I want to start out by thanking members of the committee from both sides for their continued work to pass a budget for Wisconsin. This process is never easy, but I'm confident my colleagues will continue to work together and create a budget that works for all Wisconsinites.
Here are few agencies that were recently exec'd: Wisconsin Technical College System, Tourism, Budget Management and Compensation Reserves, Corrections, and the Department of Public Instruction. The main issues this past week revolved around funding public/special education, technical schools, and raises for state employees.
Public Education Funding in Our Community
Governor Evers' proposed budget called for a $1.4 billion investment in public education. Of that $1.4 billion, $604 million would have gone to special education costs. However, the Joint Committee on Finance didn't accept that proposal. Instead, they made a motion to invest $500 million in public education, with $97 million going to special education funding. On top of that, the committee made another motion to raise special education reimbursement rates from 25% to 30% in 2020.
If the proposed special education funding of $604 million was accepted, La Crosse County would have received $11 million. Below I listed the amount of funding our area school districts would have received:
La Crosse- $4,892,923
West Salem - $1,002,129
Bangor - $307,796
Holmen - $3,359,111
Melrose-Mindoro - $434,773
Wisconsin Technical College System
Governor Evers proposed $36 million in Wisconsin Technical Colleges. He believed that it was time to start investing in these important institutions as the demand for trade jobs increase. However, the committee rejected his request and made a motion to fund tech colleges at $25 million over the biennium.
As 94% of tech graduates stay in Wisconsin to work, it's important we provide an adequate amount of funding to ensure that rate stays the same or increases. I'm hoping that $25 million will be enough to help retrain existing workers and locate new ones.
Further Budget Motions
Budget Management and Compensation Reserves
JFC accepted Governor Evers' proposal to increase the annual pay for state employees by 2%. However, they rejected the proposal to raise the minimum wage for state employees to $15/hour.
Corrections
Governor Evers included various programs and proposals within the Department of Corrections: overtime hours for correction employees, staffing and operation for new buildings and units, sex offender tracking, and technical mobile labs, but the Joint Finance Committee introduced their Corrections omnibus.
This omnibus includes a 14% boost in minimum wage for state prison employees, and also sets aside extra funds to compensate correctional workers for overtime as the department struggles with vacancy rates. The omnibus provided funding that was much lower than what the Governor proposed.
Tourism
The following items were removed from the agency by the committee:
Statewide marketing efforts
Video production staff
Office of Outdoor Recreation
Further Executive Sessions
Next week, there is only one executive session scheduled on Tuesday. The committee will be voting on various provisions: environmental, district attorneys and public defenders, circuit courts, and the University of Wisconsin System.
Many of you have contacted me regarding the vote to reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund. This item has not yet been scheduled and is not included in the environmental provisions being discussed on Tuesday. Unfortunately, it's still unclear when it will be up for a vote, but when the time comes I'm hoping the committee will continue to preserve and protect Wisconsin's outdoor heritage.
Until next time,
Steve
| State Rep. Steve Doyle - PO BOX 8952, Madison 53708 |
