MADISON, Wis. – With one just week to go until the end of the state’s fiscal year and the deadline to pass a new state budget, Republican state lawmakers have no scheduled meetings for the budget writing Joint Committee on Finance and no action scheduled in either the Senate or Assembly to debate or vote on a state budget bill. The lack of legislative action comes on the heels of Senate Republicans walking out of budget talks with Gov. Tony Evers for a second time late last week.
“Wisconsin’s Republican controlled legislature has one week to pass a state budget on time. Instead of getting their act together to meet the deadline, they’re fighting amongst themselves and Senate Republican leaders have walked out on bipartisan budget talks with the Governor a second time,” said A Better Wisconsin Together Deputy Director Mike Browne. “The upshot of them not doing their jobs is that the rest of us are going to pay.”
Sen. Howard Marklein (R) and other leaders of the GOP-controlled state budget committee – where the budget is currently sitting with no sign of movement – stormed out of bipartisan negotiations with Governor Tony Evers for a second time last week and two Republican senators are openly calling for a budget boycott and to pass a budget at all this year.
Consequences that will hit Wisconsin families hard if Republicans continue stalling the budget, and slashing meaningful investments proposed by the Gov. Evers include:
- Catastrophic closures and rate hikes at local child care centers;
- A nearly $500 increase in property taxes on the median value Wisconsin home;
- No increase in public school funding as more and more districts are forced to ask voters to raise their own taxes so the local schools can keep the lights on.
“Our state budget is more than a hefty document with a long list of numbers and percentages. It’s a meaningful investment in Wisconsinites’ lives, and a reflection of our values as a state,” said Browne. “Today, Republican state lawmakers have once again made it clear they value selfish partisan politics more than they do making life better for the people of Wisconsin.”
