JFC Executive Session (week of May 27th)

The committee froze tuition for Wisconsin undergraduate students at UW institutions for another two years. Tuition will have been frozen for 8 consecutive years. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) estimated that a student would have saved $6,311 cumulatively in the first four years after the freeze compared to the ten year trend.  In 2018-19, a resident undergraduate saved between $465 and $870 vs. CPI in that one year alone depending on what institution a student attended.  They also took action to increase funding for the UW System by $45 million. In addition to increases for costs to continue and the state share of the pay raise for state employees, state funding for the UW System will increase by $93 million over the biennium. This investment builds upon the over $100 million budgeted for UW System in the 2017-19 budget which was the largest investment in a decade. UW System’s program revenue balances are at their highest level at $1.32 billion.  Of this amount, $906.9 million is unrestricted and in this amount is $300.9 million in tuition balances which was $83.1 million higher than UW System estimated.

The committee made significant investments in our criminal justice system by increasing the number of prosecutors statewide, improving compensation for prosecutors and public defenders, and raising the rate paid to private attorneys who take public defender assignments.

They also approved additional investments to improve the quality of Wisconsin’s water and environment through the DNR’s budget.

Specific Provisions Considered

University of Wisconsin System

The Governor recommended freezing resident undergraduate tuition for the next two years and increasing funding for the University of Wisconsin System by $50.4 million to pay for the tuition freeze. Recognizing that tuition balances have not decreased, UW System proposed continuing the tuition freeze but did not ask for state funding to backfill it. 

The Governor recommended $45 million GPR to fund student success and attainment initiatives, $10 million GPR for a new nurse educator program, $5 million GPR for UW Colleges for student support services, $3.5 million GPR and 20 positions for UW Extension county agricultural agents, 1 new state Lab of Hygiene position to research opioid abuse, and $500,000 SEG for environmental education grants.  The Governor also recommended extending in-state tuition to undocumented residents, allowing the Board of Regents to use performance funding for supplemental pay, and opened up performance funding to all UW System entities added as a part of restructuring. 

The Governor’s budget included $120,000 in additional SEG dollars for dental and physician loan assistance.  The Governor’s budget also reestimates tuition revenues by $187 million PR due to enrollment and increased graduate and out-of-state tuition. 

The committee passed an omnibus motion which does the following: 

• Capacity Building Funding: The committee voted to provide $22,500,000 GPR in 2019-20 and $22,500,000 GPR in 2020-21 in the Joint Committee on Finance supplemental appropriation for release to the UW System upon submission of a plan by the UW System for the use of this funding. This will provide the UW System flexibility to spend the additional funds in the most impactful way while providing the Legislature with oversight of how the funds are used.Standard Budget Adjustments: Modify the base budget by $2,892,600 GPR in 2019-20 and $2,970,400 GPR in 2020-21 for: (a) full funding of continuing position salaries and fringe benefits ($2,829,800 annually); and (b) full funding of lease and directed moves costs ($62,800 in 2019-20 and $140,600 in 2020-21). 
• Resident Undergraduate Tuition Freeze: Prohibit the Board of Regents of the UW System from charging resident undergraduates enrolled in an institution or college campus in the 2019-20 or 2020-21 academic year more in tuition than it charged resident undergraduates enrolled in that institution or college campus in the 2018-19 academic year.
• State Lab of Hygiene--Forensic Toxicology: Provide $126,800 GPR in 2019-20 and $168,800 GPR in 2020-21 and 1.0 GPR position beginning in 2019-20 for the State Laboratory of Hygiene forensic toxicology unit. The faculty would conduct research on trends in opioids, novel psychoactive substances, and drugs and further collective efforts to curtail opioids and other drug abuse.
• Reestimate Tuition Revenues: Provide $93,504,500 PR annually and 219.84 PR positions beginning in 2019-20 to reflect increases in tuition revenues that have been incorporated into UW System's operating budget since 2016. Based on the UW System's agency budget request, these increases are attributable to the following: (a) changes in enrollment ($39,240,300); self-supporting programs ($14,232,200); (c) differential tuition increases (-$711,200); and (d) increases in nonresident and graduate tuition ($40,743,400). Tuition revenues are deposited in the UW System's PR general program operations appropriation. That appropriation is an all-moneys-received appropriation meaning that the UW System can expend all moneys deposited in the appropriation regardless of the amount shown in the appropriation schedule. In addition, the Board of Regents and the UW-Madison Chancellor may create or abolish positions funded with tuition revenue without the approval of the Legislature or the Joint Committee on Finance.
• UW-Stevens Point Paper Science Program: Delete current law that specifies that $78,000 must be allocated for the paper science program from an appropriation under the UW System with $136,700 of annual base funding from the conservation fund. Further, require that the Board of Regents ensure that at least 1.0 full-time equivalent position, funded from this appropriation, is created in the paper science program at UW-Stevens Point. Under current law, the appropriation is restricted to $78,000 annually for the paper science program and the remaining balance for grants to forest cooperatives. Under the bill, the appropriation would provide the amounts in the schedule of appropriations ($136,700) for the paper science program and grants to forestry cooperatives. 

