|
For the first time in months, you won't find an elections update or Marquette University poll analysis in Tidbits. The campaign trail dust has settled, and the next legislative session and four years for Governor Scott Walker are underway. The legislature has selected its leadership, freshman legislators are picking their parking spots, and we at Hamilton Consulting are keeping track of things as budget discussions begin.
Capitol babble this week focused on the Department of Transportation's formal budget request (nearly 500 pages), and Hamilton Consulting's new lobbyist, Caty McDermott, has a complete breakdown and analysis on what's inside.
Also in this edition of Tidbits you'll find profiles of four new legislators, information on WEDC's $1.6 million ad campaign, final news from the study committee on TIF, and an introduction to Hamilton Consulting's two newest team members.
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.
|
| DOT Budget: What's Inside? |
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) formally submitted its 2015-17 budget request on Friday, November 14. At the center of Sec. Mark Gottlieb's proposal is an aggressive $751.4 million package of new taxes and fees, including a gas tax ($358 million), excise tax on new vehicles ($378.9 million), and a hybrid/electric vehicle fee ($5.7 million). The department's justification for the new taxes and fees is a projected $300 million shortfall in the next budget, which does not include new costs for additional projects, totaling $945.5 million.
Inside DOT Budget: What's Inside? by Hamilton Consulting's Caty McDermott, find a complete breakdown of taxes and fees, GPR transfers, bonding initiatives, notable budget request items, overall spending, other items of interest, and next steps.
Read more...
|
| Hamilton Consulting Brings on Two New Team Members | |
 Caty McDermott has been working in governmental affairs and policy development for more than nine years, across two states, and in a variety of roles. Prior to joining Hamilton Consulting in 2014, Caty was a grants analyst in the Executive Office at the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. Before joining WHEDA, Caty worked at the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management performing budgeting, legislative analysis, and policy development for several state agencies. Caty received her Master of Public Administration from the University of Connecticut and a Bachelor's degree from UW-Madison in political science and English.
 Rebecca Ballweg has been involved in government and politics since the age of 10 and has been working in communications and marketing for the past five years. After nearly a year working as an intern for Hamilton Consulting, Rebecca moved into a full-time communications and marketing position with the firm in September 2014. In this capacity, she has continued to manage the firm's electronic and social media, including website updates, writing and producing Political Tidbits, as well as attending hearings and tracking legislation. Rebecca received her Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, after two years at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls.
|
| DOA: Agency Requests Exceeds Revenues by $2.2 Billion |
Yesterday afternoon, the Department of Administration (DOA) released the general purpose tax revenue estimates (GPR) for Wisconsin's FY 2015-2016 and FY 2016-2017 budgets. According to The Wheeler Report preliminary breakdown, agency budget requests exceed expected revenues by $2.2 billion over the next budget biennium. Also, DOR revenue projections were re-estimated and saw the state's general fund gross balance at the end of FY 2014-2015 would be $132.1 million short.
Read more... |
| Get to Know a Freshman |
With one of the largest freshman classes ever in the Wisconsin Legislature, it may be harder to get to know the newly elected senators and reprentatives. In this, as well as upcoming issues, Hamilton Consulting will feature four freshman in Political Tidbits. For the 2015-2016 Wisconsin Legislature, the State Senate has seven new senators (five Republicans, two Democrats), and the State Assembly has 25 new representatives (eighteen Republicans, seven Democrats).
In this edition:
- State Senator-Elect Devin LeMahieu (R), 9th District
- State Senator- Elect Janis Ringhand (D), 15th District
- State Representative-Elect Joel Kitchens (R), 1st District
- State Representative-Elect David Bowen (D), 10th District
Read more... |
| Caucus Leadership Announced |
With the election now behind us, the legislature has selected their leadership for the upcoming session.
