Hamilton Political Tidbits – May 4, 2023

On April 27, Assembly Republican legislators outlined their 2023-25 state budget proposal for “shared revenue,” state tax revenue that is divided among local governments to support various programs and services. The proposal shares some similarities with what Gov. Evers proposed in his executive budget, in particular dedicating one-fifth of the state’s sales tax revenue to fund additional shared revenue payments. 

This week, the Joint Committee on Finance began voting on motions to reshape the 2023-25 state budget as originally proposed by Gov. Tony Evers. At its May 2 meeting, the committee began by approving a motion to remove hundreds of spending proposals and non-fiscal policy items from the budget, effectively resetting spending levels to the 2021-23 baseline. The motion removed many significant changes to state law proposed by Gov. Evers.

Third party litigation funding or “litigation financing” is a form of investing in which hedge funds and other financiers invest in a lawsuit in exchange for a portion of any settlement or judgement award. The investment provides cash to plaintiffs to litigate a claim, while the financier—thanks to its sophisticated underwriting—anticipates the case to end in a large enough judgement or settlement to satisfy its obligations.

In a January interview, Senate Majority Leader LeMahieu said that the Senate would work to hold confirmation hearings on department secretaries and other agency heads appointed by Gov. Evers. During Gov. Evers’ first term, the Senate chose not to take confirmation votes on about 185 of the governor’s appointments, including many cabinet positions.

The Wisconsin Legislature held several floor days in April, and Gov. Evers signed the first acts into law of the 2023-24 session:

For updates on the 2023-25 state budget in Wisconsin, the Hamilton Consulting Group maintains an issue update page providing comprehensive coverage of the budget process.