Governor Tony Evers will take one more shot at ensuring fair election maps in Wisconsin. In his last State of The State Address Tuesday night, Evers says he’ll call on the Legislature to act.
Evers also called out Republicans for failing to deal fairly with tax cuts and spending. Evers says that dwindling school aid from the state has forced local districts to go to tax increase referendums to pay to keep schools open. He also wants the Legislature to fully fund domestic violence prevention programs, and to work together with his office to ensure that the state’s corrections system sees the reforms it needs.
When it comes to the special session, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he’s willing to listen to what Evers proposes on redistricting, but isn’t optimistic it’d be truly nonpartisan. Vos also said in regards to the tax plan Republicans sent to Evers on Sunday, “I’m looking forward to working with the governor to do what we were sent to Madison to do – keep costs low and prioritize the people of Wisconsin.”
Senate Majority Leader Republican Devin LeMahieu had this response to Evers address:
“The state of our state is strong, but not for the reasons you heard earlier tonight. The state of our state is strong in spite of the governor, not because of him. Thanks to strong Republican majorities here in the legislature, Wisconsin families have only seen one example of what state government could look like with full Democrat control”.
The address marked Evers’ either and final State of the State address as he won’t seek reelection this fall.