MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Tony Evers will deliver his fifth State of the State address at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The annual speech is an opportunity for the governor to provide Wisconsinites with an update while also outlining his priorities for a second term in office.
As far as what you can expect to hear, there are two basic types of issues: Social and fiscal. The governor will likely cover both Tuesday evening with his second term officially underway.
Wisconsin has projected a $6.6 billion surplus, so odds are the governor will spend a significant chunk of time outlining how he would like to use those funds for Wisconsinites.
Though his formal budget address is scheduled for February, three main fiscal issues will most likely be a part of the speech:
- Boosting funds for K-12 education
- Increasing shared revenue for municipalities
- Tax reform for the middle class
Increasing funds for public schools is a position Republicans are open to, so long as the governor would agree to universal school choice in exchange.
Share revenue is another opportunity for common ground between Democrats and Republicans. Both parties agree something needs to be done about how much money the state provides to local municipalities. However, the disagreement is largely about the best way to tweak the funding formula.
Similar to the other two significant fiscal issues, both parties would like to see the a portion of the surplus spent on a tax cut. Yet, any sort of reform will take a lot of compromises as this is an area where both parties disagree the most.
Republicans have recently unveiled a 3.5% flat tax, which the governor would likely veto in favor of his 10% tax cut for the middle class instead.
Tuesday night will also be the first big opportunity for Gov. Evers to explain how he plans to fulfill the promises made on the campaign trail, including abortion rights.
Leading up to November, the governor talked a lot about repealing the state's abortion ban from 1849. Though Republicans stand in the way legislatively, the governor already tried to move the needle in January.
Gov. Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a new brief in their lawsuit challenging the law, and Democrats have called for placement of an advisory referendum on the ballot.
On the heels of what would have been the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling on Sunday, it would be surprising if Gov. Evers did not use the opportunity to call on Republican leaders to take action on the state's abortion ban from 1849.
Watch the State of the State address live on Spectrum News 1 at 7 p.m. Tuesday and on the Spectrum News app.