats certainly wouldn’t want a Republican Governor to have control of the funds. “I think my colleagues across the aisle would love to see the Joint Finance Committee get ahold of those funds,” Snyder told WSAU. “I think that would be the right thing to do as well.”

Assembly Republicans call on Governor Evers to increase funding to schools that had in-person classes

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Assembly Republicans want Governor Evers to prioritize some 20 million dollars in emergency school funding for rural districts that have been holding in-person classes for most of the current year.

State Representative Pat Snyder said schools that prioritized in person classes should get more of that funding. 

“Some of the districts that haven’t been in like say through the first half of this year but came in after Christmas, they wouldn’t maybe get as much as the ones that have been in since September.”

Snyder says says those districts carried a heavy, unplanned financial burden. “Cost they’ve had in cleaning and staff and all the other things that are associated with it.”

That 20 million dollars of CARES act funding is under the Governor’s personal discretion. The state GOP already moved 66 million dollars of CARES funding to those schools earlier this year. 

Joint Finance moves some federal education funds to schools that held in person classes

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Republican members of the state’s Joint Finance Committee have reallocated some federal school funding to prioritize school districts who were open for in person classes this year.

Co-Chair Senator Howard Marklein says schools ought to be rewarded for bringing kids back to school buildings. 

“The motion before us today provides an incentive to those districts that have been doing the right thing and by offering in-person instruction. It also provides an incentive for those schools that are not currently open to in-person instruction.”

But Democrat Senator Jon Erpenbach says that Republicans are being punitive for school districts that had to make a tough choice to move to remote learning.

“Teachers adapted quickly. Administrators adapted quickly. Parents adapted quickly, and the kids adapted quickly. They shouldn’t be punished for that. Individual school districts, through their boards, their elected boards, made their own decisions based on what their community as a whole wanted. They shouldn’t be punished for that.”

The move redirects around $66 million dollars in funding from the program. Another 615 million dollars is directly awarded by the federal government and cannot be moved. 

Evers adds funding for early education, long term care to proposed state budget

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Governor Tony Evers is previewing parts of his proposed state budget, including a new series of grants for those who are caring for their children and loved ones during the pandemic.

The programs will offer up 140 million dollars in total for early childhood programs, and 600 million dollars for long term care programs and those who are stay at home caregivers.

Evers says investing in childcare and the elderly is a moral issue, and not just an economic one and that the pandemic has shown just how frayed the social net in Wisconsin is. Evers is set to announce the full budget proposal next week.

Governor Evers calls for fair maps, more broadband funding, and DWD overhaul in State of the State address

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Governor Tony Evers laid out his roadmap for 2021 at Tuesday night’s State of the State Address.

Evers took little time in laying out tall goals for 2021. Evers says he’ll be calling for a special session of the Legislature to overhaul and rebuild the state’s unemployment system.

“We know that replacing the system will take years. That’s why it should have been done sooner. But it’s also why we don’t have another moment to waste.”

Republicans have been decrying the backlog of unemployment claims that were generated by outdated systems and processes at D W D, and Evers wants them to get together and fix the issue.

Evers says that the massive push for increased internet access showed the vast digital divide across parts of Wisconsin, and that he’ll be stepping up the funding for broadband expansion to $200 million in his next budget.

“This pandemic has shown us first-hand that lack of access to high-speed internet continues to be a setback for kids, families, and businesses across our state.”

Governor Evers says that a fair and open redistricting process will be vital to the state in 2021. Evers says that the last time maps were drawn in the state, Republicans did so in secret with the help of attorneys, and that no one got to provide any input. 

“I’m announcing that my biennial budget is going to make sure that the legislature draws our maps in the light of day, in the public eye, and with public input by requiring public meetings for map drawing process.”

Many of the records for those strategy sessions were never released, and Evers says he doesn’t want to see a repeat of that process. “Because the people of our state deserve to know how these maps are drawn and by whom.”

Evers thanked the people of Wisconsin for their strength and perseverance through the pandemic and what was a tough year, and alled for continued unity among the people of the state.

Senator Baldwin pushes for fresh pandemic funding for small businesses

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Senator Tammy Baldwin says she wants to restart small business in Wisconsin with more federal funding to keep them afloat during the pandemic. 

Baldwin says the legislation would step in where the P P P and other pandemic funding has fallen away. “The RESTART Act is bipartisan legislation that answers the calls of the restaurants, gyms, hotels, retailers, concert venues and other businesses impacted by this economic crisis.”

Baldwin says the Trump Administration dropped the ball, and that help needs to come quickly to save small businesses. 

“President Trump let the Paycheck Protection Program expire, leaving many small businesses without a lifeline. We must take action now and provide more resources to the hardest hit small businesses in Wisconsin.”

The bill is currently backed by both Republican and Democrat senators. The Senate is also scheduled to come back into session later this month to consider legislation.

Central Wisconsin Airport gets 16 million dollars to upgrade runways

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Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee is getting 16 million dollars to repair and replace one of its runways.

Airport Director Brian Grefe says there’s no question the runway has reached the end of its life span, as some of the pavement dates back to when the airport opened in 1969.

“Maintenance expenses on this runway have been increasing year-over-year just with that pavement deteriorating and in still needing to meet FAA safety standards.”

Grefe says those improvements will mean long-term stability for the facility.

“Ensure that we maintain a facility that operates 24/7. And that type of reliability of something that airlines really value and look towards.”

CWA services wide sections of central and northern Wisconsin, and is on a priority list of airports that are getting FAA funding.

 

WSAU

Wisconsin starts annual shared revenue payments to local governments

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State officials are distributing their first major payment of the year to local municipalities and school districts.

That’s just under 1 point 4 billion dollars in shared revenue to the community. State Revenue Secretary Peter Barca says these funds help ensure that local property taxes can stay low. 

“The Governor, Governor Evers has really championed the idea of trying to take more off the property tax reliance, knowing that many people just strictly can’t afford it.”

Barca says these funds help offset state and local property taxes, and make up the lion’s share of a lot of state spending. 

“School aids are by far the biggest expenditure of all the local relief. It’s six billion dollars that goes back every year.”

State revenue sharing began in 1911 with the enactment of the state income tax.

AG Kaul sues US education department over PPE funding for low income schools

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Attorney General Josh Kaul is joining 9 other attorneys general in suing the US Department of Education over PPE funding for schools.

That funding was part of the CARES Act, and is meant to go to Title 1 schools, which handle low income students and families. 

“But the way that [Secretary of Education] Besty DeVos has read the rule, a fancy private prep school is just as eligible for funds as schools with large numbers of low income kids.”

Kaul says the targets for that funding are very clear. 

“It specifically targets schools that have large numbers of low income and otherwise disadvantaged students.”)

The Department of Justice say that could mean that 4 million dollars of needed funding could be stripped from needed schools in Wisconsin.