In total, through this motion UW System will receive an additional $58 million in GPR over the biennium. This does not include an additional $36 million GPR that has been budgeted in the state compensation reserves to fund a 2%/2% general wage adjustment.  In total, this is $93 million in GPR budgeted thus far for UW System.  This investment builds upon the over $100 million budgeted for UW System in the 2017-19 budget which was the largest investment in a decade. 

UW System has not only received additional state aid, but nonresident and graduate tuition increases as well as additional tuition revenue from enrollment has resulted in additional program revenue to the UW System.  This resulted in an upward re-estimate of tuition revenue in this budget of $187 million PR.  UW System’s 2018-19 operating budget is at its highest nominal level ever at $6.34 billion. 

Additionally, UW System’s program revenue balances are at their highest level at $1.32 billion.  Of this amount, $906.9 million is unrestricted and in this amount is $300.9 million in tuition balances which was $83.1 million higher than UW System estimated. 

Republicans have not only increased state aid to UW System, but frozen tuition at 2012-13 levels for resident undergraduates.  LFB estimated that a student would have saved $6,311 cumulatively in the first four years after the freeze compared to the ten year trend.  In 2018-19, a resident undergraduate saved between $465 and $870 vs. CPI in that one year alone depending on what institution a student attended.

District Attorneys

The Governor recommended pay progression funded at $1.2 million GPR.  The funding is equivalent to a 2%/2% general wage adjustment.  The funding would be for Assistant District Attorneys and Deputy District Attorneys. 

The Governor also recommended to create 34 new GPR prosecutor positions for District Attorney offices.  There would be 19.6 new GPR ADA positions for 20 offices, 7.5 PR positions would be converted to GPR, and 6.9 GPR positions would be used to increase part-time prosecutor positions in 14 counties.  The cost of these positions would be $5.5 million.  The funding for these positions would begin on October 1, 2019. 

The committee voted to provide a 2% annual increase on January 1, 2020 and 2021 for DA pay progression funding totally $300,300 GPR in 2019-20 and $903,100 GPR in 2020-21. 

The committee also voted to provided $2,498,400 GPR and -$608,200 PR in 2019-20, and $2,986,400 GPR and -$632,500 PR in 2020-21, and 34.0 GPR and -7.5 PR positions annually to provide additional prosecutors to District Attorney Offices across the state. The new GPR positions would have an anticipated start date of October 1, 2019. 

Here is a county-by-county breakdown of the additional positions and increased part-time positions: 

• Adams .8
• Barron 1.0
• Bayfield .6
• Brown 1.0
• Buffalo .2
• Burnett .75
• Columbia .25
• Douglas .5
• Dunn 1.0
• Eau Claire 1.0
• Forest 1.0
• Green Lake .5
• Iowa .25
• Jackson 1.0
• Juneau .5
• La Crosse 1.0
• Langlade 1.0
• Lincoln 1.0
• Manitowoc 1.0
• Marinette .4
• Monroe 1.0
• Outagamie 1.0
• Ozaukee 1.0
• Pierce .5
• Polk 1.0
• Portage 1.0
• Racine 1.0
• Rusk .5
• Sawyer 1.0
• Sheboygan .5
• Washburn .75
• Washington 1.0
• Waupaca .5
• Wood 1.0

Prosecutors are a critical cog in our criminal justice system. Republican investments today will help fill needs across the state and ensure better continuity in District Attorneys’ offices. This action will help deliver swifter justice for victims of crime, while also helping provide alternatives to incarceration for certain offenders willing to make changes in their lives.

