Wisconsin Policy Forum: Wisconsin’s State & Local Tax Burden Drop to Another Record Low in 2024

According to a report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum, state and local taxes as a share of income fell again in 2024 hitting a low of 9.62% of personal income. That’s down from 9.92% in 2023, which was also a record low after state and local taxes accounted for 9.9% of personal income in 2022. Overall, […]

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos: Republican Response to Governor Tony Ever’ State of the State Address

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 […]

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Legislative Oversight of Rulemaking Challenged

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 […]

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Evers Declares 2025 the “Year of the Kid” in State of the State Address

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 […]

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Evers Announces Voter Referendum Proposal

Democratic Governor Tony Evers announced this week plans to include a proposal in his 2025-27 budget to establish a binding referendum process in Wisconsin, allowing voters to propose and repeal state laws. This effort is like an initiative from 2022, which did not advance due to Republica opposition. Evers argues that such a process would […]

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State Projects $4 Billion Budget Surplus but Faces Challenges Ahead

On November 20, the Department of Administration (DOA) released updated state revenue estimates heading into the 2025-27 biennium. According to DOA, Wisconsin is on track to conclude the 2023-25 biennium (which ends in June 2025) with a $4 billion surplus, an increase of $500 million from earlier projections. The Evers administration expects an additional $1.7 […]

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Joint Finance Committee

The powerful 16-person committee, which includes eight Assembly and eight Senate lawmakers, is responsible for crafting the state’s biennial budget for July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027. Co-Chair – Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) Co-Chair – Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) Vice-Chair – Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) Eric Wimberger (R-Green Bay) Patrick Testin (R-Stevens […]

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Holds Oral Arguments on “400-Year” Partial Veto

October 9, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held oral arguments in a case challenging Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto that extended school revenue increases for 400 years. The lawsuit challenging the partial veto was brought by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), the state’s largest business lobbying association. In the 2023-25 state budget bill, the legislature included […]

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State Ended Fiscal Year 2023-24 with $4.6 billion surplus

The Department of Administration reported the state ended the 2023-24 fiscal year with $4.6 billion in the general fund, about $400 million more than expected, due in part to higher-than-anticipated revenues and deferred spending. The current fiscal year 2024-25 is also looking positive, with revenues up 4.3% compared to the previous year, driven by increases […]

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State Agencies Submit 2025-27 Budget Requests

The 2025-27 state budget development process is now underway. On September 16, Wisconsin state agencies submitted their 2025-27 state budget requests to the governor and Department of Administration (DOA). In his June budget instructions to the state agencies, Governor Evers directed agencies to assume zero budget growth (with a few exceptions like exceptions for K-12 school aids […]

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