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Budget Bill - Keeping Promises
Yesterday, the state Senate voted
19-14 to pass the 2011-13 state budget, sending it to Gov. Walker
for signature. What Republicans did to fix this mess is
nothing short of incredible. We turned a $3 billion deficit into a
$300 million surplus, and we did it on time and under budget.
Gov. Walker
and the Republicans inherited an absolute mess: a broken economy, a
$3 billion structural deficit, runaway government spending, property
tax hikes and billions in tax hikes on job creators and families.
That’s the Democrats’ legacy in Wisconsin.
The
Republicans fixed this mess with real spending cuts, no tax hikes, a
permanent property tax cap for the first time in our state’s
history, and a real focus on jobs and the economy. We kept our
promises to the people of Wisconsin, and we did it without pushing
the problems off to the next generation.
This budget
brings a long-overdue change to a broken government. Maybe that’s
the fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats:
Democrats promise change… Republicans deliver it.
Here is a summary of some of the
budget bill highlights:
Jobs/Economy
• WEDC: A new public-private
partnership to replace the Department of Commerce, streamlining and
modernizing the state’s economic development
efforts.
• Balanced Budget:
Balancing a budget responsibly, on time, with no new burdens on job
creators sends a
message about Wisconsin being a great place to
relocate and grow a business.
• Infrastructure: Safe,
reliable transportation infrastructure is critical for commerce in
Wisconsin; this
budget supports transportation without massive
fund raids.
• Tourism: The budget
provides nearly $7.5 million in additional funding for the
Department of Tourism,
which is a critical industry especially in
Northern Wisconsin.
• No Tax
Hikes: The Democrats’ massive tax hikes in the last budget on
businesses and individuals sent
the exact wrong message to job
creators. By balancing the budget and holding the line on taxes,
we’re
cultivating a better business climate for Wisconsin.
Cutting Wasteful
Spending
The overall all-funds budget shows
a 1.8 percent increase compared to last budget and a nearly 20
percent cut in bonding.
The cuts are aimed at wasteful spending,
including:
• Cutting more than 1,000
government jobs, including long-term vacancies;
• Nearly 30
percent cut to the Secretary of State,
• Nearly 35 percent cut to
the state Treasurer;
• Eliminates the earmark to the Milwaukee
Black Holocaust Museum, which closed in 2008.
• Eliminates the
state’s agency-level Arts Board; and
• Require state agencies to
undergo regular base budget reviews to identify wasteful
spending.
Jobs-Friendly Tax
Policy
• Overall State Taxes: Down $24
million compared to last budget;
• Makes several pro-jobs changes
to Capital Gains taxes, including a deferral for capital gains
re-invested in
Wisconsin businesses, and a 100%
exclusion for capital assets held for at least 5 years;
•
Eliminated RTAs: The budget does away with unelected, taxing
Regional Transit Authorities.
Permanent Property Tax
Cap
• Permanent property tax
cap: The budget includes the first-ever permanent property tax cap
in the
state’s history, limited to the previous
year’s levy plus new construction for the next two years, then at
1.5
percent or new construction after
that;
Finally Moving in the Right
Direction
• With a balanced budget
and by holding the line on taxes, Wisconsin is setting ourselves
apart from our
neighbor states, which are regional
competitors for good-paying jobs.
• Illinois (Democrat Assembly,
Senate and governor) is on track to end their fiscal year with an $8
billion
structural deficit, about 13 percent of its
overall budget. Democrats in Illinois raised taxes in January
on
individuals and businesses, and that money has
already been spent.
• Minnesota is currently staring down a
government shutdown over differences between their
Democrat
governor and Republican House and Senate.
At issue is nearly $2 billion in proposed tax hikes from
Gov.
Dayton.
• Washington, D.C.: the federal
government is undergoing a long-overdue conversation about spending
and
entitlements, all while dealing with a shaky
economic recovery and high unemployment.
Keeping Promises:
This budget bill was about keeping promises.
Republicans did what they said they would do: focus on jobs, improve
the economy and balance the budget. | 
Phone: (608)266-5660