Eighty percent of Wisconsin adults say the Legislature should have passed a $1.8 billion surplus package that included more money for schools, an effort to drive down property taxes and income tax rebates, according to a new Marquette University Law School Poll.

Eleven percent of the adults surveyed said the Legislature should have defeated the bill, which failed after three Senate Republicans and all 15 Dem members of the chamber voted against it. Nine percent said they didn’t know whether the bill should’ve passed.

Dem lawmakers who opposed the bill raised concerns of the impact it would’ve had on the next state budget. A new report from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau last week showed passing the package would’ve left the state with a $2.95 billion structural deficit for the 2027-29 biennium.

The state is now projected to have a $525 million surplus at the end of that two-year period under current law when comparing current revenues with future spending commitments.

Those numbers don’t factor in possible revenue growth over the two-year period.

The poll also asked respondents about concerns from opponents that the plan was fiscally irresponsible and spending the money now might lead to future budget deficits.

Sixty-nine percent said it would’ve been better to pass the package, while 21% said it would be better to delay until next year.

The bipartisan package was negotiated by Dem Gov. Tony Evers and GOP legislative leaders Robin Vos, the Assembly speaker, and Devin LeMahieu, the Senate majority leader. All three are leaving office.

The poll also noted most of the Dem candidates for governor and GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Tom Tiffany opposed the package, while Evers backed it.

Less than 20% of respondents thought it was right of the Dem candidates and Tiffany to oppose passage, while 65% said Evers pushing it was the right thing to do.

Twenty-five percent of respondents said candidate positions on the surplus package will be very important in deciding their vote this fall for governor and the Legislature, while 48% said it will be somewhat important. Twenty-one percent said it won’t be too important and 6% said it won’t be important at all.

The poll of 454 Wisconsin adults was conducted Wednesday and Thursday using a sample selected from the SSRS Opinion Panel. Surveys were conducted online, and the margin of error was plus or minus 5.5 percentage points.

Nate Silver rates Marquette as the nation’s second-best pollster with an A/B rating.