MADISON — The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy released the following statement after budget negotiations between Gov. Tony Evers and legislative leaders reached an impasse this week:
The failure of Gov. Evers and legislative leaders to come to an agreement on a budget that prioritizes taxpayers and institutes necessary reforms is unfortunate but unsurprising. There has been a tremendous lack of leadership in the Capitol for some time, and the bottom line is it’s not working. Now is an opportunity for conservatives on the legislative Joint Finance Committee to develop a responsible budget that puts taxpayers first.
At the MacIver Institute, we’ve been urging the adoption of budget reforms for years. Here are some suggestions for conservatives to consider:
1. Start from scratch. Instead of just adding spending to current levels, start from $0 and assess the usefulness of all spending.
2. Broad funding reductions. Set an ambitious funding reduction metric (even just 1%) and find ways to achieve it.
3. Eliminate administrative rules and statutes tied to unaccountable programs. Don’t just eliminate funding for unnecessary programs, eliminate the programs entirely to right-size our government.
4. Eliminate all appropriations that require ongoing oversight. Last year, the state Supreme Court significantly curbed legislative oversight of ongoing programs like the land stewardship fund. Without accountability, the legislature should zero out these funds.
5. Require state agencies to write and submit operational budgets. It’s as basic as it sounds. State agencies should actually have to draft and submit budgets that supports their mission statement. They don’t now.
