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Activity at the Capitol is ramping up as the Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) will begin to resolve the most divisive items in the budget. With last week's announcement that there would be no additional revenue projected, JFC members are making tough decisions and focusing on their top priority - K-12 education funding. You can read about JFC's executive actions from the last two weeks and the governor's decision to pull agency mergers from the budget, in today's
Tidbits.
Also to read this week, a new edition of
Bills of Note
, which features police grants, new reforms for the promulgation of administrative rules in Wisconsin and an update on a new law that will allow companies like Uber and Lyft to legally operate in Wisconsin.
If you wish to receive additional information about a topic addressed in Tidbits, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Hamilton Consulting Team.
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| JFC Executive Actions - Week 4 |
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The Joint Finance Committee continues to work their way through the governor's budget. This week, JFC voted on items relating to higher education aids, state employment relations, DHS, DATCP, the Environmental Improvement fund, information technology, DCF, tax relief, and items relating to child abuse.
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| LFB: No Additional Revenue Projected |
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After weeks of optimistically waiting for new revenue numbers from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB), legislators were faced with the bleak reality: there is no new revenue projected for the 2015-2017 budget. In the LFB memo to the members of the Joint Finance Committee, the LFB director explained that even if there was additional revenue in the current year, economic forecasts project reduced growth rates in 2015-16 and 2016-17 that will offset any growth.
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| JFC Executive Actions - Week 3 |
The Joint Finance Committee continues to work their way through the governor's budget. Last week, JFC voted on budget items affecting DHS, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor's offices, the Legislature, DOJ, DNR environmental issues and parks and forestry and DWD.
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| WEDC & WHEDA Merger Called Off |
| In the previous edition of Political Tidbits we detailed the just released bill draft that would merge the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) into one agency, the Forward Wisconsin Development Authority (FWDA). Last Friday, Governor Walker issued a press release requesting legislators to remove the WEDC and WHEDA merger from the budget and asked the bill authors of the separate legislation to not take any further steps to advance the bill. The governor cited issues raised at recent joint WEDC and WHEDA board meeting as the reason to call off the agency merger. The governor's announcement to eliminate the agency mergers also included the proposed the merger of the Department of Financial Institutions and the Department of Safety Professional Services. Read more... |
| Senate and Assembly Meet: Pass TIF and FoodShare Bills |
Since the last edition of Political Tidbits, both the State Senate and State Assembly have met on the floor to pass and debate a number of bills.
Last week, the Senate unanimously passed four bills that came out of the Joint Legislative Council Study Committee on Tax Increment Financing Study Committee. This includes Senate Bill 51, which would require a standing Joint Review Board to be established in order for a TID to be created and remain in existence during the lifespan of the TID. In addition, this bill modifies annual reporting requirements, incorporates penalties for not reporting annually and repeals the DOR process to review industry-specific town TIDs.
The Assembly, which met this week, met until late into the night as they debated bills which would affect those who utilize Wisconsin's public benefit that helps low-income families and individuals buy nutritious food. The first bill affecting the FoodShare program, also known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is
Assembly Bill 177
, would limit the foods that could be purchased using the benefits.
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| Bills of Note: Changing the Rules |
| In this week's edition of Bills of Note, we provide an update on the ride-sharing bill, a description of major reforms being circulated to change Wisconsin administrating rule-making processes, and a bill that would increase funding for law enforcement grants. Ride-Sharing Bill A bill we introduced in Bills of Note in mid-April has quickly gone through the legislative process and is already signed into law. Governor Walker signed 2015 Wisconsin Act 16 into law on May 1, which will allow companies like Uber and Lyft to legally operate in Wisconsin. Administrative Rule-Making Reforms Circulated for Introduction Rep. Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee) and Senator Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) have circulated for introduction major reforms relating to the administrative rule promulgation process in Wisconsin and have introduced this bill at the request of Governor Scott Walker. Law Enforcement Grants Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R-West Allis) is circulating a bill to increase funding for law enforcement grants from $2 million to $16 million. Currently, the Department of Justice administers the program, which is limited to cities that have a population of $25,000 or more and limits the grant awards to $150,000. Rep. Sanfelippo's bill will eliminate the $150,000 cap for each grant, allows counties to apply for a grant, allows a city or county to use grant funds to employ additional beat patrol officers or other specialized law enforcement officers and includes an annual application. Read more... |
| JFC Executive Actions - Next Week |
Next week, JFC will meet on Tuesday and Thursday to decide on the following items:
Tuesday, May 19
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Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority
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Budget Management and Compensation Reserves
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Medical College of Wisconsin
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Department of Employee Trust Funds
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Drug Screening and Testing
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Department of Corrections - Departmentwide, Adult, Community, and Juvenile Corrections
- Department of Public Instruction - General School Aids and Revenue Limits, Choice, Charter, and Open Enrollment, District Operations
Thursday, May 21
- Department of Health Services - Departmentwide
- Government Accountability Board
- Department of Financial Institutions and Professional Standards
- Department of Financial Institutions
- Forward Wisconsin Development Authority/Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
- Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority
- Department of Transportation - Transportation Finance, Local Transportation Aid, local Transportation Assitance, and State Highways Program
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| Hamilton Consulting: Your Government Relations Easy Button |
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- Political Fundraising Calendar - Hamilton's political fundraising calendar allows you to see all of the upcoming fundraising events and import them to your own calendar.
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