The much- anticipated updated state revenue numbers for the 2025-27 state budget were released recently by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The latest forecast indicates the state is now expected to have $335 million less available through mid-2027 than previously anticipated in January. According to the LFB, the state’s projected ending balance for the 2023-25 biennium […]
Updated State Revenue Estimates Push Leaders Toward Budget Talks
Date Fri, May. 23, 2025 - 9:19am By Hamilton
Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds “400-Year” Veto
Date Thu, Apr. 17, 2025 - 3:06pm By Hamilton
Friday, April 18, the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision upheld Gov. Tony Evers’ 2023 partial veto that extended annual school funding increases until the year 2425 by striking numerals and punctuation in the budget bill. The GOP-controlled legislature had passed a two-year increase in schools aids. Gov. Evers used his partial veto authority to, […]
2025-27 Capital Budget Sent to JFC with No Recommendation
Date Thu, Mar. 27, 2025 - 4:04pm By Hamilton
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 […]
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 […]
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’ […]
Wisconsin’s Budget Surplus Grows to $4.3 Billion, Setting the Stage for Budget Debates
Date Fri, Feb. 7, 2025 - 10:39am By Hamilton
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) now projects that Wisconsin will end the 2023-25 biennium with a $4.3 billion surplus, an increase from the $4 billion forecasted in November. The revision is largely driven by an expected $894.3 million increase in tax revenue, primarily from higher sales tax collections. LFB attributes the increase to updated economic […]
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos: Republican Response to Governor Tony Ever’ State of the State Address
Date Fri, Jan. 24, 2025 - 10:17am By Hamilton
Though Speaker Vos (R-Rochester) expressed his hope that Governor Evers’ wants to find common ground with Legislative Republicans to solve Wisconsin’s most pressing issues, Republican response to Gov. Evers’ proposals was pointed. Speaker Vos said, “What we heard tonight was Gov. Evers’ longest State of the State address and it was chock full of liberal […]
Legislative Oversight of Rulemaking Challenged
Date Fri, Jan. 24, 2025 - 9:09am By Hamilton
January 16, 2025, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held oral arguments on a case contesting the Joint Committee for Review Administrative Rules’ power over the administrative rule promulgation process. Under Wisconsin law, JCRAR has the power to halt rules from taking effect by indefinitely objecting to a rule. If JCRAR indefinitely objects to a rule, the […]
Evers Declares 2025 the “Year of the Kid” in State of the State Address
Date Fri, Jan. 24, 2025 - 9:04am By Hamilton
On January 22, in his seventh State of the State address on Wednesday, Governor Tony Evers declared 2025 the “Year of the Kid,” outlining a series of proposals aimed at addressing the needs of children and families in Wisconsin. The speech was a preview of the Governor’s 2025-27 state budget, which will be introduced on […]