Budget-repair bills passed by both the state Assembly and Senate include 96 items that are not relevant to state spending, according to a report by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
The list of items includes amendments ranging from campaign-finance reform to moving up the date of the presidential spring primary.
Rep. Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, one of the chief negotiators of the conference committee, requested the list be created to help create a compromise.
Items on the list are approximately one-third of the issues that have split the two houses. Although Republican leaders proposed throwing out the list because debated items are irrelevant to solving the state’s $1.1 billion budget deficit, Sen. Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, said each item has to be considered separately because each affects the budget.
Items on the list include boxing regulation, as well as bans on both mercury thermometers and mosquito testing.
“We’re not going to be put in a position where important public-policy items are not going to be discussed,” Chvala told the La Crosse Tribune.
A survey done by Wisconsin Public Radio and St. Norbert College found Wisconsin residents feel the deficit is the most important problem facing the state.
According to the survey, 31 percent of respondents said the budget was their biggest problem, while 20 percent said they felt the biggest problem was taxes.
Five percent said they were concerned about government integrity and leadership and 2 percent said they were concerned about the environment.
Respondents were also asked about the state budget deficit solutions. The survey found nearly 80 percent supported local government consolidation, and 54 percent were in support of sales-tax exemptions.
Although no group wanted to see cuts in state-funded programs, 45 percent said they would rather see cuts to state programs, but 31 percent said they would rather have cuts to shared revenue.
When asked if they felt they were more financially secure this year compared to last year, 39 percent of survey respondents said they felt worse off this year.
Respondents also said they were skeptical about their financial situations next year; 54 percent said they felt they would be better off next year.
In last year’s survey, 64 percent said they thought they would be better off in the coming year.
