Speaker Robin Vos said the Republican tax cut plan is “on pause” until Gov. Tony Evers agrees to meet with GOP leaders in person, adding he’s frustrated the Dem governor hasn’t agreed to another meeting.
Evers, Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, met in person March 26 to discuss a possible deal on a tax cut. Since then, meetings have been limited to their staff.
“I don’t understand why Gov. Evers is refusing to meet with us in person,” the Rochester Republican said at a media availability ahead of yesterday’s floor period. “That makes no sense to me. Our staff has had a few conversations, which is good, it’s productive, but we need the decision makers to be in the room.”
LeMahieu told WisPolitics last week Republican leaders need to meet with Evers this week in order to keep budget deliberations on schedule.
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The guv’s office shared with WisPolitics an email that Evers’ legislative affairs director, Zach Madden, sent to Vos and LeMahieu’s chiefs of staff on Friday seeking to meet again once new revenue estimates are out.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau is expected to release those figures in the coming days.
Madden sought dates and times that would work for them while noting the guv has asked aides to keep him briefed on the conversations staffers have been having, though he “will still want final sign off once we have reached the final stage of a potential deal. We do not seem to be at that point yet.”
“The Governor feels strongly that if there is an agreement on taxes to the point the language could be taken up in a motion in Joint Finance, it would absolutely have to come with us having specific agreement on the investments in the Governor’s priorities of K-12, UW, and child care, as we previously outlined,” Madden wrote. “Just as you all will want specificity on what taxes will be reduced and by how much, we will need to know specifically where the equal amount of dollars are going to be spent on the Governor’s priorities (i.e. special ed reimbursement, equalization aid, UW block grant, our childcare proposal, etc.)”
Vos said during the avail ahead of yesterday’s floor period that the original plan was to pass a standalone tax cut bill, but said he listened to the guv when Evers asked Republicans not to move forward with that plan. Vos added his preference now is to find agreement with the guv on a tax cut plan before deciding where to allocate budget money.
Joint Finance Committee Co-chair Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said yesterday there’s still “plenty of time” to get a budget passed, but also said “the governor needs to meet with us.”
