Assembly In Session
The State Assembly will be in session on Thursday, June 6 at 1:00 p.m. to consider multiple bills unrelated to the budget.  Among items likely to be scheduled for consideration by the body include the venture capital bill, which authorizes the use of $25 million in state funding to leverage $65 million in private investments; Senate Bill 135, which would allow DOT to issue overweight permits on USH 2 in Florence County (NOTE: This provision was recently included in the budget bill as part of an omnibus Transportation Fund motion); and numerous bills to benefit active and retired service members and their families.  The Assembly calendar will be posted on Tuesday, June 4 and will be available for viewing here.  

The Joint Finance Committee is expected to complete its work on the budget on Tuesday, June 4th, making it likely the full Assembly will take action on the budget next week.  However, eleven members of the Assembly - enough to block passage of the budget bill without Democratic support for the legislation - sent a letter to Speaker Vos and Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder indicating they would withhold their support for the budget unless: (1) Rep. Kooyenga's income tax reduction plan is included; (2) the provision requiring DNA collection upon arrest is removed; (3) bonding is reduced by $500 million; (4) the budget is balanced; and (5) the public employee "double dipping" provision is modified.  

Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) Director Bob Lang indicated on Thursday that, thus far, the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) has reduced bonding by $433 million and GPR spending by $168 million as compared to the Governor's budget.  When combined with the revised revenue estimates recently released, the Committee has accrued a surplus in excess of $740 million.  However, increases to K-12 funding and an expansion of Governor Walker's income tax cut are expected to eat away at a substantial amount of the excess revenues.

Details of Kooyenga's Expanded Income Tax Cut Released
Last Tuesday, Rep. Dale Kooyenga released the details of a $419 million income tax cut.  The plan eliminates Wisconsin's Alternative Minimum Tax, repeals more than twenty tax credits and collapses Wisconsin's five tax brackets into three.  JFC is expected to take up General Fund Taxes at its final meeting on Tuesday, although it remains unclear whether all of the provisions of the plan will be adopted by the Committee.  Full details of the plan can be found in a memo prepared for Rep. Kooyenga by the LFB.         

Governor Walker Signs Milwaukee County Legislation
On Friday, May 31st, Governor Scott Walker signed Assembly Bill 85 into law at Serb Hall in Milwaukee.  Portions of the bill, which cap the Board's operating budget, modify the roles and responsibilities of the Board and the Executive and, among other things, change Supervisors' terms from four to two years, will take effect immediately while others - such as the reduction in supervisors' salaries - will be decided in a binding referendum scheduled for April 2014. Read Governor Walker's statement on the bill signing here.  

JFC to Complete Action on Budget
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) is expected to complete its work on the state's two year, $68 billion spending document on Tuesday, June 4th.  Although there are only a small number of items remaining for consideration by JFC, the items represent the bulk of the GPR spending in the budget.  Those items include:   

*    Health Services - Medical Assistance and Related Programs
*    Public Instruction - General School Aid and Revenue Limits
*    Public Instruction - Categorical Aids
*    Public Instruction - Choice, Charter, and Open Enrollment
*    General Fund Taxes - Income and Franchise Taxes

 

Although the Committee is scheduled to convene at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, there are a number of deals in the works, particularly on the size of Governor Walker's proposed voucher expansion and whether the state should accept newly available federal dollars to help finance the state's Medicaid program, making it unlikely the Committee will meet on time.  You can watch the Committee's proceedings on Wisconsin Eye. 

NOTE: Those sections impacting counties appear in bold lettering. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) has also prepared issue papers on selected topics.

Bill to Expand Counties' Ability to Seek Reimbursement Advances
On May 30, the Assembly Corrections Committee voted 5-2 in favor of Assembly Bill 33, which gives counties more flexibility in seeking reimbursement for jail costs from former inmates.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Endsley, R-Sheboygan, would increase the time for counties to seek reimbursement from the current 12 months to 24 months. A substitute amendment adopted by the committee would also allow either the sheriff or the county to file suit to seek reimbursement. The amendment would allow the Department of Revenue to intercept any tax refund a former inmate might receive until the jail costs are repaid.

WCA has worked with the Badger State Sheriffs Association to support this legislation.  Click here to read WCA's memo.

Appeals Court Upholds Wisconsin's Voter ID Law as Constitutional
Judge Brian Blanchard of the state's 4th District Court of appeals ruled the state's 2011 voter ID law constitutional, overturning a decision from a Dane County judge striking down the requirement.  The law still faces challenges in other courts on different grounds; however, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen considered the court's ruling a major victory and a step towards "vindication" of the law. Read the decision here.  

Legislative Committee Meetings
*    The Joint Committee on Finance will hold an executive session on Tuesday, June 4 at 10:00 a.m. on a number of boards, agencies and portions of agencies (listed above).
*    The Assembly Committee on Urban and Local Affairs will hold an executive session on Tuesday, June 4 at 10:00 a.m. on Assembly Bill 122, which changes the elements that must be included in a county development plan, and Assembly Bill 174, which relates to the payment of county medical examiners and medical examiner's assistants.  WCA is monitoring both bills.
*    The Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, June 4 at 10:00 a.m. on Assembly Joint Resolution 25, which relates to the recall of elective officers and a code of ethics for government officials.