Latest news with #JointFinanceCommittee
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Budget committee Republicans again cut increases in licensing agency staff
State Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) argues Thursday in the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee for including the full budget request from the state Department of Safety and Professional Services in the 2025-27 Wisconsin state budget. (Screenshot/WisEye) Republicans on the Legislature's budget committee rejected a proposal Thursday to add permanent staff to the state agency responsible for ensuring that a range of professionals have licenses they need to do their jobs. Instead, the Joint Finance Committee voted along party lines to extend five contract positions for three more years as well as add a handful of other positions. The 2025-27 state budget marks the fourth one in which Gov. Tony Evers has been rebuffed after urging lawmakers to increase staffing at the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) to speed up the agency's license and permit administration. There was no debate during the 45-minute meeting Thursday. All four Democrats on the committee spoke up, either to advocate for their proposal for the agency or to criticize the GOP proposal as inadequate. None of the Republicans, however, made arguments for their plan for DSPS or against the Democrats' alternative. In addition to issuing professional licenses in health care, personal services, professions such as accounting or architecture and for skilled tradespeople such as plumbers and electricians, DSPS also oversees a variety of building and other public safety licenses and permits. Starting more than three years ago, Republican lawmakers raised criticism of the agency amid heavy backlogs in the licensing process for a wide range of professionals. Democratic lawmakers — as well as some outside groups representing licensed professionals — have charged the backlog was a result of the Legislature's failure to authorize more positions at the department. The department is almost entirely self-funded through the fees it collects from license applications, but the size of its staff requires the approval of the Legislature. In the 2023-25 draft state budget, Evers requested 74 new positions at DSPS, but the final spending plan drafted largely by the Republican majority on the finance committee added 17.75 positions. Evers redirected pandemic relief funds to DSPS to hire more contract workers to help manage the licensing process. In the last couple of years, the backlog has been reduced so that on average a license is issued in two weeks, according to state Rep. Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay), a finance committee member. In his 2025-27 budget draft, Evers requested 30 new positions at the agency. On Thursday, Democrats on the finance committee proposed adding 31 positions, including 14 to staff the department's call center serving license applicants and nine additional employees to process license applications. Authorizing fewer people than DSPS has requested 'has a tremendous risk of causing significant delays or or even just making it a little bit harder for people to be able to get their license,' said Rep. Tip McGuire (D-Kenosha). 'We want people to be able to get the licenses that they need so they can go to work. We want people to get the renewals that they need so they can continue working.' State law requires about 10% of the fee revenue from professional licenses in health and business professions to be transferred to the state budget's general fund. 'We have been pulling funds out of an agency that's almost basically self-sufficient and dumping the money into the general fund, all while the demand for licenses is exploding,' said Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee). Johnson warned the committee that if the licensing process gets bogged down again, shortages in fields such as health care in particular are likely to worsen. Falling short of funding the department's full request 'impacts every single person in the state, whether you're a licensee or not,' said Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison). 'What we are doing is starving that system and making it harder for every single one of us to access needed professional services.' The Democratic proposal failed on a 4-12 vote, with all the Republicans on the 16-member committee voting against it. The Republican measure passed 12-4, with only Republicans' support. It extends five contract call center positions that expire Sept. 30 for another three years. The GOP motion omits three lawyers and three paralegals the department had requested for professional regulation compliance and for the state's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. The motion also transfers $5 million from DSPS revenues to the state budget's general fund, in addition to the annual 10% from license fees. The Republican measure authorizes a consultant for pharmacy inspections that was part of the original budget draft. It also includes funding to continue a youth firefighter training grant that was in the original request and the Democratic proposal. The committee's co-chairs, Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam), released a joint statement later Thursday declaring that 'Joint Finance Republicans voted to invest in important government services while holding the line on spending.' The statement cited funding for DSPS call center staff 'to help credential holders and the public navigate licensure platforms' and said the funding 'ensures the department can operate effectively and provide these critical services to professionals.' Immediately after the final vote, however, Andraca told her colleagues that the outcome was a missed opportunity. 'We could be sitting here claiming a bipartisan success story, because today the median time to get a license is only 15 days,' Andraca said. 'We should be continuing the success story and taking a victory lap, and instead we're chipping away the progress that we've made — and that's very disappointing.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Brown County courts request aid to address felony case backlog