Public Defender

The Governor recommended increasing the rate private practice attorneys are paid to take public defender cases from $40 per hour to $70 per hour.  The change would take effect on cases assigned on or after January 1, 2020.  The private bar rate would be adjusted biennially thereafter based on CPI.  The total cost of this was estimated to be $25.3 million GPR. 

The Governor recommended pay progression for Assistant State Public Defenders funded at $1.3 million GPR.  This funding is equivalent to a 2%/2% general wage adjustment.  The Governor also recommended $155,200 in GPR to fully fund interpreter costs. 

The committee voted to provide $9,031,500 GPR in 2019-20 and $16,621,700 GPR in 2020-21 to fund the cost to continue and private bar rate increase to $70 per hour. The rate increase to $70 per hour would begin with cases appointed on or after January 1, 2020. 

Under current law, hourly reimbursement for private attorneys taking public defender cases is the lowest in the country. As a result, it is very difficult to find timely and adequate representation for indigent defendants in many parts of the state. Committee action of increasing the private bar rate will go a long way to ensuring the rights of the accused are protected.

Circuit Courts

The Governor included standard budget adjustments for the Circuit Courts.  This was a $7.5 million reduction in GPR funding. 

The committee voted to provide $1,200,000 GPR in 2019-20 and $2,400,000 GPR in 2020-21 in the circuit court costs appropriations for court appointments made at county expense. 

If a public defender or private bar attorney are not available to take certain county cases, a county may attempt to appoint an attorney at a higher rate, but at the county’s expense. Last year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered the county appointment rate be increased to $100 per hour. These funds will go toward helping counties meet this new compensation obligation.

Natural Resources - Departmentwide

The Governor proposed creating a Bureau of Natural Resources Science at the DNR and providing 5.0 additional scientist positions. 4 of those positions would be in the Division of Environmental Management, and 1 would be in the Division of External Services. 2 of those positions would specifically be for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) research. 14 scientists currently in the Office of Applied Science would be moved to the new Bureau, and the director of the Bureau would serve as science advisor to the DNR Secretary. 

The Committee voted to create 2 SEG scientist positions to study and address PFAS contamination, but did not approve the creation of the Bureau, nor the three other positions. 

The Governor also proposed transferring funding and positions between appropriations in order to correct and/or clarify provisions of 2017 Act 59. In the last budget, we approved a departmentwide reorganization of the DNR, and this provision is a cleanup modification. The Committee voted to adopt this modification. 

There were three backpage items:

• standard budget adjustment
• a debt service re-estimate
• a position transfer within appropriations.

The committee adopted these items by unanimous consent.

Natural Resources - Environmental Quality

The Governor proposed paying for several of his water quality initiatives through the non-point account of the environmental fund. However, the expenditures exceed revenues in this account under current law, and the Governor did not propose any new sources of revenue to shore up this account’s fund condition. 

Understanding this deficit, the Committee voted to transfer in $6.15 million annually from the environmental management account to provide the necessary funds to the non-point account. 

The Governor proposed authorizing $25 million in additional bonding in order to pay for part of the cost of removing contaminated sediment from certain bodies of water. Current authorization for sediment cleanup projects is $32 million, and this provision would increase the overall authorization to $57 million. Debt service is paid out of the environmental management account. 

Since there is outstanding bonding authority remaining, and the DNR has not locked in plans for use of the full $25 million increase, the committee approved $4 million in additional bonding authority. 

