I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to read through my newsletter. Each week, I'll include information to keep you up to date with what is happening in Madison and the 1st Assembly District.
Housing Committee Meeting
I took part in an Assembly Housing and Real Estate Committee meeting this week where we held both a public hearing and an executive session.
During the executive session segment of the meeting, we recommended passage of three bills:
AB 208: relating to the maintenance and repair of private roads
AB 247: relating to giving municipalities the ability to waive interest and penalties for late property tax payments in 2021 due to hardship
AB 399: relating to interest on claims of excessive assessment and for the recovery of unlawful property taxes
We also heard testimony on AB 340, legislation that creates a statute of limitations for real estate appraisal services.
A new report released by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows that general fund tax collections for the 2020-21 fiscal year are projected to be $319 million higher than previously estimated.
The total amount of taxes collected in the preceding fiscal year is expected to come in at $19.6 billion, which is 11.6 percent more than what was recorded in the 2019-20 fiscal year.
The largest portion of the increase is coming from a rise in corporate income taxes. Those figures are about $230 million higher than earlier estimates.
Under state statutes, half of any excess of general fund tax collections must be deposited into the budget stabilization fund, or better known as our "rainy day" account. The LFB projects that $967.4 million will be transferred into the fund for the previous fiscal year. That will bring the total to $1.73 billion.
I am glad that the Legislature's sound budgeting practices over the past decade have helped put us in the situation we are in right now. With the amount we will have in our budget stabilization fund, I am confident that we will be able to address any fiscal emergency that may eventually present itself.
You can read the LFB's full report by clicking here.
Federal Coronavirus Funding
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau also recently published a report detailing how the governor's administration has allocated the $2 billion the state received from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund.
Our share of Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars must be used for expenses that were incurred in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you would like to read the LFB memorandum, please click on this link.
In Closing...
Thank you for taking the time to read my e-update. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact my office. My staff members, Adam and Henry, look forward to working with you. Also, if you would like a 2019-20 Wisconsin Blue Book or 2019-20 state highway map free of charge, just send us an email!