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Legislators in Brown County are asking for more state funding as they say they need help with staffing shortages amid thousands of pending felony cases. State representatives Shae Sortwell (R-Gibson) and Ben Franklin (R-De Pere) have reportedly filed a budget motion to the Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Finance Committee with the hopes of expanding operations for the Brown County courts. 'Summer in the City' press conference reveals upcoming activities and events in Green Bay There appears to be bipartisan support to bring two judges, three assistant district attorneys, and two state public defender support staff positions onboard. By bringing in the additional staff, state lawmakers hope it can alleviate the backlog, which they say is longer than both Milwaukee and Dane Counties combined. What I can tell you is I think everybody is very excited about this. Again its a much needed injection from the state and so everybody that I've talked to so far is very supportive about it, there's an obvious need there so everybodys excited. State Rep. Benjamin Franklin (R-De Pere) As of now, the current median age of a criminal case in Brown County is nearly 300 days. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State lawmakers are working on the two-year budget. What is it, and why does it matter?
Over the next several weeks, you're likely to hear a lot about Wisconsin's biennial budget, the state's two-year spending plan that sets funding levels for schools, transportation, mental health and more. The Republican-controlled state Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers both have a role in shaping the budget. After Evers pitched his plan, the powerful Joint Finance Committee modifies the massive bill, which Evers will take action on later this summer. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will follow upcoming budget hearings and how lawmakers' decisions will impact government services and programs. Here's a broad timeline of what to expect. The budget process starts when state agencies — such as the Department of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin System and Department of Public Instruction — make requests for funding over the next two years. Typically, those are released toward the end of even-numbered years. State superintendent Jill Underly unveiled a $4 billion request for the DPI in November 2024. The UW System's $855 million request was announced in August. More: Does the UW System's $855 million budget request bring Wisconsin closer to average? These agency requests shape the governor's budget proposal, but the governor often makes changes by removing or adding specific programs or tweaking funding levels. The governor is required to deliver a budget message to the Legislature. Evers gave that speech Feb. 18 this year. His plans included a new tax bracket for the state's wealthiest residents, expanding the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program and addressing lead exposure among children. The budget proposal is also a chance for Evers to lay out policies he supports, such as marijuana legalization and Medicaid expansion, though Republicans often remove them from the budget. More: Gov. Tony Evers' budget has a $2.4 billion net tax increase, would create a shortfall As of early May, this is the step we're at. The budget is in the hands of the Joint Finance Committee, which is comprised of 16 lawmakers from both parties and houses. Committee members hosted public listening sessions across the state in April. Now, the Republican-controlled committee will hold several, hours-long executive sessions in the Capitol to make changes to the governor's budget, piece by piece. In 2023, those meetings took place in May and June. Republicans historically ignore much of what's in Evers' budget. The committee started its work May 8 by eliminating hundreds of ideas in his proposal. But it's possible this budget cycle will have more compromise — Evers and legislative leaders are holding negotiations this year, which is unusual for them to do. More: Republicans scrap over 30 programs dedicated to behavioral health care from Evers' budget Once the Joint Finance Committee finishes its work, the budget bill goes to the full Assembly and Senate. In 2023, the Senate approved the budget June 28, and the Assembly passed it a day later. Two Republican senators joined Democrats in voting no, though the vote is typically along party lines. During floor debate two years ago, Democrats put forward numerous last-ditch amendments, trying to add some of Evers' policy ideas back into the budget. All were rejected by Republicans. June 30 is the deadline to pass a budget, but lawmakers have gone beyond that date in the past. Missing the deadline doesn't have immediate impacts; spending levels stay where they are until a new plan is in place. From there, the budget bill goes to Evers' desk to become law. The governor can veto the entire state budget. Typically, though, Evers and other governors have used their powerful partial veto authority to remove words, numbers and punctuation from the budget, which can create new meanings or change spending amounts. In 2023, Evers issued 51 partial vetoes when he signed the budget into law July 5. On April 18, the state Supreme Court upheld Evers' partial veto that locked in funding increases for public schools for 402 years by deleting a hyphen and a "20" in reference to the 2024-25 school year. