Breaking with a long standing tradition of signing the state budget in Madison, Governor Scott Walker has decided to move the event to Green Bay this weekend with plans to sign the $66 billion billion.
The Governor will hold the signing ceremony Sunday afternoon at Badger Sheet Metal Works in Green Bay. Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch says the location was chosen because the city and that business reflect Walker’s goals for the budget of getting Wisconsin back to work.
Huebsch made his comments Thursday, while speaking at a Wispolitics.com event in Madison.
Governors in recent decades have typically signed the bill in Madison at either the Capitol or the Executive Residence. Having the signing on a weekend is also unusual, but Huebsch says the Sunday date was chosen because it was a good time for scheduling and the Governor wants to get it done as early and quickly as possible.
Governor Walker is expected to make at least a few changes to the bill with his veto pen, although Secretary Huebsch would not indicate what they might be. Several lawmakers, organization, and citizens have sent letters to the Governor requesting specific items be removed from the budget approved by the Legislature last week.
Huebsch says the process of making veto decisions was relatively quick and was helped along by working with lawmakers during the budget process. He says there was not much included in the final version of the budget that was a surprise to the Walker Administration, with many provisions being talked about as the budget was being developed.
Walker is expected to sign the bill at around 2pm Sunday afternoon at an event that will be closed to the public.