MADISON – This morning, Governor Evers signed the state budget, using his partial veto power to remove specific line items from the bill as passed by the legislature. Representative Alex Joers (D-Middleton) released the following statement:

“I am thankful Governor Evers used his partial veto authority to reign in an out-of-control right-wing agenda. He vetoed provisions that restricted K-12 education, giving school districts the ability to flourish, allowing them to have continued, additive per pupil revenue adjustments of $325 each year. It is vital that we fight for our K-12 education system, and I am proud to say I support Governor Evers in his actions to do so. 

“He also used his partial veto to allow for $15 million designated for child care in the form of grants instead of loans, providing more opportunities for Wisconsin families. While this does not come near the investment our child care industry needs, I am glad to see our governor using the tools available to him to support our early education workforce.

“Furthermore, I am grateful Governor Evers used his veto power to keep the 188.8 UW system positions that were cut by the majority party as a cheap political attack against inclusion efforts. Supporting our students should never be political, and I call on the majority party to halt their attacks on our UW System and restore funding.

“Finally, Governor Evers is supporting working-class families by vetoing the tax cuts initially included for the top two individual income brackets while preserving tax cuts for the middle class. Legislative Republicans were prepared to hand a significant amount of our surplus money to the wealthiest people in our state. That didn’t make sense, nor does it create prosperity for the majority of Wisconsinites. By investing in our middle and working class citizens, we are investing in Wisconsin.

“I am relieved by the progress made by the Governor’s choices to veto these harmful provisions, but it is clear that our work is incomplete and I look forward to working with my colleagues to address outstanding challenges.”