MADISON, Wis. – Republicans in the State Assembly passed numerous bills Tuesday, laying out how they want to spend federal COVID-19 aid for Wisconsin after Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act.

However, under current law, lawmakers have no control over how those funds are spent.

What You Need To Know

  • The state is expected to receive $3.2B and local government would get an additional $2.3B in help as part of the American Rescue Plan Act

  • Under current law, Gov. Evers has sole discretion over how those state funds are spent

  • Republicans argue they should have a say in how those funds are used for the sake of transparency and accountability

  • Lawmakers in the State Assembly passed several spending bills Tuesday, which Evers is likely to veto

Republicans are fighting for a say in how $3.2 billion is spent and divvied up. Right now, Gov. Tony Evers has sole discretion over how that money is spent and has denied Republicans a seat at the table.

Evers has vetoed previous bills that would have given the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, which is controlled by Republicans, veto power over his spending plans for the federal aid.

“Governor Evers has the authority to invest these dollars, even if legislative Republicans don't like it,” State Rep. Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) told reporters before Tuesday's floor session.
 


Tuesday afternoon, Assembly Republicans continued to push back with several individual spending proposals. Among them:

  • $1 billion property tax cut
  • $200 million for small businesses
  • $75 million for tourism grants
  • $150 million for nursing homes and assisted-living facilities
  • $308 million for local roads
  • $250 million to pay off transportation bonds
  • $61 million to control water pollution

“We should really put a lot of thought into how we're going to spend it,” State Rep. Travis Tranel (R-Cuba City) said during a floor speech. “We should be using one-time money for one-time purchases, and to say that the Legislature shouldn't have anything to do with that, I just can't wrap my head around it.”

Democrats argued the package of legislation would tie the governor's hands when it comes to responding to the pandemic.

“These Republican bills are absolutely irresponsible in taking that away,” State Rep. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit) said. “That's really highlighted by the fact that the Legislative Fiscal Bureau says that a significant portion of what the Republicans have proposed likely is not even an eligible use of these federal COVID dollars.”
 


The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau did issue a warning about some of the bills, which call for spending about $626 million on areas not allowed under federal law. Those proposals include paying off transportation debt and local road work.

Democrats insist the bills are about scoring political points while Republicans argue it's a matter of transparency and accountability.

“What do you say to your constituents when they think that the money the governor is throwing out the door is being spent unwisely,” Majority Leader Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna) asked his colleagues on the floor. “My friends on the other side of the aisle, do you just raise your hands and say 'Welp, he's our guy?'”

 


Though the bills face a likely veto from Evers, there are areas of overlap. The governor wants to spend $50 million on tourism, while Republicans are calling for $75 million to be spent. When it comes to small businesses, Evers wants to spend $600 million on a grant program, but Republicans want to scale that amount back to $200 million instead.

Those spending priorities could be telltale signs of where money will ultimately be spent in the state budget.