Wisconsin has received $227.4 million in federal road funding grants for Fiscal Year 2018. Gov. Scott Walker said the funds will be used for nearly 50 local bridge projects and to complete by 2021 the I-94 North-South project (a Foxconn-related project stretching from near Milwaukee to the Wisconsin/Illinois state line). The funding from the U.S. […]
Wisconsin Receives $227 Million Federal Transportation Grant
Date Thu, Jun. 14, 2018 - 4:32pm By Hamilton
Walker Releases 2019-21 Agency Budget Directives
Date Thu, May. 24, 2018 - 10:47am By Hamilton
Earlier this month, Gov. Scott Walker provided agencies with directives for preparing their budgets for the 2019-21 biennium. Walker requested agencies be “aggressive” in identifying savings and emphasized that agencies be “good stewards of taxpayers’ money.” In a letter to agencies, Walker asked agencies to focus on making higher education more accessible, improving Wisconsin’s health […]
LFB Projects Surplus at the End of the 2017-19 Biennium
Date Fri, Jan. 19, 2018 - 10:13am By Hamilton
On Jan. 17, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) released their latest projections for the 2017-19 biennium. LFB increased their ending general fund balance projection assumed in the state budget by $137.5 million, leaving the state with a net balance of $385.2 million. The 2017-19 biennium ends on June 30, 2019. LFB reports that the $137.5 […]
DHS Improves Medicaid Projection in Second Quarter Report
Date Fri, Jan. 5, 2018 - 8:26am By Hamilton
In a recent report, the Department of Health Services (DHS) provided a much more positive projection of the state’s Medicaid program for the current biennium (2017-19). DHS projects the Medicaid program will end the biennium with a balance of $9.6 million general purpose revenue (GPR) and $23.4 million all funds. In September, DHS estimated the […]
Sen. Stroebel Appointed to JFC
Date Fri, Dec. 15, 2017 - 9:14am By Hamilton
Last week, Sen. Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) named Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) to the Joint Finance Committee (JFC). Stroebel replaces former Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls), who recently resigned after Gov. Scott Walker appointed her Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection secretary. Many view Stroebel’s appointment to the committee as a nod to […]
DOR Releases FY2018 First Quarter Tax Collections
Date Thu, Dec. 14, 2017 - 10:01am By Hamilton
On Dec. 1, the Department of Revenue released the FY 2018 first quarter tax collections. Overall, collections from the first quarter of FY 2018 were up 2.1 percent over the first quarter last year. This is attributed mainly to a 6.2 percent increase in general sales and use taxes. Corporate income and other (estate, utility, […]
State Finishes Fiscal Year 2017 With $579 Million Surplus
Date Fri, Oct. 27, 2017 - 9:18am By Hamilton
On Oct. 15, the Department of Administration (DOA) released the Annual Fiscal Report detailing the fiscal condition for fiscal year 2016-17 (FY 17), which ended June 30, 2017. The state ended the year with a general fund balance of $579 million. This is $112 million more than the projected closing balance estimated in the budget […]
Medicaid Deficit Projected for End of the Biennium
Date Thu, Oct. 12, 2017 - 12:03pm By Hamilton
On Oct. 2, the Department of Health Services (DHS) submitted a report on the Medicaid benefit budget to the Joint Committee on Finance. DHS projects that costs will exceed the budget by $7.9 million GPR by the end of the 2017-19 biennium, which began on July 1, 2017. The $7.9 million shortfall is due to […]
Governor Signs Budget
Date Thu, Sep. 28, 2017 - 4:26pm By Hamilton
At an elementary school in Neenah on Sept. 21, Gov. Scott Walker officially signed the $76 billion 2017-19 state budget. Prior to signing the budget bill, Walker released a list of his 99 partial vetoes of the budget. A week prior on Sept. 13, the Assembly passed the budget. Initially there was some uncertainty as […]
Legislature Moves Closer to Budget Passage
Date Fri, Sep. 15, 2017 - 8:52am By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee completed their budget work on Sept. 6. All the budget motions passed by JFC were incorporated into a Substitute Amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 64, which replaces the entire original budget bill (Assembly Bill 64). The Assembly passed the budget on Sept. 13, sending it over to the Senate. At the […]