A "Glass Half-Full" Budget

No budget will ever be perfect. I encouraged my colleagues and urge my constituents to look at the budget the same way I do, with a glass half-full approach. Every single Wisconsinite can find victories in the budget. The budget passed the Assembly and the Senate with bipartisan votes. 

 

Some highlights from the 2021-2023 biennium budget:

Broadband

Education

  • $12 million more for mental health categorial aids (doubling the program)
  • $7 million for mental health collaboration grants, a 54% increase!!
  • Increase special education spending by $86 million to 30% of eligible costs
  • Compliance with Maintenance of Effort (MOE) Federal Requirements to qualify for Coronavirus relief aid.
  • The legislature guaranteed all districts will get a minimum of $781 per pupil if they taught in-person at least 50% of the time during the 2020-21 school year.

    • Most districts will see much more than that, the average being $2,898 per pupil.

A Closer Look at Mental Health

  • Agriculture
    • $100,000 for Farmer's mental health assistance
  • DOC
    • $400,000 to expand access to Medication-Assisted Treatment to treat individuals with substance use disorders
  • DPI
    • see above
  • DHS
    • Increase funding for outpatient mental health for combination of services for $7,963,700 in 2021-22 and 15,927,400 in 2022-23.
    • Increase reimbursement rates by 15% for Outpatient Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services:$19.8 million 
    • Increase reimbursement rates by 20% for Child-Adolescent Day Treatment Services: $4 million
    • Increase Medicaid reimbursement rate for opioid treatment: $2.6 million
    • Provide $375,000 annually for mental health crisis intervention training for law & correction officers.
    • Sets aside $10 million for future regional crisis services or facilities
    • Increase funding by $500,000 in the second year of the biennium for the Child Psychiatry Consultation Program
    • $1.5 million for Medication-Assisted Treatment expansion & $450, 000 for Methamphetamine Addiction Treatment Grants
    • $300,000 for one-time funding for development of a substance use disorder treatment platform
    • $70,000 over the biennium to expand the psychiatric bed tracking system managed by the Wisconsin Hospital Association
    • $Increase funding by $250,000 in second year of biennium for treatment program grants.
  • Veteran's 
    • $100,000 to promote suicide awareness & provide $100,000 to fund it.

Other Highlights

  • Eliminates the personal property tax
  • In the Assembly, the budget was passed 64-34. It passed 23-9 in the Senate. This is the most support for a budget bill in the both houses in a generation!

 
 

God Bless America! Sunday, we celebrate the founding of our great nation. Independence Day is a time to appreciate the endless opportunities we have as Americans and what a blessing it is to live in such a wonderful country. I hope that you get the chance to celebrate with your friends and families this weekend.  

 
 
Events in the District!

Hilbert 

Manitowoc 
Manitowoc will have the Fourth on the Shore Festival on July 4. The parade is from 10 to 11 a.m., including kid activities, food vendors, and musical performances.
The Festival Foods Fireworks will begin at 9:30 p.m. over the lakefront. For more information, visit manitowoc.org/1205/Fourth-on-the-Shore.

 

 
 
Stay Connected

As a reminder, we encourage you to follow the representative on social media, including Facebook, and Twitter, for all of the up-to-date information on important issues. His legislative website can be found at: https://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/25/tittl.