MADISON, Wis. — In a social media post yesterday, Republican state Senator and former state Senate President Chris Kapenga expressed both his opposition to a budget plan being crafted by his fellow Republicans and his preference to go without any state budget for the next two years. Kapenga joins his colleague Sen. Steve Nass, one of the longest currently serving legislative Republicans, in calling for a budget boycott.
With two budget boycotters, Republicans lack the votes they need to pass a partisan state budget in the Senate. Despite this, Senate Republican leader Devin LeMahieu and co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance Howard Marklein walked out of talks on a bipartisan budget deal with Gov. Tony Evers earlier this month.
“It’s going to be hard working Wisconsinites paying the price for Republicans’ failure on the state budget,” commented A Better Wisconsin Together Deputy Director Mike Browne. “No budget means homeowners get stuck with higher property taxes, families won’t have affordable child care, kids in public schools won’t have the resources they need to succeed, and small businesses won’t be able to grow and prosper.”
According to an analysis by the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the plans proposed by Gov. Evers would all but eliminate a projected property tax increase of over $470 on the median value Wisconsin home over the next two year budget cycle. Recent research also shows that Republican inaction will cause child care costs to skyrocket and many local child care providers would close.
Browne concluded, “If Republicans can’t or won’t do their jobs and pass a state budget then they should get out of the way and let Gov. Evers and the legislators who do care about our well-being and prosperity pass a budget that works for all of us.”
