State Budget Good Start, Room for Improvement

Madison … Representative Jeff Mursau (R–Crivitz) heard Governor Scott Walker’s budget address on Wednesday night. Mursau both approved of and had concerns with different components of Walker’s budget proposal. The governor made good on his promise to continue reforming the way government operates, while only partially recognizing problems and funding solutions for rural Wisconsin.

“Governor Walker made great strides in his proposal to increase funding for worker education, mental health treatment, domestic violence, and military veteran assistance programs,” Mursau said. “However, his education reform and funding looks like a first-draft that needs help from the public and legislators alike.”

The legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC) will hold hearings around Wisconsin, including Green Bay, in April. Following the public hearings, JFC will amend the budget bill in May and send it to the Assembly and Senate for final passage in June.

“This proposal is missing a decent increase in busing funds, federal timber income for school districts in the national forest, and local control for school choice vouchers,” Mursau said. “It’s still early, though, and I’ll work hard with area citizens, Governor Walker and other legislators to improve education funding for northern Wisconsin.”