State Budget Update

    


April 15th, 2015
 

Contact Me




State Capitol
P.O. Box 8953
Madison, WI 53708

PH: (608) 266-0631
TF: (888) 534-0094
FAX: (608) 282-3694

District/Law Office
1230 Ferry Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
(608) 785-1886
rep.doyle@legis.wi.gov
On the Web: http://doyle.assembly.wi.gov

 

In The District




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In The Legislature


Legislative Committees


Assembly Committee on Financial Institutions - Ranking Member


 Assembly Committee on Insurance - Ranking Member
 

Assembly Committee on Tourism


 Assembly Committee on Small Business Development
 

Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties

 

  
 

 

 

One of the things everyone has been asking me lately is what we can do about the budget. Sometimes people support one measure in it but don’t like another. I explain that this sifting and winnowing is the role of the Joint Finance Committee and under their leadership, the Legislature will soon take up their own version of the Governor’s proposed budget.

As almost everyone knows, the first part of the budget process is that the Governor introduces his own budget proposal. But a lot of people don’t know what happens next. After the proposal has been introduced, it goes to the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) who is tasked with going through the massive document line by line to decide what options stay, what are changed and what are deleted. Essentially, they have the chance to create a new proposal but most of the time they will only make minor changes to a Governor’s draft.

During all day meetings over a period of weeks, the JFC members debate each and every issue in what is called an executive session. Today was the first day of the executive session, and here are some of the decisions that came out of this meeting:

 

Environment

 

  • The Governor’s budget included a plan to convert the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Board from a policymaking authority into an advisory board.

  • The JFC listened to the concerns of hundreds of Wisconsinites who were worried about how this change would affect Wisconsin’s history of conservation and public input and decided to remove this proposal.

 

Local Government

 

 

  • Currently, local municipalities are responsible for property tax assessment and the Governor’s budget proposal would have transferred that authority to the counties.

  • We heard from both the counties and the municipalities who opposed the change and are satisfied with the way things are done now. As a result, the JFC voted to the current system of property tax assessment the way it is.


Courts

 

  • The Governor’s budget bill proposed a new way of funding our courts that would have left vital services such as court reporters struggling to continue to function.

  • Legal groups from around the state weighed in to express their concern about this change. In response to this, the JFC voted to continue using the current method of funding court reporters.
     

  • Additionally, the Governor’s budget wanted to change the independent Judicial Commission, which is tasked with examining judicial misconduct.

  • The JFC, citing the need for an independent eye to watch over the courts, voted not to change the Judicial Commission.

Transportation

 

  • As an effort to raise more money for the state, the Governor’s budget proposed raising the fine for not wearing a seatbelt from $10 to $56.50.

  • The JFC rejected this idea.
     

Non-Fiscal Items (Policy Items)

 

  • The Governor’s budget proposal would have exempted research conducted at the UW System from the open records law.

  • The JFC voted to remove this exemption to promote transparency and openness.
     

Some of these issues were hot-button topics in my district while others flew under the radar. Some of these proposals, like the change to property tax assessment, will mostly likely be introduced as a separate piece of legislation in the coming months, but we will have to wait and see.

The JFC is set to meet again on Friday and they will be debating the Wisconsin Technical College System, Aging and Long-Term Care, Medical Assistance, and the Department of Veterans Affairs among others.

As they meet twice a week for the next several weeks, I will be giving updates on what is in and what is out. It is an exciting time to watch as this budget begins to take shape.

 

Sincerely,

 

STEVE DOYLE
State Representative

94th Assembly District


                          

 

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