On May 8, the Republican-controlled Joint Committee on Finance removed 612 items from Governor Evers’ 2025-27 budget proposal and voted to reset the budget to “base,” or current spending levels. Items included in the budget motion included all non-fiscal policy items and several of the governor’s major proposals, such as:

Democrats on the committee criticized the move and issued several Democratic amendments aimed at preserving targeted provisions but were rejected along party lines. Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D–Milwaukee) warned the cuts could create uncertainty for families relying on services like child care.

Governor Evers also weighed in, saying “After today, Republican lawmakers will be on-record voting against efforts to help keep our kids and families safe, ensure Wisconsinites have access to clean and safe drinking water, prevent property tax increases, invest in mental health services for veterans, support to help farmers navigate reckless tariffs and trade wars, and so much more.”

• Expanding Medicaid eligibility for parents and adults from 100% to 138% of the federal poverty level
• Legalization, regulation, and taxation of marijuana
• Repealing Right to Work laws
• Reinstating Prevailing Wage
• Limitations for manufacturers utilizing the Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit
• Family and Medical Leave expansion
• The creation of a new individual income tax rate of 9.8% for those earning over $1 million for married filers or $500,000 for single filers
• All proposals to address PFAS
• Office of Public Intervenor at the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance which would assist Wisconsinites appealing claims denied by health insurance companies
• The Child Care Counts program, a program that provided direct grants to child care providers

In this week’s GOP radio address, JFC Co-Chair Senator Howard Marklein (R–Spring Green) defended the approach, stating: “These policies, even if they are policies that we support, should be debated in the open and vetted through the legislative process. They should not be quietly snuck into the budget among hundreds of other provisions.” Marklein added that Republicans are committed to building a “responsible and sustainable” budget that meets the state’s priorities.

JFC Co-Chair Representative Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) echoed Senator Marklein’s statement, saying “We’ll work from base, and the first step of that today is to remove all that policy. And then begin the work of rebuilding the budget, the legislative budget for all of Wisconsin.”

The committee has now taken the budget back to current law as they move forward with the biennial budget process. Next, lawmakers await the release of revenue estimates from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau to determine their next steps.