The powerful budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) has new chairs on both the Senate and Assembly side for the first time in over a decade. Sen. Howard Marklein (R – Spring Green) will take the gavel for the Senate majority after Sen. Alberta Darling (R – River Hills) steps aside. Joining Sen. Marklein on […]
Current Fiscal Year Savings Targets Announced
Date Fri, Oct. 2, 2020 - 10:55am By Hamilton
On July 22, Gov. Evers announced a directive for state agencies to identify $250 million in additional savings for the current fiscal year (FY 20-21). This is the second round of cuts by the administration to manage state expenditures, as state revenues are down due to pandemic. In April, the governor ordered a five percent cut to state agency […]
State Agencies Submit 2021-23 Budget Requests
Date Fri, Oct. 2, 2020 - 10:50am By Hamilton
The 2021-23 state budget development process is now underway. On September 15, Wisconsin state agencies submitted their 2021-23 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 […]
LFB Releases Better-Than-Expected Revenue Numbers
Date Wed, Sep. 9, 2020 - 10:04am By Hamilton
On August 30, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) released the preliminary 2019-20 general fund tax collections. While many budget-watchers anticipated very bad news for state revenues, the LFB report actually showed tax collections up slightly (1.1 percent) over the previous year. Based on the preliminary information, collections totaled $17.5 billion in 2019-20, which is $112.6 […]
Governor Evers Directs State Agencies to Identify More Savings
Date Thu, Jul. 23, 2020 - 10:37am By Hamilton
On July 22, Gov. Evers announced a directive for state agencies to identify $250 million in additional savings for the current fiscal year (FY 20-21). This is the second round of cuts by the administration to manage state expenditures, as state revenues are down due to pandemic. In April, the governor ordered a five percent […]
LFB Releases Updated General Fund Tax Collections, UI Information
Date Thu, Jul. 16, 2020 - 11:36am By Hamilton
On July 9, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) released updated numbers on Wisconsin’s general fund and the state’s unemployment insurance system. General Fund Collections Due to the coronavirus pandemic, tax collections for June 2020 were $370 million below collections in June 2020. The drop in collections reflects a continued decline over the past three months. […]
Gov. Evers Releases Major Budget Policies for Agencies in 2021-23
Date Tue, Jun. 16, 2020 - 1:14pm By Hamilton
Gov. Tony Evers recently provided state agencies with his major budget policies for 2021-23. The budget instructions request agencies prepare budgets without asking for new spending in either year of the biennium. The budget policies direct agencies to assume zero budget growth in both fiscal years of the biennium but provide exceptions for K-12 school […]
Latest Wisconsin Revenue & Unemployment Numbers
Date Mon, Jun. 15, 2020 - 9:49am By Hamilton
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau recently released a memo providing updates on Wisconsin budget and unemployment insurance numbers. Tax Collections The memo reports that Wisconsin’s tax collections for the first nine months of the current fiscal year (through March) increased by 5 percent over the same period for 2018-19. However, numbers for April and May […]
Wisconsin Budget Update: DOA Spending Cuts, General Fund Update, UI Projections
Date Mon, May. 11, 2020 - 11:18am By Hamilton
Like most Wisconsin businesses and citizens, Wisconsin government is facing significant negative economic consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic. As the state heads into the second fiscal year of the 2019-21 biennium, agencies and legislators are analyzing the numbers and looking at how to adapt the state budget for 2020-21 and beyond. Unemployment Insurance Trust […]
Additional DOR Auditors Generate 11.8 to 1 Return on Investment
Date Mon, Jan. 27, 2020 - 12:35pm By Hamilton
According to a Department of Revenue (DOR) report from the end of December, new tax auditors hired in the 2015-17 budget cycle generated an 11.8 to 1 return on investment for the state in fiscal year 2019. The 2015-17 state budget required DOR to annually report to the Joint Finance Committee on the estimated tax […]