Gov. Tony Evers has signed the two-year budget, but only after using his partial veto authority to pump nearly $100 million more into K-12 education than what Republicans had proposed.
He also undercut former Gov. Scott Walker’s push to require able-bodied adults with school-age children to meet work requirements to receive food stamps and for adults without kids to go through drug screening to qualify.
While the requirements remain, Evers’ moves nixed the funding so they can’t be administered.
Evers also indicated in his veto message that he will sign a separate bill that would direct additional revenue from online sales to lower income taxes. The combined impact of the income tax reductions in the budget and AB 251 total $518 million over the two-year period. The reductions would reduce the lowest two income tax brackets.
Evers used his line-item veto authority 78 times. That figure matches the average number of partial vetoes Wisconsin governors have used on budget bills over the last decade. Over the past 30 years, governors have issued an average of 137 partial vetoes, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Evers wrote in his veto message the GOP version of the budget falls short, adding he seriously considered vetoing the full document.
“But when I ran for this office, I said it was time for a change, and I made promises to the people of Wisconsin,” Evers wrote. “I promised I would put politics aside to get things done.”
See more on Evers vetoes here.
Please answer below whether you believe Evers or the GOP-controlled Legislature won the budget battle and let us know why in the comments.
