MADISON, Wis. – Later this month, Gov. Tony Evers will lay out his budget priorities, after which starts the process of the Republican-controlled Legislature getting to work on their revised version.
Legislative leaders already have some ideas about what they plan to prioritize and what they won't spend money on.
The state's Legislative Fiscal Bureau offered some positive news late last month—an extra $1.2 billion in expected revenue collections by mid-2023.
Still, many Republicans, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, worry about too much spending.
“We're about back to the level we were prior to the pandemic occurring, so our budget is basically on track,” Vos said. “We have generated extra revenue.”
During a recent WisPolitics event, Vos didn't want to lay out too many priorities for his caucus before knowing the final revenue numbers but was pleased to see his party's efforts pay off so far.
“I would like to continue working on reducing the tax burden in Wisconsin,” Vos said. “I'd like to make sure that we continue to do things that invest in, you know the university, public schools, all the things that are important to Wisconsinites. We might not be able to do anywhere near what Governor Evers thinks we should do because he has the ability to propose tax increases and, you know massive expansions of welfare—things like that we're not going to do.”
Tuesday afternoon, the Republican co-chairs of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee sent a letter to Gov. Evers requesting him to “consider the sacrifices our citizens have made” as he crafts his 2021-2023 budget proposal. Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) and Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) also told the governor to “not send the legislature another budget like your first budget that was full of tax increases, excessive spending and divisive non-fiscal policy.”
Another proposal that's sure to be off the table is a compromise with the governor to expand Medicaid.
“People need to have health insurance, but the very best health insurance is not that paid for by the taxpayers where people are forced to be at a certain level of poverty to obtain it,” Vos said. “The very best health insurance is getting a job.”
The governor plans to again propose accepting federal money to expand the state's program, but Speaker Vos said Medicaid should only be a safety net for the poor, and everyone in Wisconsin who faces poverty already qualifies.
“It doesn't matter if you're a man, woman, have kids, don't have kids, you all qualify and that was the unique thing that Wisconsin did under Governor Walker that's different than other states,” Vos said. “Those who want to make it for the people who were above poverty, that's why you work.”
Gov. Evers is scheduled to layout his two-year budget priorities during an address to the Legislature on February 16.
Lawmakers will then revise that proposal over the next several months before passing their version likely sometime in the summer.