The Wisconsin State Assembly convened in special session last week to debate and vote on nine special session bills as part of the Heroin, Opiate, Prevention and Education (HOPE) Agenda. Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette) introduced a total of 11 special session bills in late February, and committee hearings took place in March before the bills […]
3M Day on the Hill 2017
Date Tue, Apr. 11, 2017 - 11:26am By Hamilton
3M Company held their Wisconsin Day on the Hill recently and met with many legislators and agency personnel to discuss issues including manufacturing, transportation and health care. Attendees, who included plant managers from around Wisconsin, heard from Rich Zipperer, Chief of Staff to Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), Assembly Speaker Robin […]
JFC Public Hearings Begin
Date Tue, Apr. 11, 2017 - 10:54am By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) held their first public hearings this week on Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed 2017-19 state budget. JFC heard from agency heads at the Capitol on March 28-30, and will spend April listening to testimony from citizens throughout Wisconsin before they begin votes on the budget in early May. The hearings throughout […]
JFC Pulls Out Non-Fiscal Budget Items, Governor Issues Errata
Date Tue, Apr. 11, 2017 - 10:50am By Hamilton
On April 6, the co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee (JFC), Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R- River Hills) issued a memo outlining JFC budget process and starting point. The memo included 83 non-fiscal policy items that will be removed from the budget. According to the memo, these items “should instead be […]
Wisconsin Democrats Release Legislative Agenda
Date Fri, Mar. 31, 2017 - 11:42am By Hamilton
On Thursday, March 16, Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse), Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha), and other Wisconsin Senate and Assembly Democrats held a news conference to unveil the “Wisconsin Way Forward” joint legislative agenda. Characterized as a plan focused on fairness, opportunity, and community, legislative Democrats provided general ideas without yet providing […]
JFC Agency Briefings: Day Three
Date Fri, Mar. 31, 2017 - 10:52am By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) met for three days this week to hear testimony from state agencies on the governor’s proposed budget. Legislators posed questions to the department secretaries on the implementation of budget proposals and asked other questions pertaining to agency services. On Thursday, March 30, legislators heard from the Public Service Commission (PSC), the […]
JFC Agency Briefings: Day Two
Date Fri, Mar. 31, 2017 - 10:50am By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) met for three days this week to hear testimony from state agencies on the governor’s proposed budget. Legislators posed questions to the department secretaries on the implementation of budget proposals and asked other questions pertaining to agency services. On Wednesday, March 29, legislators heard from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the […]
JFC Agency Briefings: Day One
Date Fri, Mar. 31, 2017 - 10:49am By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) met for three days this week to hear testimony from state agencies on the governor’s proposed budget. Legislators posed questions to the department secretaries on the implementation of budget proposals and asked other questions pertaining to agency services. On Tuesday, March 28, legislators heard from the Department of Administration (DOA), […]
JFC Holds Agency Briefings
Date Fri, Mar. 31, 2017 - 10:45am By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) met for three days this week to hear testimony from state agencies on the governor’s proposed budget. Legislators questioned department heads on the implementation of budget proposals, and inquired about various agency services. Both Republicans and Democrats on JFC posed tough questions on the budget’s biggest proposals, including moving state […]
LFB Projects $1 Billion Structural Deficit Heading into 2019-21 Biennium
Date Fri, Mar. 31, 2017 - 10:23am By Hamilton
In a March 23 memo, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) projected the state will have a structural deficit of over $1 billion in the 2019-21 biennium. To develop this estimate, LFB used the 2018-19 base revenues and expenses and adjusts for changes in the governor’s proposed 2017-19 budget. LFB then compares the modified expenditures against […]