MADISON, Wis. – After lengthy negotiations between Governor Tony Evers and legislative leaders, a bipartisan budget was passed early this morning and signed by Governor Tony Evers. Rep. Palmeri released the following statement:
“This budget marks an actual compromise between legislative Republicans and Democrats. Within this budget there are historic and desperately needed investments in our higher education system and childcare industry, a middle-class tax cut, and a historic investment in general transportation aids for counties and municipalities,” stated Rep. Palmeri.
“I also want to note why it was critical to move this budget quickly. A provision in the state budget will allow Wisconsin’s hospitals to use their health assessments to supplement the state’s Medicaid resources by expanding the dollars they are able to tax from 1.8% to 6%. However, this opportunity will likely be restricted for states under the federal budget bill once signed into law, which will very likely happen in the next couple of days. This provision will secure over $1 billion in additional Medicaid funding for the state ahead of potential cuts at the federal level.
“I was glad to see items in the budget that myself and my constituents in the 54th spent time advocating for like the $137 million to renovate and rebuild the over 60 year old Polk Library at UW-Oshkosh and a $14 million investment in the Municipal Services Payment Program. This budget also includes $256 million for UW-Systems, the largest increase for the system in nearly 20 years and an annual increase of 3% to counties and municipalities for general transportation aids.
“Additionally, EMS and law enforcement saw increased funding with $3.5 million to reimburse emergency medical services training costs, $2 million for law enforcement data sharing, and additional resources to expand missing child alerts.
“However, like any compromise there are aspects of this budget that fall short. I am concerned that legislative Republicans are kicking the can down the road on reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. This program has broad support and I am disappointed this was not addressed.
“I am also frustrated that for the second budget cycle we have yet to come to an agreement on the already appropriated funds for PFAS remediation. It has now been over 700 days since these funds were appropriated, leaving the most vulnerable communities with no state resources to tackle this problem.
“Lastly, the K-12 funding that was negotiated made progress on special education reimbursement rates and school mental health services, but failed to meet the needs of districts through an increase in per-pupil aid.
“While this budget is not perfect, investments were made that would have otherwise been left off the table had legislative democrats opted out of negotiations. A system in which everyone has a seat at the table requires compromises on both sides of the aisle and I voted for a bridge budget that did that.”
