GOP lawmakers says changes coming to Brewers funding bill, Gov. Evers responds
Rep. Rob Brooks said Sunday on 'UPFRONT' Democratic votes will be needed to pass
Rep. Rob Brooks said Sunday on 'UPFRONT' Democratic votes will be needed to pass
Rep. Rob Brooks said Sunday on 'UPFRONT' Democratic votes will be needed to pass
Rep. Rob Brooks, R-Saukville, the author of the GOP's $700 million Brewers funding bill, said Sunday on "UPFRONT" changes will be made to the current plan, adding there likely isn't enough support yet to pass the Assembly.
"It would be very close and very tough if we had to do it," Brooks said. "I think we're going to need some Dem votes, but what I have found in talking to Speaker Vos and my colleagues, every time we explain the details to people one-on-one, they get it."
Brooks said it's his goal to get half of the Democratic caucus to eventually back the plan.
"I would hope 14 to 18," he said. "Do I need that many? I don't know."
Brooks said he met with local officials in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County in recent days and anticipated the local buy-in requirement would drop from $7.5 million annually to $5 million between the city and county.
"If they come up with the things they've counted they can do, and we think we can do, I do think it will be around $5 million," Brooks said.
The legislation will ultimately need to be signed by Gov. Tony Evers, who first proposed spending $290 million from the state surplus in what would essentially be a one-time check to help fund the needed maintenance and upgrades.
"We have to get together and finalize it," Evers told WISN 12 News Monday. "There's too many moving parts right now. I'm not going to respond to different things. All I know, we have to be careful about sticking it to the city or the county."
Brooks said he also anticipated changes to the makeup of the new stadium district board. The GOP plan currently eliminates appointees from Milwaukee and Milwaukee County, a major concern of Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
"Through our process, the governor had two appointments, and at the last minute, we gave him four," Brooks said. "So it's four for the governor, four from the Assembly and Senate, and so we assume, and we've talked to the leadership, that they would like to see maybe we take two of the governor's and give them to the county and the city, and I think that's an easy solution."
Brooks also added he doesn't oppose auditing the stadium district board, as both Senators Rob Cowles and Tim Carpenter have expressed publicly in recent days, but wouldn't wait for an audit to pass the bill.
"I will put it in the bill and guarantee we'll put it in the bill that we will require an audit now, and we'll require one every five years," Brooks said.
Brooks said he anticipates the bill to be in committee next week.