GOP legislative leaders late today declared budget negotiations with Dem Gov. Tony Evers had reached an impasse and said they will now turn to the Joint Finance Committee to build their proposal.
Evers, meanwhile, said in a statement that Republicans had walked away from months of budget negotiations — even though he’d agreed to their top demands for a tax cut — because they refused to agree to his priorities for education and child care.
Evers, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos first met in person March 26. Evers office said in today’s statement that talks had ramped up lately, including meetings every day this week.
“The concept of compromise is simple — everyone gets something they want, and no one gets everything they want,” Evers said.
LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Joint Finance Co-chair Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, said “we have reached a point where Governor Evers’ spending priorities have extended beyond what taxpayers can afford.”
Meanwhile, Vos, and Joint Finance Co-chair Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, in a statement left the door open to future negotiations. But “after meeting until late last night and again this morning, it appears the two sides remain far apart.”
Evers has long maintained his priorities in the talks included more money for K-12 education, the Universities of Wisconsin and childcare. Meanwhile, Vos has said Assembly Republicans wanted a tax cut targeting retirement income, and LeMahieu said his caucus wanted a broader reduction. That call focused on expanding the income covered by the second lowest income tax bracket.
The breakdown in talks puts Republicans well behind the normal pace to complete a budget before the fiscal year ends June 30. The committee will be in tomorrow for only the third time to vote on the budget. It also hasn’t taken up any of the major areas that drive state spending such as K-12, UW, Corrections or Health Services.
The statements from GOP leaders didn’t include any details on where the two sides had failed to reach agreement.
“The Joint Committee on Finance has successfully crafted three consecutive budgets that were signed by Governor Evers,” LeMahieu and Marklein said. We are confident that the legislature will pass a responsible budget that the governor will sign into law.”
Despite the breakdown in talks, Evers thanked GOP lawmakers and their staffs for the effort they had put in over the past two months. Likewise, Vos and Born thanked the guv and his staff for “engaging in good-faith negotiations to try to reach consensus on large portions of the state budget.”
In his statement, Evers noted he had agreed to GOP tax priorities even though they were similar to bills he’d previously vetoed because “I was ready to make that concession in order to get important things done for Wisconsin’s kids.”
Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, and Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, knocked Republicans, saying their decision to “walk away” from the talks creates “yet more uncertainty in a difficult time.”
“Democrats will continue to stand up for all Wisconsinites and work to move Wisconsin forward through the budget process,” they said.
