Budget Repair Bill Approved by Legislature, Signed into Law

    Today, Governor Walker signed into law the highly publicized budget repair bill. Earlier in the week Senate Republicans moved to end the obstruction of democracy by the Senate Democrats hiding in Illinois by removing the provisions of the Budget Repair Bill that required the Democrats to vote. After the Senate passed the bill, I joined my colleagues in the Assembly by approving the bill by a 53-42 vote.   

    The passage of the budget repair bill marked a strong stand against national union bosses who are attempting to control Wisconsin politics from afar. At home, the move signifies a victory for voters who demanded an end to politics as usual. The time had come to stand up for taxpayers against the most powerful special interest groups in Wisconsin. During the campaign we heard over and over from taxpayers and working families struggling through tough times: "Reduce spending... Hold the line on taxes... Stop pushing the problem off, face it head on."

    One core principle has been my top priority during my time in local government and now in the State Assembly. Protect the taxpayer. Those three words are easy to say but difficult to put into action. Even when the choices are painful, my commitment to protecting the taxpayer has never been stronger.

Fiscal Responsibility, Taxpayer Protection, Local Budget Control

    A vote for the budget repair bill was a vote for fiscal responsibility, protection of the taxpayer, and support of local control of local governments and schools. I remain committed to supporting legislation that provides long term solutions for Wisconsin. 

    Time has run out on adventurous accounting, the sleight of hand transfers of segregated funds, and spending beyond our means. Wisconsin is facing a $3.6 billion budget deficit. Fiscal responsibility cannot start soon enough. Simply put, the state can no longer spend money that we do not have. The budget repair bill is a key component in the first real attempt at balancing the state budget.

    In our current economy, forcing Wisconsin taxpayers to pay more taxes is completely unacceptable. Requiring our public employees to share in the cost of their retirement plans and health care benefits is a painful decision; yet this step is necessary to protect taxpayers and bring public employee personnel costs into balance with the private sector.

    The benefit of collective bargaining reform is to shift the focus towards local control for our counties, municipalities, and school districts. Our local elected officials, administrators and superintendents will have the flexibility to find common sense cost savings without being hamstrung by slow and costly bargaining rules that too often stood in the way of progress. Local officials are elected or hired for their vision, skill, and leadership in coordinating our public services and programs; it is time to let them effectively do their jobs and balance their budgets.

FDR & Public Unions

    There are many misperceptions about public unions and how they operate. Years ago President Franklin Delano Roosevelt astutely made the observation that a natural conflict of interest exists when public unions are bargaining for increased wages and benefits that are funded by the taxpayer:

"The very nature and purposes of government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully  or to bind the employer in mutual discussion with government employee organizations. The employer is the whole people who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress. Accordingly, administrative officials and employees alike are governed and guided, and in many cases restricted, by laws which establish policies and procedures or rules in personnel matters."

"All government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service."

    What FDR foresaw was what has developed in Wisconsin in regards to collective bargaining. The largest special interest groups in the state are public employee unions. The unions spend large amounts of money collected from public employee payroll every election on political campaigns to elect officials that represent the taxpayers. It cannot be viewed as anything less than a conflict of interest when taxpayers are represented by elected officials on their side of the bargaining table against public unions who fund political campaigns on the other. This system has lead to both overspending and increased taxes. The status quo on collective bargaining was no longer an option.

For further analysis, watch this video.

Amended Budget Repair Bill Provisions

    The appropriations provisions that needed to be removed from the budget repair bill for the Senate to take action included the sections on the sale of power plants and Medicaid. While both the power plant and Medicaid issues received public scrutiny, both are in need of reform in the near future.

    Many power plants at major state facilities are in need of expensive repairs and upgrades to meet current standards. Large reinvestment of tax dollars in these facilities will have a huge future impact on state budgets. We must face this problem in the near future. One option would be to sell the plants to private operators who could actually sell power back to the state at lower cost to the taxpayers. Sale of these facilities would only make sense if a long term contract for buying back power could be negotiated. A simple sealed bid sale to the highest bidder would be inappropriate in this instance. Instead we need to carefully consider all the options available to solve this looming problem. The budget repair bill was amended prior to final passage to remove the authority to negotiate these sales, but the fact remains that the state needs to find ways to provide more cost-effective energy to our state facilities.

    Medicaid is another area in need of reform to balance the state budget. Escalating health care costs for state administration of the federal Medicaid cost are not a problem specific to Wisconsin. Governors across the nation are seeking waivers for flexibility to find cost-effective administration of the program. Wisconsin, like many other states, needs to examine both eligibility and administration in order to continue to provide the necessary safety net for those most in need.

 Rep. Knudson's Press Release on the Budget Repair Bill

Please take a look at my press release below and look for it in our area newspapers this week:

REPRESENTATIVE KNUDSON VOTES IN FAVOR OF BUDGET REPAIR BILL

Amended bill passes the State Senate and Assembly

STATE CAPITOL - Representative Dean Knudson (R-Hudson) again voted in support of Governor Walker's budget repair bill as the portions of the bill passed by the State Senate were approved by the State Assembly 53-42 on Thursday.

The amended bill removed certain provisions that allowed the bill to move forward without the Senate Democrats who were still attempting to delay action on the bill by hiding in Illinois.

"The benefit reform and collective bargaining components of the bill are what is needed to get the state on a path towards fiscal responsibility," Knudson said. "Our local elected officials, administrators, and school superintendents need the added flexibility to effectively manage their budgets. We accomplished that today."

The bill will require increased contributions to pension and health care premiums by public employees. Governor Walker has stated that failure to pass the relief sought by the bill would lead to widespread layoffs of public employees.

"I empathize with our great public employees who will have a difficult time dealing with these changes," Knudson said. "While painful, this is the best solution to avoid widespread layoffs throughout the state."

Union protestors at the state capitol have loudly voiced their opinion since the bill's introduction in February. After nearly 20 hours of public hearings and over 60 hours of debate in the State Assembly, action on the benefits and collective bargaining portions of the budget repair bill is complete and awaiting the signature of Governor Walker.

"Although opposition to the bill has loudly gathered headlines over the last several weeks, the budget repair bill responds to the quiet call of voters back in November to protect the taxpayer."

 

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