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said his party would discuss how to write the 2025-27 budget in ways that limit Evers' partial veto opportunities. GOP leaders have also floated passing items typically included in the budget as separate bills to reduce the chance of vetoes. More: Republicans scour for options to sidestep Tony Evers vetoes, including not using digits in the budget More: Why did Wisconsin's capital move from Belmont to Madison? Corruption, land and lobbying The state budget impacts daily life across Wisconsin. Cuts at the federal level could make funding from the state even more crucial. Funding for the UW System dictates whether tuition will increase or remain flat for in-state undergraduates. Grants in the budget could address the rising cost of child care. Infrastructure projects, such as highway construction and traffic calming measures, are also considered in the budget. State prisons in Green Bay and Waupun could be closed or renovated as part of budget negotiations. The budget also dictates how much money the state takes in — including through income taxes. The last budget delivered an average income tax cut of $36, down from $573 in Republicans' plan, which Evers said focused relief on the wealthiest residents. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What exactly is the Wisconsin state budget, and why does it matter?
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Providers rally for funding and support by taking A Day Without Childcare
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX)—Childcare providers across the state and country took the day off to rally for more funding and support during A Day Without Childcare. In Wisconsin, the Joint Finance Committee cut $480 million from the Governor's proposed budget, some of which was allocated to childcare services. Providers say 25% of facilities may have to close without that money. Lawmakers and providers joined together at Julia's Schoolia in Eau Claire to share the need for these services. They say without childcare providers, employees in other fields won't be able to work and that would directly affect employers, families and children. While the battle to secure this funding continues, childcare providers say they're in limbo. Leanne O'Bryan, Executive Director of Rachel's Place Early Learning Center, says, 'It's very stressful. It's very stressful to be a director in this program. We have so many things to do at the center that we need to be taken care of and having to advocate this many days and this often and this hard… (it) takes a lot of time away from the children and the staff.' Advocates for childcare services say if lawmakers do not promise to reinstate the funding, they will head to the Capitol tomorrow to rally for it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Child care advocates organize stoppage to send message for funding
Children play at The Growing Tree child care center in New Glarus. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner) For more than two years Wisconsin child care providers have been warning that failing to provide ongoing support will mean their fees will go up and their numbers shrink drastically. Starting Tuesday, some providers will try to give lawmakers and the public a taste of what that could look like — by staging a strike. Their goal is to persuade Republican leaders on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee to commit to including in the state budget a significant child care support program. Gov. Tony Evers' proposed $480 million child care measure was among more than 600 items the committee removed on Thursday, May 8, from the draft budget Evers proposed for 2025-27. The motion to remove the items passed 12-3 with only Republican votes. 'We are demanding that the Joint Finance Committee guarantees they will put $480 million of state dollars back into the budget' for child care support, Corrine Hendrickson, a New Glarus child care provider and advocate, told the Wisconsin Examiner Monday. Until they get such a guarantee, some providers have decided to close their doors, Hendrickson said. Providers who intend to shut down their operations on Tuesday will go to the state Capitol for a press conference organized by Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed (WECAN), which Hendrickson cofounded. They plan to remain at the Capitol at least through the rest of this week, she said. 