The Assembly and Senate met on Feb. 12 and 13 to vote on very limited calendars. Most notably, both chambers passed AB 4, which provides a middle class income tax cut. The bill, authored by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Joint Finance Committee member Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), funds the $688.1 million reduction in income tax collections with the 2017-19 budget surplus. The bill passed both houses on party lines.

In his State of the State Address in January, Gov. Tony Evers restated his campaign promise for a middle class income tax cut, but proposed funding the cut by capping the Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit. Citing objections to the Republicans’ competing funding proposal, Evers vetoed the bill in its entirety on Feb. 20.  Evers’s veto message states he objects to passing a major fiscal item outside of the upcoming budget process, and that his budget proposal will include an alternative plan for middle class tax relief. Evers will deliver his 2019-21 state budget on Feb. 28.