The Joint Finance Committee voted to cut the Parole Commission in half, but rejected the guv’s call to wipe it out. Walker wanted to eliminate the eight-member Parole Commission and instead rely on a new appointee in the Department of

The Joint Finance Committee last night green-lighted Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to drug test Medicaid recipients, adopting a GOP motion that also left intact many of the other changes to both Medicaid and food stamps the guv was pushing for.

A GOP omnibus motion on the Department of Health Services that would modify the guv’s call to require able-bodied adults with school-aged children to meet work requirements to remain eligible for food stamps. The motion also would approve re-estimates of

The Joint Finance Committee motion on UW that passed 12-4 today adopts performance-based funding for the UW System but in a much different way. For one, that model wouldn’t start in 2017-18 as Walker had called for and instead start

The Joint Finance Committee today argued over whether Republicans are adding funding toward UW or cutting it. The committee passed 12-4 an omnibus motion on UW that freezes tuition again, adds performance funding for the UW System and makes some

The Joint Finance Committee today rejected Dem efforts to make tuition free at the two-year UW Colleges and add $500 million to the UW System to make up for past GOP cuts. The omnibus GOP motion the committee is taking up today

The Joint Finance Committee plans to take up the Department of Corrections, DNR and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority when it meets next Wednesday. Committee members are also planning to take on the Supreme Court, district attorneys, the Investment Board, Tourism

The Joint Finance Committee is expected to reject Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to cut tuition and instead opt for continuing the freeze for in-state undergrads. Walker had proposed keeping the freeze for the next year and then cutting tuition by

The Joint Finance Committee recessed for today and plans to take up the UW System portion of the biennial budget on Thursday, according to Co-chair Alberta Darling. The committee had pushed off today’s scheduled votes on UW, as Republicans continue to disagree over

The Joint Finance Committee today unanimously approved Walker’s call to ease the “benefit cliff” that families face with the state’s childcare subsidy program. Now, families earning up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $37,777 for a

The Joint Finance Committee approved 12-4 Walker’s plan to sanction parents in W-2 programs whose children are habitually absent from school. Currently, W-2 participants can be sanctioned if they fail to enroll their child in school. According to the Legislative

The Joint Finance Committee today signed off on Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to expand drug testing and use a more stringent screen in the W-2 program. The state already screens and tests non-custodial parents in the program, as well as

The committee rejected Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to create a public campaign to encourage young people to graduate high school, maintain a full-time job and then wait to have children until they’re married and older than 21. Walker had proposed

The committee unanimously rejected Gov. Scott Walker’s call to end $500,000 annually in federal money for grants of up to $75,000 to programs that provide legal services for low-income families related to domestic violence, sexual abuse, restraining orders, and injunctions.

Joint Finance would be able to review any state lease of more than $500,000 before DOA could sign it under a motion the committee approved along party lines. It also would require DOA to perform a cost-benefit analysis of renewing

The Joint Finance Committee largely signed off on Scott Walker’s plan to consolidate human resources functions at the Department of Administration over Dem objections it would give the guv more power and concerns the move would not save money. Sen.

GOP tensions over the state budget continued to spill into the open today as JFC Co-chair John Nygren accused Senate Republicans of allowing a handful of members to “railroad” the process. Fellow Co-chair Alberta Darling acknowledged her Senate GOP colleagues

The state would restrict access to the homestead tax credit, but impact fewer people than the guv’s version, under a motion the Finance Committee approved 12-4. Co-chair John Nygren, R-Marinette, said Republicans generally want to those who need it, but

The Joint Finance Committee scrapped Gov. Scott Walker’s plan for settlement money from Volkswagen, opting instead to fund a $32 million statewide transit capital assistance program. Originally, the guv planned to provide Milwaukee County $26 million over the next two

The state would take over operations of the the Circus World Museum under a proposal the Joint Finance Committee approved unanimously today. The state already owns the facilities, artifacts and site. Under the guv’s plan, it would take the next