'The goal is that Republicans and Democrats will stop by and talk to us about our concerns,' Hendrickson said. She added she was hoping for 'a real conversation' about measures that child care providers favor as well as proffered solutions that they oppose — 'since they keep leaving us out of these conversations.' Hendrickson said Monday afternoon that about 100 participants — providers, child care workers and parents in support of their actions — were expected at the Capitol Tuesday. She said there was not a count yet of how many child care centers might close. Organizers have established a donation portal with Community Change Action to raise funds that will be used to offset lost wages for child care workers and providers who take part in the walkout, Hendrickson said. The action planned to start Tuesday follows events across Wisconsin Monday for 'A Day Without Child Care' —a national campaign to draw attention to the need for child care programs and their need for stronger financial resources. At a rally Monday morning in New Glarus, parents, state officials both elected and appointed, education leaders, local economic boosters and child care providers took turns championing the need for a state investment that would strengthen child care providers. 'Whether you're a parent, an employer, an educator or a policy advisor, child care affects each and every one of us and it touches our future as well,' Cortney Barry, director of the New Glarus Chamber of Commerce, said at the rally. 'The current system is not working, especially in small communities like ours. It's just stretched too thin. It's fragile, and it's scary to think just how close we are to a true crisis.' Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski said business leaders she met with in central Wisconsin last week told her that child care was a pressing need for them to be able to hire locally rather than going out of state, and that they could not find workers 'not because people don't want to work for [them] — they can't find a place to send their kids.' Democratic lawmakers and parents have since 2023 pushed to continue the monthly Child Care Counts support program that Wisconsin began with the help of federal money during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds bolstered child care providers' revenues so they could raise wages without charging parents more for care. 'We lost 6,000 [child care] programs between 2010 and 2019,' Hendrickson said at the New Glarus rally. 'You know what stopped [the decline]? COVID — when we started getting money. All of the sudden we had more programs open at the end of the year than we had at the beginning of the year. It worked.' A proposal to continue Child Care Counts with state funds was stripped from Evers' 2023-25 budget, and the Legislature's Republican majority repeatedly rejected attempts to restore the funding. The Evers administration was able to continue a reduced support program, but that will end with the final payment to child care centers early this summer. That has escalated a campaign to keep the program going with state funds. In a state survey released in April 25% or more providers said they might close without continued support at the level Child Care Counts provided. Hendrickson said at the New Glarus rally 54% of providers in Green County in the survey expected to close after the state funding program ends. Half of providers will have to raise tuition, she said — including her family child care business, which cares for eight children. Even with fee increases totaling $50 a week phased in over the months of August and September to replace lost Child Care Counts revenue and higher expenses, 'I will still be taking a pay cut,' she added. Brooke Legler, the other WECAN cofounder and operator of The Growing Tree child care center in New Glarus, said shutting down to protest starting Tuesday is 'our last effort — it's the only thing we have as a community, as a profession, that we can say, like, 'No, I'm not going to subsidize the economy off of my pay, off of the teachers that work there.'' Other child care providers who took part in Monday's Day Without Child Care campaign across the state said they cannot shut down in protest this week, but they support providers who choose to do so. In Waupaca, Tracy Jensen, director of Sunny Day Child Care, used the day as a teach-in for parents. 'We were raising awareness about the true cost of child care and how important it is to have child care in our community,' Jensen told the Wisconsin Examiner. About 75 parents came through the center Monday, and Jensen said she plans to continue the opportunities for more such parent education through the week. Sunny Day is the largest center in Waupaca County, Jensen said, with a license for 292 children at one time. There are 350 families with children enrolled currently, and a waiting list of 70 families, she said. Jensen said that given the center's size it won't take part in the organized shut down. She said she told employees that if they want to go to Madison Tuesday to voice their concerns they can do so, and she has tried to organize staffing to make that possible. Tricia Peterson directs Future All Stars Academy in Juneau. On Monday she closed the center for a day and took 11 employees to an event in Waunakee, where providers, staff and parents rallied. Peterson won't close Future All Stars for the walkout starting Tuesday, however. 'I'm not in a position right now to do that,' she said, 'But I will say I will do everything I can in support of that.' The center's long-term future will depend on the state budget, however. 'I'm one of those centers that if funding doesn't come forward in June, we'll have to close,' Peterson said. She's already notified parents about that possibility. 'They understood where we were coming from,' Peterson said. 'We didn't have one parent complain.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
