On Thursday, June 10, the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC) held an executive session to consider various motions related to the 2021-23 state budget. Click here to visit our main budget recap article for more information on the overall budget process as well as each executive session held by JFC in 2021.

Below is a list of motions that JFC considered on June 10, including whether each motion was adopted and how the committee voted. The committee includes 12 Republican members and 4 Democrats; all 11-4 and 4-11 vote tallies were along party lines. One Republican member of JFC was absent on June 10.

Adopted

• Motion 78: Legislature (15-0)
• Motion 94: Supreme Court and Circuit Courts (15-0)
• Motion 96: Department of Corrections, Department of Children and Families – Juvenile Justice (11-4)
• Motion 98: District Attorneys, Public Defenders, Department of Justice (12-3)
• Motion 102: Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Department of Natural Resources (10-4)

Not adopted

• Motion 92: Department of Corrections, Department of Children and Families – Juvenile Justice (motion ruled out of order)
• Motion 93: Department of Corrections, Department of Children and Families – Juvenile Justice (4-11)
• Motion 95: District Attorneys, Public Defenders, Department of Justice (4-11)
• Motion 97: Legislature (4-11)
• Motion 99: Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Department of Natural Resources (4-11)
• Motion 100: Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Department of Natural Resources (motion ruled out of order)

Below are highlights from the motions approved by JFC:

Department of Natural Resources

• Reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program for a four-year period at $32 million per year. That includes $24 million in bonding and $8 million in Conservation Fund dollars annually. The reauthorization provides about the same amount of annual funding as the program’s current authorization, but instead of being funded entirely by bonding, the new reauthorization would use Conservation Fund monies to fund department land acquisitions and county forest grants. The governor’s budget proposed reauthorizing the program for 10 years funded with $70 million in annual bonding.
• Allocate $1 million for a program to collect and dispose of firefighting foam containing PFAS, as requested by the governor. About 830 fire departments across the state possess more than 63,000 gallons of foam containing PFAS.
• Eliminate several of the governor’s proposals related to PFAS, including 11 staff scientist positions, a municipal grant program, and a public water supply testing program. The committee had previously removed other provisions relating to PFAS, including a proposal to set PFAS environmental standards in state law.
• Provide $4 million to remove contaminated sediments in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior and $4 million for municipal flood control programs.
• Provide $1 million in environmental management segregated funds for the well compensation grant program.
• Convert the Clean Water Fund appropriation to an all-monies-received continuing appropriation.

Department of Corrections

• Reduce contract bed funding by $15.4 million in 2021-22 and $16.2 million in 2022-23 based on recent estimates of the prison population. That funds 628 contract beds in 2021-22 (including 100 beds for state inmates in county jails) and 578 contract beds in 2022-23 (including 50 beds for state inmates in county jails). The governor’s budget proposed funding 728 contract beds annually, including 200 beds annually for state inmates in county jails.

Department of Justice

• Provide $2 million annually for reimbursements from the law enforcement training fund.
• Provide $2 million for a body worn camera grant program.