The Joint Finance Committee nixed Dem Gov. Tony Evers’ call to raise hunting, fishing and other permits by $51 million and rejected additional positions for the state crime lab as it got back to work on the state budget.
The committee also put off taking up several agencies that it had noticed for the hearing, which began more than 12 hours after it was originally noticed to start. That includes the UW System, along with the departments of Transportation, Health Services and Children and Families.
The committee also put off taking up the capital budget and raises for state employees.
Co-chair Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said the committee would take those up at a “later date,” but didn’t specify when. He declined to comment after the hearing on when the committee would meet next.
Earlier this week, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told WisPolitics the goal was to complete the budget by the end of next week.
After spending all day behind closed doors, GOP committee members made quick work of the agencies they did take up.
The GOP motion that nixed Evers’ call to raise hunting and fishing fees didn’t include any money for the state’s stewardship program, which is currently authorized through mid-2026.
That drew a protest from Rep. Deb Andraca, D-Whitefish Bay, who said her GOP colleagues were missing an opportunity to “finally put some money into Knowles-Nelson.”
But Rep. Tony Kurtz, R-Wonewoc, said he and GOP state Sen. Pat Testin, another Finance Committee member, were working on separate legislation to extend authority for the program. He stressed those who support the stewardship fund have another year to work on it.
“We are committed to getting it done. We want to get it done right,” he said.
The committee approved a GOP motion for the Department of Justice that included no new positions for the state crime labs.
The guv’s budget included $802,900 to fund six positions at the lab, including three DNA analysts. The six positions were the difference between what the guv recommended in the 2023-25 executive budget and the positions GOP lawmakers approved two years ago.
The motion, approved 12-4 along party lines, also provided $20 million to fund services for crime victims, less than a third of what the Department of Justice had requested.
The federal government had been funding the grants to the tune of $44.5 million a year, but began paring that back in 2023. The current state budget included $10 million in state money to boost the grants, and the state used federal COVID-19 money to help keep the awards where they had been. But in this fiscal year, there was only $13 million available. The $10 million in state money from the 2023-25 budget was provided on a one-time basis, and DOJ was seeking $66.2 million to keep the grants at their previous levels.
Rep. Tim McGuire, D-Kenosha, bemoaned cuts at the federal level, saying the state can’t fix it all. But the grants help those who desperately need services and the GOP motion doesn’t do enough for vulnerable people.
“It’s going to have an impact on people who have had the worst day and the worst week and the worst month of their life,” McGuire said.
No Republicans spoke on the motion.
The committee also voted 12-4 along party lines to approve a motion under the Department of Administration that includes giving WisconsinEye another year to apply for matching funds the state set aside for the public affairs network in the 2023-25 budget. The original effort made available $10 million for the network to apply for after it raised matching funds. The motion would provide $250,000 to the network in 2025-26 without requiring any matching funds. The remaining $9.75 million would still require matching funds by the new deadline of June 30, 2026, to see the funds. The move comes after the network announced earlier this month it needed to raise $500,000 by August to meet its budgetary needs for the rest of 2025.
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