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MADISON – Today, Governor Tony Evers signed the state budget and used his line-item veto power on 78 provisions within the final document crafted by the legislature. Representative Dianne Hesselbein released the following statement on the Governor’s decision:

 

As a legislator, I am faced with many difficult decisions including the vote I took on this biennial budget. I believe the Governor’s original recommendation was the People’s Budget and represented the desired direction of where Wisconsinites wanted to go as a state.

 

Regrettably, due to the setbacks of extreme partisan gerrymandering, the Republican majority in the legislature did not represent the will of the people. Instead of passing the People’s Budget as proposed, my Republican colleagues chose half-measures, partisan gimmicks, special handouts, and missed many of our best opportunities to move forward as a state.

 

Fortunately, we have a Governor who is choosing to lead and salvage a starting point with this budget for compromises down the road. The will of the people called for Medicaid expansion, strong investments in Special Education, clean water protections, and many other issues that the Republican majority failed to deliver to the Governor for his signature.

 

Governor Evers used his line-item veto power for the benefit of the people of Wisconsin and now we must work together to deliver on the important pieces that the Republicans took out of the People’s Budget. I am grateful that we have a Governor who is leading in today’s divided government despite the legislature’s manufactured majority.

 

The effort for a more prosperous Wisconsin does not end today – there is work to be done to move our state forward.

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