The Governor proposed increasing SEG funding to bump the amount available for lake protection grants to $3 million per year, and river protection grants to $1 million per year. This is an overall increase of $2.9 million SEG over the biennium and is funded through the water resources account of the conservation fund. 

The committee took no action on this item. 

The Governor proposed providing $4 million in general obligation bonding for pollution control infrastructure grants. The bond revenue would distributed as grants to counties and municipalities for pollution control infrastructure projects in TMDL’s. This stems from more stringent phosphorus rules and variances that were granted to ease the short-term financial burden associated with phosphorus compliance. The Governor also proposed 1 FTE to administer the grants. 

The committee took no action on this item. 

The Governor proposed increasing WPDES annual permit fees charged to concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and creating a five-year renewal fee. He also proposed adding 5 FTE at DNR for CAFO regulation. 

The committee took no action on this item, but intends to address this topic as part of the DATCP section of the budget. 

The Governor proposed providing $400,000 nonpoint SEG annually for nonpoint source water pollution abatement grants. These dollars provide financial assistance for projects addressing water quality concerns in rural or agricultural settings. 

The committee voted to increase funding by $200k SEG annually on a one-time basis. 

The Governor proposed an additional $760k nonpoint SEG annually for nonpoint source contracts. The DNR contracts with entities that provide research, education and outreach related to nonpoint water pollution abatement programs. 

The committee voted to provide a $500k nonpoint SEG increase annually on a one-time basis. 

The Governor proposed a host of changes to the Well Compensation Grant Program, including increase income eligibility, removing the scaled reduction of grant awards based on income, increasing the types of wells eligible for replacement, and providing more funding for the program. 

The committee voted to take no action on any of the programmatic changes, but did set aside $400k SEG that the DNR could ask for at a later date. 

The Governor proposed providing $200k GPR for the DNR to develop a model to identify and prioritize sites with likely PFAS contamination, and for a survey of state and local emergency responders to determine usage of firefighting foam containing PFAS. 

The committee voted to approve this provision, but fund it with environmental management SEG instead of GPR. 

The Governor proposed transferring the abandoned tank removal program from DNR to DATCP. This program is utilized to pay for removal of underground petroleum storage tanks. 

The committee took no action on this item. 

The Governor proposed extending the deadline for claims to be submitted under the PECFA program by one year, to June 30, 2021. 

The committee voted to maintain the current sunset date of June 30, 2020, and transfer funding for claims set aside for 20-21 up to 19-20. There will be $15 million remaining for claims in 19-20. 

The Governor proposed an additional $1,500,000 nonpoint SEG annually for SWRM grants and contracts, for a total of $4,825,000 annually in the 2019-21 biennium. Further, he proposed providing $10,000,000 in general obligation bonding authority to support cost-sharing grants to landowners for installation of structural practices. 

The committee voted to provide $850k nonpoint SEG annually for SWRM grants, primarily associated with nutrient management planning. Additionally, the committee provided an additional $250k nonpoint SEG annually for producer-led watershed grants and increased DATCP’s authorization to award SWRM grants to $500k annually. Lastly, they provided $7 million in additional bonding authority to support cost-sharing grants to landowners for installation of structural practices. 

The committee also approved several backpage motions as proposed by the Governor:

• $4 million in general obligation bonding for dam safety grants
• 4.0 FTE from various fund sources to implement TMDL plans
• $6.5 million in nonpoint-supported SEG bonding nonpoint source water pollution grants (targeted runoff management program)
• $4 million in nonpoint-supported SEG bonding for urban nonpoint source and stormwater management. 

All DNR-Departmentwide and DNR-Environmental Quality and their associated backpage items were approved in an omnibus motion. 

As a result of the actions on the items above, JFC Republicans increased funding for water quality and environmental conservation efforts by nearly $16 million all funds, 6.0 positions, and $25.5 million in bonding. Despite the rhetoric from the other side of the aisle, the committee Republicans actually adopted a significant portion of what Governor Evers proposed in this section of the budget. As the party of outdoor recreation, they understand the importance of protecting and improving our natural resources. WI has made great strides in improving our environment over the last few decades, and the items approved last week will continue this trend.