Top Left: Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, Senate Majority Leader; Top Right: Sen. Jennifer Shilling, Senate Minority Leader; Bottom Left: Rep. Robin Vos, Assembly Speaker; Bottom Right: Rep. Peter Barca, Assembly Minority Leader
|
| Legislative Preview |
|
2013-2014 State Legislature
|
2015-2016 State Legislature
| Senate:
17 Republicans, 15 Democrats
| Senate:
19 Republicans, 14 Democrats
| Assembly:
60 Republicans, 39 Democrats
| Assembly:
63 Republicans, 36 Democrats
|
Also included in the Legislative Preview:
- Newly Elected State Senators
- Newly Elected State Representatives
Read more...
|
| Study Committee on the Review of TIF Ends Ahead of Schedule |
The final meeting of the Study Committee on the Review of TIF, held on November 13, focused on final edits to drafted bill proposals, and how to package the bills when they are introduced in the legislature this upcoming session. The committee voted on bill drafts related to technical law changes, JRB review and annual reporting, and donor TIDs, in addition to a variety of other bill drafts that can be found on the study committee website. The committee dropped two bill drafts relating to levy limits (WLC 0013) and increasing ration of TID value to total value from 12 percent to 15 percent coupled with allowing one additional TID even in excess of the 15 percent cap (WLC 0016). Read more...
|
| UI Trust Fund Has Positive Balance |
Wisconsin's Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund will start 2015 with a positive balance, which means there will be a reduction in federal unemployment taxes (FUTA) for employers. FUTA taxes are designed to discourage a negative UI fund balance.
Because unemployment benefits are an entitlement program and must be paid even if the state trust fund is insolvent, states must then either raise the money themselves or borrow from the federal government's share of UI tax revenues.
|
| WEDC Launches $1.6 Million Ad Campaign |
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has launched a marketing campaign that will air in the Chicago and Minneapolis area to advertise Wisconsin as a great place for business.
The campaign will feature radio, print, and online advertisements in the Chicago and Minneapolis markets. Many of these ads will run from now until the spring of 2015. The $1.58 million plan is targeting business leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors, especially with the online campaign. Reed Hall, secretary and CEO of WEDC, said, "This campaign is strategically designed to reach different audiences in different ways with the same theme: Wisconsin is a great place for companies to do business."
Read more...
|
| The Future Wisconsin Economic Summit |
The Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) will be holding their first ever Future Wisconsin Economic Summit. The summit will focus on Wisconsin in the future, businesses that will survive during that time, and what partnerships can be made now to help the future economy.
 | FW Forward Thinkers:
Why Training is the Key to Competing |
Read more... |
|
Hamilton Consulting: Your Government Relations Easy Button
|
The Hamilton team is working to make sure our clients have the tools necessary to accomplish their government relations goals. We encourage our clients to remember to make use of all the many services we provide:
- Political Tidbits - Political Tidbits is our FREE email newsletter on political and policy developments in Wisconsin, including links to relevant news articles, policy papers, and other informative documents. We are constantly updating our mailing list and we could use your help! Please let us know if your email address is changing so you will continue to receive our newsletter. Also, feel free to forward this newsletter to others who may be interested in subscribing.
- News Clips - President Harry Truman once wrote that you can't get all the facts from just one newspaper, and without the facts, "you cannot make proper judgments about what is going on." The right column of Political Tidbits contains a selection of the most important news stories, but did you know you can always get the news sorted by subject on the Hamilton Consulting website?
- 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.
|
|
The Hamilton Consulting Group Political Tidbits is a free newsletter on Wisconsin political and policy developments. Please forward it to others who may wish to receive this service.
If you require additional information about a topic addressed in Tidbits for your organization's board meeting or trade publication, please do not hesitate to contact a Hamilton Consulting Group lobbyist.
To ensure that Political Tidbits never gets caught in your spam filter, please add publications@hamilton-consulting.com to your address book/contacts list. If you are receiving these emails via a workplace email account, please advise your IT service desk to do this for you.
|
|
|
|
