This Tuesday, the State Building Commission (SBC) convened to review Governor Ever’s 2025-27 Capital Budget. In the end, the commission deadlocked 4-4 on the Governor’s plan and are now sending the $4.1 billion proposal to the Joint Finance Committee with no recommendation. This is the fourth consecutive biennium the SBC has deadlocked on the capital […]
2025-27 Capital Budget Sent to JFC with No Recommendation
Date Thu, Mar. 27, 2025 - 4:04pm By Hamilton
JFC Hearings Scheduled for April, but Budget Delays Possible
Date Thu, Mar. 27, 2025 - 2:24pm By Hamilton
In a typical state budget cycle, April marks the end of the Joint Finance Committee’s (JFC) traveling public hearings, followed by agency heads testifying on their respective budgets. By the end of the month, the committee usually begins taking up portions of the state budget to meet the June 30 deadline. But these are not […]
Wisconsin’s Key Races: Supreme Court and DPI Elections
Date Thu, Mar. 27, 2025 - 2:18pm By Hamilton
Control of State Supreme Court Up for Grabs For those hoping to tune out politics for a bit after the ad barrage that happened during the Fall of 2024, sorry, you are out of luck. Wisconsin’s race for the State Supreme Court has become a proxy war for Republicans and Democrats on a national scale. […]
Key Policy Divides Emerge Early in Wisconsin Budget Debate
Date Thu, Mar. 6, 2025 - 4:01pm By Hamilton
Now that the dust has settled and the legislature has begun to dissect the Governor’s 2025-27 state budget, Republican legislators are ready to start over and craft their own budget. Before that, however, the majority leaders plan to introduce their own tax relief proposal using the state’s surplus. Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August has said […]
Marquette University Poll Released
Date Thu, Mar. 6, 2025 - 4:00pm By Hamilton
April 1st Spring Elections According to the poll, voters are still mostly unfamiliar with candidates running for both the Wisconsin Supreme Court and State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Among registered voters, 38 percent don’t have an opinion of former Attorney General and current Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel and 58 percent don’t have […]
Income Tax Cuts over the Last Decade have Resulted in Significant Tax Relief
Date Thu, Mar. 6, 2025 - 3:58pm By Hamilton
In Late February, Forward Analytics released a report and press release highlighting how income tax cuts from 2012-2023 have resulted in nearly $7 billion in tax relief for Wisconsin Taxpayers. According to the report, the groups that saw the largest cuts in percentage terms were single filers with incomes under $48,000 and married-joint filers with incomes less […]
American Red Cross Holds Legislative Day
Date Thu, Mar. 6, 2025 - 3:57pm By Hamilton
Last week, the American Red Cross hosted its Legislative Day in Madison. Red Cross staff and volunteers spent the morning engaging with speakers from legislative, regulatory, and administrative sectors. Maggie Gau, Chief of Staff to Governor Evers, presented the group with a Proclamation from the Governor’s office declaring March as American Red Cross Month. Participants […]
Gov. Evers 2025-27 Executive Budget Highlights
Date Wed, Feb. 19, 2025 - 3:56pm By Hamilton
Gov. Evers gave his fourth biennial budget address on February 18, unveiling his 2025-27 executive budget. He proposes an operating budget of $ $118.9 billion over the next two fiscal years, adding a net 880.94 FTE positions. For comparison, the final 2023-25 state budget spent $97.4 billion with a net reduction of 175.51 FTE (GPR) […]
Reactions to the Governor’s Budget
Date Wed, Feb. 19, 2025 - 9:23am By Hamilton
Republican legislative leaders reacted quickly and harshly to Gov. Evers’ address, with Republican Majority Leaders Sen. LeMahieu criticizing the level of spending and Rep. August promising to rework the budget to focus on tax relief. Joint Finance Committee Co-Chairs Sen. Marklein and Rep. Born and other Republican committee members issued similar statements. Democrats on the finance committee released a joint statement supporting Gov. Evers’ […]
State Superintendent Three-Way Primary Results
Date Wed, Feb. 19, 2025 - 9:13am By Hamilton
State Superintendent Jill Underly and education consultant Brittany Kinser will compete in the April 1 election after emerging as the top two candidates in a three-way primary. With 92 percent of precincts reporting, Underly received 37 percent of the vote, while Kinser secured 35 percent. Sauk Prairie Superintendent Jeff Wright finished in third place with […]