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Vowing not to approve any tax increases in Wisconsin this year, Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, blasted Gov. Jim Doyle's state budget Wednesday.
Doyle has proposed more than $1.74 billion in tax and fee increases and $48.5 million in tax cuts in other areas of his two-year operating budget.
"We will be passing a budget that does not have tax increases in it," Huebsch told The Associated Press at a news conference Wednesday. "Taxes will be the main issue that's going to be addressed in this budget."
The bipartisan Joint Finance Committee began sifting through Doyle's budget last month and hit the road on Tuesday with a series of public hearings around the state.
Most people testifying have been public officials or people who benefit from the budget, said state Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, a member of the committee.
He said some people, however, have echoed the speaker's no-tax vow.
"We won't forgot about people who can't afford to leave their jobs for public hearings," Suder said. "Assembly Republicans are going to lead the way to protect taxpayers, and we hope the Senate joins us on this."
Once approved by the Joint Finance Committee, both legislative houses may amend the state budget to reflect their priorities. The Senate, controlled by Democrats, will likely approve a version more similar to Doyle's budget than the Republican-controlled Assembly's version.
State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, said it will be interesting to see how the Assembly cuts taxes, balances the budget and finances public services like higher education.
"There's a difference in priorities. The Republican speaker wants to give a tax break to big oil companies," Black said. "My priority is the University of Wisconsin and higher education."
In a letter to Assembly leaders Wednesday, Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, publicly urged Republicans to abandon a "defeatist" attitude toward the budget and hold out for a better bargaining position.
"Any increase in state taxes and fees requires the consent of Assembly Republicans," Nass wrote in the letter.
He also encouraged the Joint Finance Committee to create a state budget by working from the base budget, or the current year's budget.
"The bottom line: The governor's budget is horrible," said Mike Mikalsen, a spokesperson for Nass. "The perspective is that working from the governor's budget is a joke."
Black said some budgetary changes may need to happen but added that working from scratch would be a waste of time.
"I think it would be not only disrespectful and divisive, but counterproductive to totally ignore the governor's budget," Black said.
Suder said ideally the committee would work from the base budget, but that may not be realistic this year.
"I would hope that we would work off a base budget as much as possible, but we will have to work out a compromise because committee chair Senator Russ Decker (D-Weston) wants to work off the governor's," Suder said.
Today, the Joint Finance Committee, comprised of 16 Assembly and Senate members, will return to the Capitol to meet with agency heads, including administrators from the UW System.
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UW sure deserves more budget cuts. It has been really bad recently.
I’m afraid so. The corruption at Bascom Hall has really debased the whole UW. There should be more cuts unless a new chancellor is appointed.
I agree, and a new provost is needed as well. Wiley and Farrell have really blown it.
I have to agree. When will UW get the message that they must behave ethically?
Has anyone really needed state governments since the Civil War? - Germain E. Stemme
I do agree with the above posts. Given the large number of scandals recently (i.e. Barrows, Hong, Cohen, Barrett, Goodwin, Kaplan, etc.), I don’t see how UW should receive any additional funding in this new budget. Indeed, unless a new chancellor is appointed at UW-Madison, I think they deserve another GPR cut.
…..and more legislative oversight.