State lawmakers met Tuesday to continue talks about how to consolidate the two Houses’ budget deficit plans. The committee has met eight times to create a partisan bill, but with more than 300 differences between the Senate and Assembly plans, there have been only two compromises.
The committee has met eight times but the creation of the committee was not formalized until Wednesday. Michelle Arbiture, spokeswoman for Steven Foti, R-Oconomowoc, said to create the committee, a joint resolution had to be formally passed. The Assembly had not yet passed the resolution because they had not met.
Arbiture said the Assembly met to take care of issues left over from session. “It was just housekeep,” she said. “They did revision and correction of bills.”
Tuesday, lawmakers debated differences in campaign finance legislation and a law created to protect farmers from urban sprawl.
Under current law, farmland is assessed for taxes based on its current farm use and not on its potential for development. The change, made in 1995, was meant to cut property taxes for farmers. Most say this was meant to prevent them from having to sell their land for development.
Committee Democrats say the bill is being abused by developers who are purchasing land and leasing it to farmers until they are ready to build. Leasing the land to farmers, they say, unfairly reduces the value of the land and helps developers avoid higher property tax.
Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, told the committee, “They don’t milk cows. They milk taxpayers.”
But Republicans say the proposal would hurt small farmers because it would mean there is nothing to prevent developers from purchasing land and leasing it for use to prevent the corporations from using higher property taxes.
Rep. John Gard, R-Peshtigo, told the committee the new law was the reason some farmers were able to continue working land.
Gard, who grew up on a farm, said the law was the “greatest victory Wisconsin farmers have had in this state in a quarter century.” Without the break, farmers would be unable to pay the taxes on their land, forcing them out of farming.
“It’s time we give those folks peace of mind their land is going to be taxed like there’s growing on it, not subdivisions,” Gard said at the meeting.
Committee members also debated comprehensive campaign finance legislation.
Democrats proposed giving candidates more public funding for campaigns, and in return ask for state-imposed spending caps. Instead, Democrats would like campaign money to be raised through a surcharge on lobbyists and campaign funds.
Under the Republicans’ plan, campaigns would be financed through a check-off box on the state’s income tax returns. The GOP has proposed increasing the maximum amount of money that can be donated on tax return from $1 to $5. Money given from tax returns could be given to a general fund or to a specific party.
