Governor Scott Walker Introduces 2011-2013 Budget Bill 

AB-40. http://legis.wisconsin.gov/AB40.pdf 

SB-27. http://legis.wisconsin.gov/SB27.pdf 

Here is an overview summary of what is in the budget bill:

Spending and Employee Reductions

• FY12 recommended GPR spending is $14.0 billion, $178 million lower than FY11.
• FY13 recommended GPR spending is $14.7 billion.
• FY12 recommended ALL FUNDS spending is $29.3 billion, $2.5 billion lower than FY11.
• FY13 recommended ALL FUNDS spending is $30.0 billion, $724 million over FY12.
• First year spending reductions reflect permanent reductions in GPR and the effect of creating the UW-Madison as a separate entity.
• The budget cuts a total of 21,325 positions. 20,163 positions are cuts associated with organizational changes, including establishing an autonomous UW-Madison, elimination of the UW Hospitals and Clinics Board and elimination of the Dept of Commerce.
• 1656 positions are eliminated, including the elimination of long-term vacancies, closure of state facilities and program reductions.
• The budget reduces all funds spending by $4.2 billion over the biennium, compared to the 2010-11 adjusted base.
• The structural deficit is reduced by 90% from $2.5 billion to less than $250 million.

Fiscal Discipline - State and Local Budget Reform

• Requires state employees to pay 5.8% of their salary toward pension and 12.6% toward health insurance premiums.
• Eliminates 735 FTE positions vacant for longer than 12 months.
• Reduces funding, excluding salary and fringe benefits, in most GPR and PR appropriations by 10%.
• Freezes property tax levy at the greater of zero percent or net new construction.
• Provides flexibility for local units of government through mandate reform.

Property Tax Relief

• Reduces calendar year 2012 county and municipal aid payments by $96 million.
• Caps county and municipal levy increases at the greater of zero percent or the gain in the value due to net new constructions.
• Levy limits are extended for two years.

Education

• Reduces equalization aid by $749.4 million over the biennium.
• Reduces school district revenue limits per pupil by 5.5% below the amounts authorized in 2010-11.
• Repeals revenue limit exemptions for school nurses, pupil transportation costs, school safety equipment and security officers.
• Modifies Milwaukee Choice program by eliminating enrollment cap; other changes.
• Authorizes all four-year UW campuses to sponsor charter schools; makes changes.
• Reduces state aid by $250 million over the biennium to the UW System institutions and UW-Madison.
• Expands the Wisconsin GI tuition and fee reimbursement to provide full remission of academic fees for 128 credits or eight semesters.
• Reduces state aid to technical college districts by $71.6 million over the biennium.
• Prohibits technical college districts from increasing property taxes above the amounts levied in 2010-11 or 1.5 mills, whichever is less.
• Changes the school funding formula regarding hold harmless so no school will see more than a 10% cut.
• Fully funds SAGE and special education.

Higher Education

• Establishes UW-Madison as a separate campus.
• Prioritizes funding for UW System campuses over administration by requiring a larger share of aid reduction to be realized by UW System Administration (25% for UW System compared to 11% for campuses).
• Exempts student financial aid from GPR reductions.
• Provides a tuition increase for UW System institutions to keep resident undergraduate tuition "affordable for Wisconsin families."
• Prevents cuts to financial aid by limiting Wisconsin Covenant program to students signing the pledge before Sept. 30, 2011.
• Directs UW System to develop a plan to transition the UW Milwaukee into a private institution.

Job Creation and Economic Development

• Provides over $196 million for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
• Prioritizes investment in Wisconsin-based businesses by establishing a 100% exclusion from capital gains tax for investors in Wisconsin-based businesses and hold those investments for five or more years; Expands the capital gains tax deferral for investments in qualified new business ventures to include all Wisconsin-based businesses to encourage investors to reinvest investment earnings in Wisconsin.
• Restores integrity to the segregated Transportation Fund and invests a total of $5.7 billion in the state's transportation system, including $225 million for accelerated reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange and $195 million to continue construction of the I-94 corridor between the Illinois border and Mitchell Interchange in Milwaukee.
• Increases funding for tourism marketing.

Public Safety

• Exempts police and fire from employee pension and benefit changes to ensure no gaps in coverage for first responders.
• Repeals early release to sentences changes approved in 2009-11 budget.
• Provides additional resources and positions to DNA lab to address increasing requests.
• Provides funding for Victim Information and Notification Everyday services to protect crime victims through a centralized system for information on offender status and location.
• Provides funding for pay progression schedule for assistant district attorneys.

