BUDGET OVERVIEW
Here is a brief timeline overview of the budget process with links to my budget e-updates for more details. Several meetings of the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) are often combined in one e-update so you may need to scroll down to find the date you are looking for.
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August 24th:
The JFC met for the first time since June 15th to work on the budget. They held an Executive Session and voted on:
June 15th to August 24th:
The JFC did not meet on the budget for two months as the Senate and Assembly leadership struggled to come up with a transportation funding plan and an education funding plan. The new fiscal year began July 1 making the budget officially overdue.
June 15th:
The JFC announced that they would be rejecting the Governor's plan on self-insurance.
May 31st:
The JFC held an Executive Session and voted on:
- The DNR Magazine
- Raising Fees at State Parks
- Roadkill Removal
- The Supreme Court
- The Parole Commission
May 25th:
The JFC held an Executive Session and voted on two "Omnibus Motions," combining several smaller proposals.
The UW Omnibus Motion dealt with:
- Tuition Freezes vs. Tuition Cuts
- Tuition Breaks for National Guards and Reservists
- The Carbone Cancer Center
- The New UW Green Bay Engineering School
- The New Tommy Thompson Center on Public Leadership
- An Audit of the UW System
The Department of Health Services (DHS) Omnibus dealt with:
- Drug Testing for Medicaid Services
- The FoodShare Program
- Children's Health
- Long-Term Care and Personal Care
- Communicable Diseases Prevention
May 23rd:
The JFC held an Executive Session and voted on:
- State Building Lease Review
- Drug Testing for W-2 Recipients
- Higher Education Grants
- Tying W-2 Benefits to School Attendance
- Wisconsin Shares
- Student Loan Refinancing
- The Success Sequence
May 18th:
The JFC held an Executive Session and voted on:
- Tuition Freeze for Technical Colleges
- The Homestead Tax Credit
- Labor and Industry Review Commission
- Educational Approval Board
- Performance-Based Funding for Tech Colleges
May 16th:
The JFC held an Executive Session and voted on:
- Elections Commission Staffing
- Sexual Predator Placement
- Mental Health Facility for Children
- Increased Payments for Foster Parents
- County Child Welfare Programs
May 11th:
The JFC held an Executive Session and voted on:
The Assembly leadership, Senate leadership and the Governor continued to disagree on how to solve the $1 billion transportation shortfall.
May 9th:
The JFC held an Executive Session voted on:
- Self-Insurance
- Lead Pipe Replacement
- WEDC Loans
- Oversight of the Attorney General
- Drug Courts and Treatment Alternative Programs
- Fabrication Labs "Fab Labs"
May 1st:
The JFC began their "Executive Sessions" to vote on each proposal in the budget. Because the budget is so large - 989 pages - the committee breaks up each proposal into separate votes to take up in separate Executive Sessions.
The JFC voted on:
- The Judicial Commission and Judicial Council
- The Employment Relations Commission
- Aging and Long-Term Care
- IRIS Ombudsman
April 3rd, 5th, 7th, 18th, 19th, and 21th:
The JFC held six public hearings around the state to listen to what Wisconsinites thought of the budget. They also decided to:
2. Remove 83 policy items from the budget that weren't related to state finances.
3. Decided to work off the 'base budget' for transportation.
March 28th, 29th, and 30th:
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) held agency briefings on the budget.
- Department of Administration (DOA)
- Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF)
- Elections Commission
- Supreme Court and other courts
- Department of Corrections (DOC)
- Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS).
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA)
- Department of Health Services (DHS)
- Department of Children and Families (DCF)
- Department of Revenue (DOR)
- Department of Transportation (DOT)
- Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC)
- Public Service Commission (PSC)
- Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
- Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS)
- University of Wisconsin System (UW)
- Department of Public Instruction (DPI)
- Wisconsin Historical Society
- Department of Workforce Development (DWD)
- Labor and Industry Review
February - March
With Legislative Fiscal Bureau still working to prepare the budget for the Joint Finance Hearings, one of the biggest issues in the news is the increase in K-12 funding.
Overall:
- $11.5 billion to public, charter and private schools for the biennium.
- Including $649 million in new spending.
- In 2018-19:
- The state’s share of K-12 funding will rise to 64.6%
- State aid is the highest ever in raw dollars.
- Revenue limits will remain flat. Aid will come from money that is not tied to the equalized funding formula.
February 8th:
The Governor delivered his budget address to a joint session of the legislature. He outlined his ideas for the state in a 989 page bill which was immediately sent to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau for analysis before the Joint Finance Committee begins their work.
Basic Numbers
- Total Budget: $76.1 billion.
- Total tax and fee cuts: $593 million.
- Total income tax cuts: $203 million.
- Total property tax cuts: $340 million.
- Total spending growth: $2 billion.
