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Wisconsin Assembly budget debate, spending plan
The Wisconsin Assembly fiercely debated how to spend tax money in the next two-year state budget Thursday, June 29.
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Assembly fiercely debated how to spend tax money in the next two-year state budget Thursday, June 29.
Democrats spent all of Thursday seeking votes to change the budget, but could not convince Republicans to change their plan. From the Assembly, it will go to Gov. Tony Evers – who could veto all or part of it and make changes.
In 2018, Republicans set up the state Department of Justice's Office of School Safety. Democrats including Attorney General Josh Kaul wanted $2.2 million to help keep the office fully staffed with 16 position; it has been boosted with federal pandemic relief money that's running out. The office has received more than 7,400 tips since it opened.
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"Your ‘no’ vote today shuts that hotline down. The funding for this costs less than one-tenth of 1% of Wisconsin’s budget surplus," said State Rep. Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay). "I want you all to go home and be able to look your kids in the eye – (and say) we did absolutely everything that we possibly could to keep you safe at school."
"You know what the best hotline is when there’s an incident at school? 911. That’s already there, fully staffed, 24-hours a day," said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester). "If somebody sees something, or worries about it, they should call 911 to ensure that kids are safe, and not that we go through a bureaucracy of DOJ."
One of the biggest questions for Wisconsin is how to spend an expected $7 billion budget surplus. Republicans proposed using roughly half of it on income tax cuts.
"If the government takes too much money, we think the public, the taxpayers, the hardworking taxpayers of this state, can spend this money better than what Madison bureaucrats can do," said State Rep. Terry Katsma (R-Oostburg).
Democrats said the GOP plan favors the rich and the surplus should go elsewhere – including subsidies for child care providers.
"Why? Why were those things not included? And the answer is pretty plainly before us: to afford a major tax cut for the wealthy in this state," said State Rep. Tip McGuire (D-Kenosha). "The 11 richest people in Wisconsin will each get $1.8 million in tax cuts under the Republican package."
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"The goal is to try to keep successful people in Wisconsin no matter what their income is. We want people to move to Wisconsin," Vos said. "One of the things that’s always frustrated me is when people choose to retire, they take their success, and they move to another state. We have to figure out how to keep more successful people in Wisconsin for six months and a day."
The Republican budget would cut University of Wisconsin funding by $32 million with the option to get it back – the same amount Republicans said the system uses for diversity, equity and inclusion.
"The GOP-led war on diversity, equity and inclusion made its way into the state budget," said State Rep. Kalan Haywood (D-Milwaukee).
"This budget serves to redirect $32 million currently being used across the UW System to divide students based on race, sex and economic class," Katsma said. "Instead, we’re going to allow the UW to come back to the legislature with a plan on how to better address our critical workforce shortage.
"What our constituents across the state want is to know that a degree from a UW campus is meaningful, and not just based on how our students conform to looking through the lens of a single ideology and viewpoint for the world."
The budget touches upon everything from schools to roads – and your wallets. It also includes more money for prosecutors and public defenders, a field having a hard time recruiting and keeping workers.
The Wisconsin Senate already approved the budget Wednesday.