Madison… Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) released the following statement after Gov. Evers’ eighth and final State of the State address:
“Tonight, Gov. Evers spent much of his speech blaming Republicans for problems that were directly caused by him and his administration. Our bipartisan budget had great accomplishments last summer, like $2 billion in property tax relief and meaningful investments in special education, public safety, and local roads. We still have room to make more progress in the coming days.
“The governor can talk about the ‘Year of the Kid’ all he wants, but those are empty words without action. His 400-year veto doesn’t help schools; it raises property taxes on hardworking Wisconsinites while creating another deterrent for schools to fix the root cause of their problems. These issues, including Wisconsin having more school districts than California and a drop in student population, could’ve been fixed by the Republicans’ school consolidation plan. Instead of working with us, he vetoed this plan and chose to ignore the need for reform by perpetuating a broken system.
“Wisconsin families are feeling the weight of his 400-year property tax increase. This comes as the costs of everyday necessities are growing and affordability becomes more challenging for households across the state. With a current $2.4 billion surplus, this money should go back to the taxpayers.
“Republicans have presented the governor with a meaningful plan to effectively utilize this surplus. Our plan includes an income tax rebate for single and joint filers, as well as significant investments in special education, schools and educators, and disaster relief.
“I look forward to working with the governor to do what we were sent to Madison to do – keep costs low and prioritize the people of Wisconsin.”
