DNR Secretary Preston Cole implored the Joint Finance Committee today to support agency efforts to clean up PFAS, arguing contamination is a threat to the state’s health, economy and sporting heritage. Cole warned the effort would likely take at least

Workforce Development Secretary Amy Pechacek told the Joint Finance Committee today Wisconsin’s economy is undergoing a change due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the state needs to begin preparing workers for that new environment. Responding to a question on how

Milwaukee Public Schools is in line for more than a third of the more than $2.2 billion in federal aid Wisconsin districts will receive through the three stimulus packages approved over the past year, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

One day after Evers vetoed legislation giving them a say in how the money is spent, Assembly Republicans called on the guv to use some funds from the latest COVID-19 package to give homeowners and long-term care facilities a boost

Four agencies have been asked to testify on the state budget next week as the Joint Finance Committee again cut back on the number of departments asked to appear before the panel. The committee today noticed that Public Instruction and

Along with increasing taxes by a net $1 billion, Gov. Tony Evers’ budget would hike fees $17.2 million, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The budget’s enhanced collection efforts also would generate an additional $78 million in revenue over the

Wisconsin’s state and local governments, along with its educational institutions, could receive $8.7 billion from the latest federal COVID-19 stimulus bill, according to an estimate from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. A new LFB memo summarized the package’s wide-ranging impact on

The $594 million tax cut Gov. Tony Evers signed last month leaves his 2021-23 budget nearly $300 million in the red, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Evers introduced his budget two days before he signed the bill that

Expanding Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act would generate an additional $1 billion in general purpose revenue savings thanks to provisions in the COVID relief bill that cleared Congress this week, according to a new Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo. That

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