For the first time since 1977, Wisconsin has passed a biennium budget before the July 1 deadline set by the federal government.
This $62.2 billion budget caused difficulties among all legislators as the state faced a $5.7 billion shortfall when Gov. Jim Doyle presented his budget address to the state Legislature in February, a shortfall which was estimated to be even higher after the address, bringing the total to $6.6 billion.
Before the budget could travel to the two houses of the Legislature, the Joint Committee on Finance had to review the budget and adjust it as they saw fit. The committee held meetings twice a week from noon to nearly midnight.
?The committee finally passed the budget in a late-night session in May and sent it off to the Assembly for revisions. After several days of deliberation, the budget just barely made it out of the Assembly with a 50-48 vote and traveled to the Senate.
Shortly after coming to the Senate, the budget was passed by an even slimmer margin of 17-16, but as the two houses passed different versions, a conference committee was formed to make a final version that suited both houses.
After both the Assembly and Senate passed the revised version in mid-June, the budget at last came to Doyle’s desk for the final inspection and signature with two days to spare before the July 1 deadline.
Doyle ended up making 81 total vetoes on the budget, including one illegal veto called a “Frankenstein veto,” which Doyle spokesperson Lee Sensenbrenner said was just a minor mistake.
According to Bob Lang, director of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the veto will be ignored, and the item in question will stand as passed by the Legislature.
Another veto stirring up anger was the veto of a binding referendum for a half-cent sales tax increase for Dane County, which would pay for a Regional Transit Authority. Julie Laundrie, spokesperson for Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, said Erpenbach disagreed with Doyle’s decision because he felt smaller communities should have representation on this issue.?
The budget is now balanced, but it contains some tax and fee increases that have been met with criticism.
A few of important provisions in the budget include a cigarette tax increase from $1.77 a pack to $2.52 per pack starting in September.
People making more than $225,000 a year will experience an income tax hike starting this tax year, as will households that make more than $300,000 a year.?
Anyone who owns a cell phone, landline phone or any other device capable of calling 911 will have to pay a fee of 75 cents per month, which goes toward local fire and police protection services.
Police will be able to pull over drivers they suspect are not wearing seatbelts. At present, police cannot stop people just for not buckling up, but because of this provision and the fact the budget was passed on time, the state will receive $15 million in incentives from the federal government.
Since the budget was signed before June 30, the hospital tax will increase and extend back to
Jan. 1, retroactively taxing people and collecting millions of federal dollars for the state.
Children of illegal immigrants who have been residents of this state for three years and graduated from a Wisconsin high school may qualify for in-state tuition at state universities and technical colleges.
Rep. Robin Vos, R-Racine, said this budget is going to be hard on students because it drives up tuition by two or three times the inflation rate while financial aid is being cut from the state.?
“Unfortunately, if you are a young person coming to campus you’re going to end up paying higher fees, higher taxes and have a lower financial aid to help you get through school,” Vos said.
