Wisconsin’s Senate Majority Leader says the Wisconsin Assembly is very close to finishing the 2025-2027 Biennial State Budget.
Yesterday (June 30th) was the last day of the fiscal year for Wisconsin.
However, the state government hasn’t shut down but will continue at the spending levels from the previous budget for now.
Senator Devin LeMahieu explained on WOMT’s Be My Guest program that the tentative plan is for the Senate to vote on the budget tomorrow before the Assembly takes it up on Thursday.
He says preparing the budget was done differently this year.
Typically, the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee would meet with each agency and complete its work by the middle of June.
“The finance committee started a little late in the process,” he stated. “(They) started in June and then we stopped for a while because we can’t take up agencies that are negotiating with the governor. At least, all of that agency. So, it was kind of a time crunch at the end so our staff’s have been working very hard.”
A couple of proposals from the budget include a $1.3 billion tax cut, which will exempt the first $24,000 of income for married retirees, aiming to encourage older residents to stay.
LeMahieu says it provides a middle-class tax cut by moving the second income tax bracket.
Governor Tony Evers has been critical of the state Republicans’ lack of funding for special education.
LeMahieu says they’ve been working with the governor on it.
“So there’s two different kinds of special education,” he explained. “There’s the general special ed and then the high cost. High cost is typically a student who’s in a wheelchair, needs one-on-one care. So, we took the high-cost reimbursement up to 90% for schools.”
The budget also includes funding for additional assistant district attorneys, including two for Manitowoc County, as well as money for child advocacy centers.
It’s still not clear if Governor Evers will sign the budget if it’s passed in the Wisconsin State Legislature.
