The Legislature has taken steps to overhaul Wisconsin’s 2021-23 state budget by removing hundreds of policy proposals and resetting spending levels to the 2019-21 baseline. On May 6, the Republican-led Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) met to vote on major aspects of the 2021-23 state budget put forward by Governor Tony Evers (D). Gov. Evers’ […]
Finance Committee Overhauls State Budget, Removing Hundreds of Policies and Resetting Spending Levels
Date Fri, May. 21, 2021 - 11:03am By Hamilton
Governor Calls for Special Session on Medicaid Expansion; Legislative Leaders Plan to Gavel Out Immediately
Date Fri, May. 21, 2021 - 9:43am By Hamilton
On May 19, Governor Tony Evers (D) signed Executive Order 116, directing the Legislature to convene a special session on his proposal to expand Wisconsin’s Medicaid program, also known as BadgerCare. The bill put forward by the governor, LRB-3568, would accept federal money to expand Medicaid coverage to about 90,000 additional people. Over the next […]
Gov. Evers Rejects Republican Plans for Spending Federal Funds, Announces Additional Details
Date Fri, Apr. 23, 2021 - 12:27pm By Hamilton
On March 11, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the third federal bill to include substantial grants, aids, direct payments, and other relief measures related to COVID-19. Totaling $1.9 trillion, the ARPA follows the CARES Act ($2.2 trillion, passed in March 2020) and the CRSSA ($900 billion, passed in December 2020). […]
Finance Committee, Governor Announce Public Budget Hearings
Date Fri, Mar. 12, 2021 - 9:06am By Hamilton
On March 10, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) announced the dates and locations of a series of public hearings on the 2021-23 state budget: Friday, April 9 at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Wednesday, April 21 at the Hodag Dome in Rhinelander Thursday, April 22 at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie Wednesday, April […]
Republican Leaders React to Governor Evers’ 2021-23 Executive Budget
Date Thu, Feb. 18, 2021 - 4:15pm By Hamilton
On Tuesday, February 16, Governor Tony Evers unveiled his 2021-23 executive budget, which spends $91 billion over two years and contains a variety of policy changes and spending programs. Here, we compiled an extensive overview of the governor’s proposal. Immediately following the governor’s budget address, a group of Republican legislative leaders issued a press release […]
Governor Evers’ 2021-23 Executive Budget Highlights
Date Wed, Feb. 17, 2021 - 4:10pm By Hamilton
On Tuesday, February 16, Governor Tony Evers gave his second biennial budget address and released his 2021-23 executive budget. All told, the governor proposes an operating budget of $45.4 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2021-22 and $45.6 billion in FY 2022-23. The proposed state budget adds 308.74 FTE positions by FY 2022-23 compared to FY […]
Drug Costs, Child and Long-Term Care, and Marijuana Legalization Will be Focuses of Gov. Evers’ Budget Proposal Next Week
Date Fri, Feb. 12, 2021 - 9:30am By Hamilton
Governor Tony Evers will unveil his proposed 2021-23 state budget following his budget address on Tuesday, February 16. In various statements and press releases since the beginning of the year, the governor has previewed some of the policies and funding priorities that he will propose. Prescription Drug Prices On February 3, Gov. Evers announced that […]
State Projected to End the Fiscal Year with $630 Million More Than Previously Expected
Date Fri, Jan. 29, 2021 - 9:01am By Hamilton
On Tuesday, January 26, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) sent a memo to the Joint Committee on Finance regarding the state’s fiscal condition. LFB expects that the state will finish the current fiscal year, which ends on June 30, with a net balance of almost $1.77 billion. This projected balance is $629.5 million greater than […]
In Third State of the State Address, Gov. Evers Calls for Unemployment System Overhaul and Declares 2021 “Year of Broadband”
Date Thu, Jan. 14, 2021 - 5:07pm By Hamilton
On Tuesday night, Governor Tony Evers delivered his third annual State of the State address virtually via YouTube and Facebook. After reflecting on the challenges of 2020 and reviewing the status of the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor set out several of his policy priorities for 2021. Referencing the massive influx of unemployment claims that the […]
Round 2 Federal COVID-19 Relief Legislation: What It Means for Wisconsin
Date Thu, Jan. 14, 2021 - 5:04pm By Hamilton
In December 2020, Congress passed a 5,600-page spending bill totaling roughly $2.3 trillion. In addition to funding the federal government for nine months to the tune of $1.4 trillion, the bill featured a $900 billion economic stimulus and COVID-19 relief package. The House approved the package by a 359-53 margin, while the Senate passed it […]