The GOP co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee downplayed the possibility of negotiations with Dem Gov. Tony Evers on a tax plan or changes Congress may make to the Medicaid program delaying their work on the state budget.
In Hayward for the penultimate public hearing on the budget, Co-chair Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said new revenue numbers from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau next month will also impact the committee’s work.
“Every budget has its things that impact it, and this one won’t be any different,” Born said.
Born and Co-chair Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, haven’t yet provided details on when they plan for the committee to start voting on the budget.
Marklein said today the co-chairs have sketched out a plan, but weren’t prepared to release details of it yet. He said the schedule will be similar to what the committee has done with past budgets with the hope that the document will be completed before the fiscal year ends June 30.
Two years ago, the committee took its first action on the budget May 2, voting to strip 545 policy items from the document. The committee then wrapped up its work June 22, and the document cleared the full Legislature a week later.
In 2021, the committee took its first votes on May 6, and the budget cleared both houses June 30.
The committee’s work on the budget comes against a backdrop of Congress working on a reconciliation package that could include cuts to Medicaid and other safety net programs.
Meanwhile, Evers last month met in person with Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, to discuss a tax package.
“I think those negotiations are one of many variables that could affect our budget and the conversations, including the Fiscal Bureau numbers that we’ll be getting in a few weeks,” Marklein said.
The LFB typically updates revenue projections in mid-May each odd-numbered year as the committee ramps up its work on the budget in earnest. The co-chairs have said they will wait until after seeing the latest projections before tackling major areas of the budget.
