The Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) met on April 17 and April 22 to continue voting on Governor Walker’s proposed 2015-2017 state budget. JFC passed a number of motions, which modified the governor’s proposed budget. This includes action on portions of agency budgets in the Department of Military Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of […]
JFC Takes First Executive Action on State Budget
Date Fri, Apr. 17, 2015 - 9:29am By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) held its first executive session this week on Governor Walker’s proposed 2015-2017 state budget. The committee took action in a number of areas, including the Secretary of State, the Public Service Commission (PSC), State Treasurer, Department of Revenue-Lottery Administration, Department of Administration – Division of Gaming, the Supreme Court, Circuit […]
JFC Chairs Set Ground Rules and Remove Non-Fiscal Budget Items
Date Fri, Apr. 17, 2015 - 9:10am By Hamilton
Before Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) kicked off voting this week, JFC chairs, Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) issued a memo on the budget procedures for the budget vote process. The memo included a list of 14 non-fiscal policy items that the chairs have determined will not be addressed in […]
Joint Finance Committee and the Calm Before the Storm
Date Fri, Apr. 3, 2015 - 9:05am By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) has finished up its round of public hearings across the state and will begin to vote on whether to approve, amend, or delete provisions from the governor’s budget. The JFC is waiting for the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) to complete the budget papers, which provide alternative budget provisions. JFC members […]
Hutton, Vukmir Champion Bill to Repeal State’s Prevailing Wage Law
Date Fri, Apr. 3, 2015 - 9:03am By Hamilton
Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance Study Concludes Law is Flawed, Annually Costing Taxpayers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Representative Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) and Senator Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) have introduced Assembly Bill 32/Senate Bill 49, companion bills to repeal the state’s prevailing wage law. Wisconsin’s prevailing wage law requires state and local units of government to pay […]
Budget Hearings Wrap Up
Date Fri, Apr. 3, 2015 - 8:51am By Hamilton
Budget hearings concluded last week after the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) held four public hearings across the state to hear citizens’ testimony on Governor Walker 2015-2017 proposed state budget. In total, over 1,000 people testified at the hearings, held in Brillion, Milwaukee, Rice Lake and Reedsburg. With over 25 hours of testimony, JFC members heard […]
LFB Releases Series of Memos on Governor Walker’s Proposed Budget
Date Fri, Mar. 20, 2015 - 9:22am By Hamilton
This week Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) released three memos to provide additional analysis and information on the impact of Governor Walker’s proposed 2015-2017 budget. The memos included a summary of state tax and fee modifications included in the budget, an examination of the use of certain segregated funds and a projection of the general fund […]
Budget Hearings Begin
Date Fri, Mar. 20, 2015 - 8:38am By Hamilton
The first of four Joint Finance Committee (JFC) public hearings for Governor Walker’s proposed state budget for 2015-2017 were held on Wednesday at Brillion High School, located east of Appleton. The hearing began at 10 a.m. and over 200 people registered to testify on a variety of issues. While much of the public’s testimony focused […]
JFC Holds Agency Briefings for Three Days
Date Thu, Mar. 5, 2015 - 7:45pm By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) met for three days this week to hear testimony from nearly all 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. JFC members heard testimony from most agencies, however a few […]
Historic Preservation Tax Credit Report Released
Date Thu, Mar. 5, 2015 - 7:40pm By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) submitted its annual report on Historic Preservation Tax Credit Assistance program to the Joint Committee on Finance (JFC). The report provides a summary of the total level of credits awarded under the program from its inception and details on the projects that received the credit. The historic tax credit, […]