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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

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

ON THE CUSP OF CLINCHING THE DIVISION. THE BREWERS POLITICAL SEASON IS NEARING A CRUCIAL INNING. AS WE SIT HERE TODAY, DO YOU HAVE THE VOTES TO PASS THE ASSEMBLY? I BELIEVE WE CAN. YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE VERY CLOSE AND VERY TOUGH IF WE HAD TO DO IT. I THINK WE’RE GOING TO NEED SOME DEM VOTES. STATE REPRESENTATIVE ROB BROOKS, THE BILL’S AUTHOR, REVEALING SUNDAY ON UPFRONT THE POTENTIAL CHANGES DROPPING THE AMOUNT MILWAUKEE AND MILWAUKEE COUNTY WILL HAVE TO PAY EACH YEAR. SO FROM 7.5 MILLION A YEAR TO 5 MILLION A YEAR SPLIT BETWEEN THAT LOCAL TAXPAYER CONTRIBUTION, A KEY ROADBLOCK FOR DEMOCRATS FIRST PROPOSED AT $200 MILLION OVER 27 YEARS OF THE $700 MILLION PACKAGE THAT INCLUDES 400 MILLION FROM THE STATE THROUGH TAXES COLLECTED ON PLAYER SALARIES AND 100 MILLION FROM THE BREWERS. WHERE ARE YOU WITH EVERYTHING WITH THIS BILL, WE HAVE TO GET PEOPLE TOGETHER AND FINALIZE IT. YOU KNOW, THERE’S TOO MANY MOVING PARTS RIGHT NOW. I’M NOT GOING TO RESPOND TO DIFFERENT THINGS. ALL I KNOW IS THAT WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT NOT STICKING IT TO THE CITIZENS OF THE CITY OR THE COUNTY. GOVERNOR TONY EVERS MONDAY, THE GOVERNOR WHO WILL HAVE TO SIGN WHATEVER THE LEGISLATURE PASSES, ORIGINALLY PROPOSED A ONE TIME $290 MILLION PAYMENT FROM THE STATE SURPLUS TO HELP PAY FOR THE NEEDED MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADES AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD. DO YOU HAVE A RED LINE ON ANY PROVISIONS AT THIS POINT? NOT AT THIS POINT. I JUST I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE WORK THAT WE DID FOR MILWAUKEE COUNTY AND THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE DURING THE SHARED REVENUE DISCUSSIONS ISN’T ISN’T JUST THROWN OUT THE WINDOW. OTHER LIKELY CHANGES TONIGHT INCLUDE RESTORING MILWAUKEE AND MILWAUKEE COUNTIES APPOINTEES TO THE NEW STADIUM DISTRICT BOARD, WHICH THE ORIGINAL PLAN UNVEILED LAST WEEK, ELIMINATED IT IN THE NEWSROOM. I’M MATT SMITH, WISN 12 NEWS. REPUBLICANS SAY THEY ARE STILL HOPEFUL TO HAVE A FUNDING BILL PASSED BY SOMETIME IN OCTOBER. ALL OF THOSE SPECIFICS WERE FIRST UNVEILED SUNDAY EXCLUSIVELY ON UPFRONT. YOU CAN STREAM THE LATEST SHOW RIGHT NOW ON T
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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, 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.

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."

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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."

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

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."

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

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."

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

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.