The Joint Finance Committee will hit three Wisconsin cities for in-person public hearings on the guv’s budget with a fourth that will be virtual as lawmakers begin the process of reviewing the two-year plan. The first public hearing will be
The Legislature’s top Dem leaders in a WisPolitics.com luncheon today voiced support for Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposals to raise the minimum wage and allow for expanded local sales taxes. Evers’ budget proposes raising the state $7.25 minimum wage in
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said Gov. Tony Evers’ proposal to allow local governments to increase the sales tax through referendums is dead on arrival. Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley also had
GOP lawmakers today asked Gov. Tony Evers to prioritize schools that have offered in-person instruction with $20.8 million in federal funding that the governor has sole discretion to distribute. It’s the latest attempt by Republicans to place an emphasis on
Gov. Tony Evers’ budget doesn’t envision closing the state’s troubled youth prisons in northern Wisconsin until after a new juvenile facility in Milwaukee would be completed in early 2024. But that’s nearly three years past the statutorily required deadline to
The state’s transportation fund is expected to end the fiscal year June 30 with a deficit of about $172 million, according to DOT. Still, in a letter to the co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee, Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson noted
Gov. Tony Evers’ capital budget calls for nearly $2.4 billion in projects that he says would impact 31 counties. Evers called the latest proposal an investment in the “up-keep of our infrastructure for longevity and public safety and in the
Gov. Tony Evers is proposing $2.3 million to support the use of body cameras for Capitol Police, DNR wardens and the State Patrol as part of his budget. The proposal comes on the heels of a DOJ survey that found
The Joint Finance Committee today reworked Gov. Tony Evers’ special session bill to modernize the state’s unemployment insurance system, adding a Republican provision to provide businesses and others liability protections from COVID-19 lawsuits. The amended bill doesn’t provide the $5.3
In his budget address tonight, Gov. Tony Evers will tell Wisconsinites to ignore those who say the state can’t make health care more affordable while fully funding schools and cutting taxes. What’s more, Evers will argue the state also has
Gov. Tony Evers today announced his budget will propose $329 million to help businesses and the workforce rebuild from the pandemic. That includes $200 million for small businesses through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and a $100 million venture capital
Gov. Tony Evers’ budget will propose allowing counties to double the sales tax they can impose and permit more than two dozen municipalities to add a new sales tax — if local voters approve. The state currently imposes a 5
The Joint Finance Committee voted 11-4 today to ensure Wisconsin businesses that received PPP loans aren’t taxed on the expenses they covered with the money, saving those companies $419 million through mid-2023. That’s one of more than two dozens changes
The Joint Finance Committee voted along party lines today to use more than $65 million in federal COVID funds to reward districts that have been offering in-person instruction and encourage others to get kids back in the classroom. But the
Gov. Tony Evers today announced his budget will propose investing $150 million in mental health initiatives in addition to again seeking legislative approval to accept federal money to expand Medicaid. The $150 million includes $55 million for student mental health
Gov. Tony Evers announced this morning his budget will propose investing $600 million in Wisconsin’s long-term care infrastructure and $104 million more to address quality, affordability and equity in childcare. The efforts include increasing reimbursement rates for nursing homes by
Gov. Tony Evers says he’ll include legalization of recreational marijuana in his upcoming two-year budget plan. Under Evers’ plan to be formally introduced Feb. 16, the drug would be treated much like Wisconsin regulates and taxes alcohol. Wisconsin would join
Gov. Tony Evers today announced his budget will include $43 million to help Wisconsin’s ag industry with almost half of that going to help connect food banks and pantries with state producers. Evers said the $20 million effort impacting food
Gov. Tony Evers announced this morning his upcoming budget will include a series of proposals aimed at reigning in the costs of prescription drugs, including a $50 cap on copays for insulin and eliminating drug copays in the BadgerCare program.
State tax collections through mid-2023 will be nearly $1.2 billion higher than what Gov. Tony Evers’ administration had expected just two months ago, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. LFB Director Bob Lang wrote in a memo to the Joint
