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The state would use up to $1.9 million from the Stewardship Fund to purchase 990.55 acres in Dunn County, though several Republican committee members continued to raise concerns about the DNR’s appraisal process for proposed land deals. The committee last
Low-income families would no longer face a “cliff” where they lost eligibility for Wisconsin’s child care program as their incomes rise, under legislation the Joint Finance Committee approved today. Now, the program is limited to those with a gross income
The Joint Finance Committee approved two GOP-authored bills to address homelessness. AB 234 would create a 13-member interagency council that would find ways for state agencies to collaborate on the issue. The bill would create a director who would serve
The Joint Finance Committee today signed off unanimously on a “clean” version of legislation that would alter the criteria for broadband expansion grants and make $18.5 million more available to target rural areas. The committee had already approved the bill
Gov. Scott Walker told reporters today he doesn’t have “any interest in raising vehicle registration fees,” clarifying comments from a media interview last week that he was open to one. Walker said in that interview he “just explicitly talked about
The Joint Finance Committee plans to meet May 1 for its first votes on the state budget and is looking to convene twice weekly after that through June, according to a tentative schedule sent to committee members. JFC was originally
Joint Finance will work off the guv’s budget as it begins making changes except for the Department of Transportation, where the committee will use current law as its starting point, according to a memo distributed today. The decision ends weeks
Citizens today pressed JFC members on a wide range of budget items, including boosting funding for K-12 and increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates. Lawmakers heard testimony from several Wisconsin Public Education Network members, who wore green shirts saying “Go Public” and
UW System students today slammed Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to let students opt out of paying some student fees, saying the move would lead to significant cuts for crucial campus groups. That includes the leaders of the UW-Madison student groups
UW-Platteville leaders and community members asked JFC members to approve a new engineering building that Gov. Scott Walker is proposing to defer. UW-Platteville Chancellor Dennis Shields kicked off today’s hearing and asked lawmakers to approve the building of Sesquicentennial Hall,
Public school leaders today praised Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed K-12 funding increase and asked Joint Finance Committee members to support it. They spoke on the UW-Platteville campus at JFC’s first public hearing, where lawmakers also heard concerns over funding for
The Joint Finance agency briefings are officially wrapped up after testimony from the Department of Workforce Development and the Labor and Industry Review Commission. DWD Secretary Ray Allen defended against Dem attacks over Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed elimination of LIRC, an independent
Baraboo Mayor Mike Palm says today’s a much different time than 2013, when lawmakers rejected a proposal from Gov. Scott Walker to bring the Circus World Museum under state management and give it a more certain financial footing. First there’s
State Superintendent Tony Evers said today he’s pleased with Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal to add $649 million toward K-12, though he’d like some changes in the budget. That includes Walker’s proposal to allow permanent licenses for teachers and administrators
UW System President Ray Cross told lawmakers Gov. Scott Walker’s budget is “the best budget the UW System has seen in a decade.” But he indicated there’s several areas where he’d like changes, such as Walker’s performance-based funding formula, adding
UW System President Ray Cross told the Joint Finance Committee today he supports an audit lawmakers approved today reviewing UW System campuses and their respective private foundations. The Legislative Audit Committee today approved the audit, along with a separate one
Wisconsin Technical College System President Morna Foy today asked JFC members to scrap Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed tuition freeze from the budget. The provision — one of several proposed changes Foy raised concerns over — would freeze tuition for in-state
Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp today defended a budget provision that nixes the agency’s magazine, saying that there’s a “tremendous opportunity for someone in the private sector to take this over.” The provision, which would cut the Wisconsin
Public Service Commission Chair Ellen Nowak said today Gov. Scott Walker’s budget would provide an “unprecedented level of grant funding” for broadband expansion. But Joint Finance Committee members indicated there’s still a long way to go in getting many parts
JFC members grilled Transportation Secretary Dave Ross on what many of them see as a budget that lacks the funding to meet the state’s needs. But Ross defended the governor’s budget as one that allocates money toward local roads, rather
The state would use up to $1.9 million from the Stewardship Fund to purchase 990.55 acres in Dunn County, though several Republican committee members continued to raise concerns about the DNR’s appraisal process for proposed land deals. The committee last month shot down a proposal to use $346,100 in Stewardship
Low-income families would no longer face a “cliff” where they lost eligibility for Wisconsin’s child care program as their incomes rise, under legislation the Joint Finance Committee approved today. Now, the program is limited to those with a gross income of no more than 185 percent of the federal poverty
