6/10

Tuesday June 10^th the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) met again for an executive session to consider motions for the following agencies. The committee includes 12 Republican members and 4 Democrat members; all 12-4 and 4-12 vote tallies were among party lines. With a two 13-3 votes each time one of the 4 democrats voted across their party line.

Motions Adopted:

• Motion #33 – Circuit Courts (13-3)
• Motion #37 – Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (12-4)
• Motion #34 – Historical Society (13-3)
• Motion #35 – Workplace Development (12-4)
• Motion #36 – Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (16 – 0)
• Motion #38 – Revenue (12-4)

Highlights of the Approved Motions

Office of the Commissioner of Insurance

Motion #36, passed with a bipartisan vote, specifically paper #445, to Increase the cap on reinsurance payments to insurance companies from $230 Million to $265 Million, helping to cover high- cost insurance claims.

Circuit Courts

Motion #33  allocates $10 Million from the General-Purpose Revenue (GPR) annually to county level circuit courts. Circuit courts are a trial level of courts that handles both civil and criminal cases and covers a wide range of legal matters.

6/12

The JFC met on Thursday to discuss highly anticipated topics like education. The meeting was delayed over 5 hours from its original start time of 1pm. Five omnibus motions were adopted with votes consistent among party lines each time.

Motions Adopted:

• Motion #45 – Veteran Affairs (12-4)
• Motion #46– Wisconsin Technical College System (12-4)
• Motion #48 – Public Instruction (12-4)
• Motion #47 – Shared Revenue and Tax Relief (12-4)
• Motion #44 – General Fund Taxes (12-4)

Highlights of the Approved Motions:

Public Instruction:

Motion #48 was a main topic at this meeting, including 25 different items concerning Wisconsin’s education. The approved plan by the GOP controlled JFC added $336.1 Million in new state aid to k-12 education, a fraction of the $3.3 Billion that Gov. Evers had originally proposed.

• Increase in Special education funding by $77.2 Million in 2025-26, and $151.6 Million in 2026-27. Raising the reimbursement rate to 35% then 37.5%.
• Reduce the Department of Public Instructions general operation budget by 10%, $1.33 Million annually.
• One-time $10 Million dollar investment to expand mental health services in schools
• Adjust funding to Racine and Statewide Private school program by $3.9 million in 2025-26 and $8 million in 2026-27 (motion includes a similar allotment to Milwaukee private school choice program)

General Fund Taxes

Motion #44

• Retirement income exclusion starting in 2025, people 67 or older can exclude the first $24,000 of their retirement income from state taxes. Married couples both 67 and older can exclude the first $48,000 from state taxes.
• Expanding the second individual tax bracket, more income will be taxed at the lower 4.40% rate.

6/17

Just before the JFC met on Tuesday, two agenda items were removed and set to be addressed the following meeting: The UW-System and higher education Aids Board. Two legislators from each party were absent, leaving the GOP with 11 votes and the Dems with 3 votes.

Approved Motions:

• Motion #52 – District Attorneys, Public Defender Board (11-3)
• Motion #57 – Military Affairs (14-0)
• Motion #58 – Corrections (11-3)

Highlights:

District Attorneys, Public Defender Board

• Providing $858,400 in 2025-26 and $922,400 in 2026-27 as well as 12.5 positions annually to address workload concerns.

Military Affairs

• WISCOM is a communications system that public safety personnel use across the state to communicate. Paper #501 provides one time funding of $79.7 million in 2025-26 to help develop and build a new WISCOM 800 system. Additionally, a one-time $10 million payment to fund grants will help local agencies buy or upgrade equipment to be able to use the new WISCOM system.
• Providing $2 million in 2025-26 for flood disaster resilience grants.