Health and Human Services

• Preserves Medicaid, BadgerCare Plus and SeniorCare wile implementing  immediate program reforms.
• Reviews the Family Care program including the results of the audit by Legislative Audit Bureau.
• Funds the costs of administering Medicaid, BadgerCare Plus, Family Care and SeniorCare based on actual expenditures in prior years.
• Funds the costs of payments for funeral and burial services for indigent Medicaid recipients.
• Improves the efficiency of the Income Maintenance eligibility determination system by centralizing and automating the process, reducing total program costs by $48 million per year and decreasing the number of staff by 270 FTE positions overall.
• Eliminates the state-only FoodShare program the provides FoodShare benefits to legal immigrants who do not meet federal residency requirements.
• Opens and funds a new unit for women at the Wisconsin Resource Center  that provides treatment to mentally ill inmates from DOC.
• Saves over $5 million in GPR savings per year by closing units at the Wisconsin Resource Center and relocating sexually violent persons to vacant units at the Sand Ridge Treatment Facility. This will reduce 59.25 FTE positions.
• Restores expenditure authority and positions at the Southern Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled based on the actual number of residents relocated to the community over the past biennium.
• Allows DHS to set fees for copies of medical records and for congenital disorder testing of infants in administrative rule.
• Ensures the solvency of the veterans trust fund thought the biennium by providing funding and giving the DVA flexibility to reallocate revenues within the agency.
• Provides funding for DVA to build and operate a new veterans home in Chippewa Falls.  The dept. will contract for the daily operations and staffing.
• Provides additional expenditure authority to increase staffing and maintenance at the Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemeteries.
• Provides expenditure authority and staffing to redevelop exhibit space at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum to create a temporary Civil War exhibit.

Children and Families

• Transfers the FoodShare, State Supplement to Federal Supplement Security Income and Caretaker Supplement programs.
• Reforms W-2 cash assistance program to enhance participant accountability.,
• Authorizes DCF to implement tiered-reimbursement for child care providers based on a provider's quality rating.
• Provides $2.7 million over the biennium to fund out-of-home care expenditures in the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare.
• Provides $324,3000 and 5.0 FTE positions to implement a regulated rate system for group homes, residential care centers and treatment for foster care agencies.

Transportation

• Provides $95.1 million in transportation fund revenue by depositing the proceeds from automobile-related taxes and fees into the transportation fund, including a portion of sales taxes collected on automobile-related purchases, vehicle title fees and a portion of revenues from the petroleum inspection fund.
• Provides $420 million for construction on the Zoo interchange and the I-94 North-South corridor.
• Provides $12.7 million in  bonding authority for harbor projects and $60 million for the Freight Rail Preservation program.
• Funds WI's portion of increased operating costs of Amtrak between Milwaukee and Chicago by providing $4.3 million in state funds and $3.4 million in federal funds.
• Provides $6.2 million to meet federal requirements related to state patrol communication equipment, commercial driver license changes, and driver's license and identification card changes.

Natural Resources

• Removes the requirement that a municipality or county operate a recycling program to manage solid waste.
• Reforms regulations for effluent limitations on phosphorus so WI regulations are no more stringent than neighboring states.
• Repeasl and recreates the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems storm water standards.
• Keeps hunting and fishing license fess at current levels.
• Makes changes to the Stewardship program regarding aids in lieu of taxes.

Local Government Initiatives

• Removes recycling mandates.
• Allows municipalities to merge police and fire departments.
• Eliminates library maintenance of effort funding requirements. 

Budget Repair Bill Still Unresolved:  Republicans Step Up Pressure

1.) WALKER TO BEGIN LAYOFF PROCEDURE ON TODAY  

Gov. Walker told The Associated Press on Thursday afternoon he will begin issuing layoff notices on Friday. He's previously said up to 1500 state employees could be given pink slips by April 1 if the Legislature has not enacted his budget adjustment. The layoffs would, according to Walker, achieve savings envisioned under the bill (www.thewheelerreport.com).

2.) SENATE REPUBLICANS HOLD DEMOCRATS IN CONTEMPT OF THE SENATE

On Thursday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Fitzgerald signed documents formally holding the 14 Democratic senators not present in the Senate in contempt of the Senate. The documents also formally provided orders to detain any of the Senators caught by authorities in Wisconsin.  

The action came just after a 4 p.m Thursday, March 2, deadline was not met. The deadline was included in a resolution adopted by the Senate Republicans on Thursday morning that gave the Democrats until 4 p.m. on Thursday March 2, to return to the Senate chambers or be held in contempt.

(www.thewheelerreport.com).