The Joint Finance Committee approved two GOP-authored bills to address homelessness. AB 234 would create a 13-member interagency council that would find ways for state agencies to collaborate on the issue. The bill would create a director who would serve at the council’s pleasure and included $95,000 in GPR for
The Joint Finance Committee today signed off unanimously on a “clean” version of legislation that would alter the criteria for broadband expansion grants and make $18.5 million more available to target rural areas. The committee had already approved the bill once, but the Senate added a privacy amendment that would
Gov. Scott Walker told reporters today he doesn’t have “any interest in raising vehicle registration fees,” clarifying comments from a media interview last week that he was open to one. Walker said in that interview he “just explicitly talked about the gas tax” and that he doesn’t know of anyone
The Joint Finance Committee plans to meet May 1 for its first votes on the state budget and is looking to convene twice weekly after that through June, according to a tentative schedule sent to committee members. JFC was originally looking at meeting just once in each of the first
Joint Finance will work off the guv’s budget as it begins making changes except for the Department of Transportation, where the committee will use current law as its starting point, according to a memo distributed today. The decision ends weeks of speculation over whether the committee would ignore Gov. Scott
Citizens today pressed JFC members on a wide range of budget items, including boosting funding for K-12 and increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates. Lawmakers heard testimony from several Wisconsin Public Education Network members, who wore green shirts saying “Go Public” and decried the growth in school vouchers. Some of them said
UW System students today slammed Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to let students opt out of paying some student fees, saying the move would lead to significant cuts for crucial campus groups. That includes the leaders of the UW-Madison student groups Badger Catholic and Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics, who testified together
UW-Platteville leaders and community members asked JFC members to approve a new engineering building that Gov. Scott Walker is proposing to defer. UW-Platteville Chancellor Dennis Shields kicked off today’s hearing and asked lawmakers to approve the building of Sesquicentennial Hall, as did several leaders on campus and in the community.
Public school leaders today praised Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed K-12 funding increase and asked Joint Finance Committee members to support it. They spoke on the UW-Platteville campus at JFC’s first public hearing, where lawmakers also heard concerns over funding for senior programs, transportation funding, Walker’s self-insurance proposal and his effort
The Joint Finance agency briefings are officially wrapped up after testimony from the Department of Workforce Development and the Labor and Industry Review Commission. DWD Secretary Ray Allen defended against Dem attacks over Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed elimination of LIRC, an independent agency that reviews DWD administrative decisions on unemployment insurance and
Baraboo Mayor Mike Palm says today’s a much different time than 2013, when lawmakers rejected a proposal from Gov. Scott Walker to bring the Circus World Museum under state management and give it a more certain financial footing. First there’s the announcement this year that Ringling Bros. would shut down
State Superintendent Tony Evers said today he’s pleased with Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal to add $649 million toward K-12, though he’d like some changes in the budget. That includes Walker’s proposal to allow permanent licenses for teachers and administrators by eliminating their expiration dates. Evers told the Joint Finance
UW System President Ray Cross told lawmakers Gov. Scott Walker’s budget is “the best budget the UW System has seen in a decade.” But he indicated there’s several areas where he’d like changes, such as Walker’s performance-based funding formula, adding more capital budget projects and flexibilities for UW and a
UW System President Ray Cross told the Joint Finance Committee today he supports an audit lawmakers approved today reviewing UW System campuses and their respective private foundations. The Legislative Audit Committee today approved the audit, along with a separate one of State Fair Park. The audit follows a UW System
Wisconsin Technical College System President Morna Foy today asked JFC members to scrap Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed tuition freeze from the budget. The provision — one of several proposed changes Foy raised concerns over — would freeze tuition for in-state students for the next two years. Walker’s budget also would
Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp today defended a budget provision that nixes the agency’s magazine, saying that there’s a “tremendous opportunity for someone in the private sector to take this over.” The provision, which would cut the Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine in February 2018, has received a loud
Public Service Commission Chair Ellen Nowak said today Gov. Scott Walker’s budget would provide an “unprecedented level of grant funding” for broadband expansion. But Joint Finance Committee members indicated there’s still a long way to go in getting many parts of the state connected. Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, R-River Falls, asked
JFC members grilled Transportation Secretary Dave Ross on what many of them see as a budget that lacks the funding to meet the state’s needs. But Ross defended the governor’s budget as one that allocates money toward local roads, rather than mega and major projects, which Ross said DOT is