Developing: After Threatening to Pause Budget Votes, Republican Leaders Appear to Reach Shared Revenue Deal with Gov. Evers

Before yesterday’s Assembly session, Republican leadership spoke about the budget process and proposals to change how and how much state revenues are shared with local units of government. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Finance Co-Chair Mark Born said that committee votes on the state budget would stop until a final deal on shared revenue could […]

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Joint Finance Committee Budget Votes: May 23 and 25, June 1

The Joint Committee on Finance (Joint Finance Committee or JFC) of the Wisconsin Legislature continues its work on the 2023-25 state budget, taking votes to reshape the budget as initially proposed by Gov. Tony Evers (D). The committee began the process on May 2 by voting to remove many new programs and significant changes to […]

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Assembly Passes Shared Revenue Bill; Acts 6-10 Signed Into Law

In May, the Wisconsin Assembly held one floor session, while the Senate did not meet. No additional floor dates have been scheduled for May. So far, six bills have been signed into law this month. Assembly: May 17 (floor calendar) The Assembly met May 17 and passed one bill and eight resolutions. The Assembly devoted […]

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Environmental Policy: DNR Budget, PFAS Legislation, NRB Appointments

There have been several significant updates on environmental policy in Wisconsin, including PFAS, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the 2023-25 state budget. Finance Committee Approves DNR Budget Motions The Joint Committee on Finance held an executive session May 18 to vote on budget motions related to DNR, the Environmental Improvement Fund (EIF), and […]

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Assembly Republicans Release Shared Revenue Proposal

On April 27, Assembly Republican legislators outlined their 2023-25 state budget proposal for “shared revenue,” state tax revenue that is divided among local governments to support various programs and services. The proposal shares some similarities with what Gov. Evers (D) proposed in his executive budget, in particular dedicating one-fifth of the state’s sales tax revenue […]

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Finance Committee Begins Voting on 2023-25 Budget Motions, Removing Hundreds of Gov. Evers’ Proposals

This week, the Joint Committee on Finance began voting on motions to reshape the 2023-25 state budget as originally proposed by Gov. Tony Evers (D). This process, expected to conclude by mid-June, will result in the final budget bill that will be voted on by the full Legislature. Wisconsin’s next fiscal year (2023-24) will begin […]

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State Building Commission Deadlocks on Gov. Evers’ Capital Budget

The State Building Commission (SBC) met March 23 (agenda) to review Gov. Evers’ (D) 2023-25 capital budget recommendations. The capital budget (highlights) includes plans for purchasing, constructing, maintaining, and disposing of state-owned buildings, facilities, and other properties. Gov. Evers proposed spending $3.8 billion on capital projects over the next two fiscal years, including nearly $1.8 […]

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Fiscal Bureau Issues Budget Analysis; Finance Committee Schedules Agency and Public Hearings

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has released its plain-language summary (tables, agency-by-agency) of Gov. Tony Evers’ (D) executive budget proposal for the 2023-25 fiscal biennium. The document explains, in plain narrative terms along with simple financial tables, how state agencies, programs, and policies currently work and how the budget would affect them. Legislators rely on this […]

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Capital Budget 2023-25 and “Vision 2030” Highlights

Gov. Tony Evers (D) released his 2023-25 capital budget recommendations on February 28. The capital budget includes plans for purchasing, constructing, maintaining, and disposing of state-owned buildings and other facilities, including University of Wisconsin System properties. Gov. Evers proposes spending $3.8 billion on capital projects over the next two fiscal years, financed by $1.9 billion […]

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Gov. Evers 2023-25 Executive Budget Highlights

Gov. Evers gave his third biennial budget address on February 15, unveiling his 2023-25 executive budget. He proposes an operating budget of $103.8 billion over the next two fiscal years, adding a net 816.55 FTE positions. For comparison, the 2021-23 state budget spent $87.5 billion with a net reduction of 174.19 FTE positions. The complete […]

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