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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
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Budget committee approves over $700 million in bonding for clean water programs
Committee Co-Chairs Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) and Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said at a press conference ahead of the meeting that they were looking forward to getting to work on the budget despite negotiations stalling and were optimistic that they could still get the budget done on time. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner) The Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Finance Committee on Thursday took its first actions on the budget since the breakdown in negotiations between Republican lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers by approving over $700 million in bonding authority for clean water and safe drinking water projects and taking action on several other agencies. Committee Co-Chairs Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) and Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said at a press conference ahead of the meeting that they were looking forward to getting to work on the budget despite negotiations stalling and were optimistic that they could still get the budget done on time. 'We've had some good conversations in the last few weeks between the governor and the legislative leaders, and unfortunately, those, you know, conversations have stopped,' Born said. Lawmakers and Evers announced Wednesday evening that their months-long negotiations had reached an impasse for the time being. Republicans said they would move forward writing the budget on their own, saying the state couldn't afford what Evers wanted, and Evers said Republicans were walking away because they refused to compromise. Evers had said he was willing to support Republican tax cut proposals that even as they were similar to proposals he previously vetoed. 'The spending really that the governor needs is just more than they can afford,' Born said Thursday, 'and it's getting to the point where it's about 3 to 1 compared to the tax cuts that we were looking at.' He declined to share specifics about the amounts that were being discussed. 'I don't think we're going to relive the conversations of the last few weeks in any details, but certainly, you know, we've been focused on tax cuts for retirees and the middle class,' Born said. Evers' spokesperson Britt Cudaback said in an email that Republicans' 'math is not remotely accurate.' Despite the breakdown in discussions, the GOP lawmakers said they were optimistic about the potential for Evers to sign the budget they write, noting that he has signed budget bills passed by Republicans three times in his tenure as governor. 'I'm very hopeful that we will do a responsible budget that we can afford that addresses the major priorities and a lot of the priorities that I think the governor's office has,' Marklein said. 'I'm very hopeful that the governor will sign the budget.' Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee were less optimistic about the prospect for the budget to receive support from across the aisle, saying that it likely wouldn't adequately address the issues at the top of mind for Wisconsinites, including public K-12 education, public universities and child care. 'We're going to see a budget that prioritizes more tax breaks for the wealthiest among us at the expense of all of the rest of us and a budget from finance that will get no Democratic votes and that will likely be vetoed by the governor,' Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) said. Roys said they didn't know about the specifics of what Evers had agreed to. 'We can't really speculate on that, but I can say that we absolutely support the process and the idea of collaborative, shared government,' Roys said. 'We are committed to that. We have been ready from Day One to sit down with our Republic colleagues to negotiate.' She said for now JFC Democrats will focus on providing alternatives to Republicans' plans. 'We're going to do our best to advocate for what Wisconsinites have said they want to need,' Roys said. 'We want a lower cost for families. We want to make sure that our kids are the first priority in the budget, and we're going to be offering the Republicans the opportunity to vote in favor of those things.' There is less than a month until the June 30 deadline for the Legislature to pass and Evers to sign the state budget. If the budget isn't passed on time, then state agencies continue to operate under the current funding levels. While negotiations have hit a wall, some committee's actions on Thursday received bipartisan support. The committee unanimously approved an additional $732 million in bonding authority for the Environmental Improvement Fund (EIF). The program uses a combination of federal grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's clean water and drinking water state revolving funds and matching state funds to provide subsidized loans to municipalities for drinking water, wastewater and storm water infrastructure projects. 'This is going to be very good for a lot of our local communities when it comes to clean water,' Marklein said ahead of the meeting. He noted that many communities were on a waiting list for their projects. The Department of Administration and the Department of Natural Resources told lawmakers in late 2024 that that year was the first time the fund had not had enough resources to meet demand. Demand for aid from the program increased dramatically starting in 2023, with a 154% increase in the clean water fund loan demand in 2023-24 and a 325% increase in demand for the safe drinking water loan program that year. Insufficient funding for the clean water program led to constraints in 2024-25 and left needs unmet for at least 24 projects costing around $73.9 million. Rep. Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay) said she was thrilled that lawmakers were approving money for infrastructure in the state. 'The state has over $4 billion here,' Andraca said. 'A lot of that is one-time money and one-time money should be used for infrastructure — making sure that our communities are in a great position moving forward should the economy turn down.' The action is meant to cover the next four years of state contributions to the fund. Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto) said in a statement the loans will help Wisconsin communities address aging infrastructure and water contaminants. 'With these additional funds, municipalities will be able to access low-interest loans to modernize their water systems, saving local taxpayers millions of dollars and keeping their water clean for years to come at the same time,' Wimberger said. Peter Burress, government affairs manager for environmental nonprofit Wisconsin Conservation Voters, said including the additional revenue bonding authority in the budget is a 'smart, substantive way' to make progress towards ensuring Wisconsinites have 'equitable access to safe, affordable drinking water.' 'We urge every legislator to support this same investment and send it to Gov. Evers for his signature,' Burress said. Republicans on the committee approved an additional $500,000 for the Medical College of Wisconsin's North Side Milwaukee Health Centers Family Medicine Residency Program, which focuses on training family physicians with expertise and skills to provide individualized, evidence-based, culturally competent care to patients and families. The measure also included $250,000 annually starting in 2026-27 for the Northwest Wisconsin Residency Rotation for family medicine residents. According to budget papers, starting the funding in the second year of the budget would allow time to find a hospital partner to support residents. Democrats voted against the measure after their proposal for higher funding was shot down by Republicans. The Democrats proposal also called for funding a Comprehensive Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Fellowship Program focusing on treating substance use disorders and anAdvancing Innovation in Residency Education project to improve the behavioral health expertise of family medicine residents. 'I hope that my colleagues are reading national news because we're seeing lots and lots of research funding being cut,' Andraca said. 'The Medical College has lost about $5 million in research grants recently, and in addition to other research programs being canceled, I don't know who has tried to make an appointment with the primary care physician, but there's really long wait times right now, and this program is literally designed to bring doctors into the state.' Democrats proposed transitioning the Educational Communications Board's Emergency Weather Warning System from relying on fees for funding to being covered by state general purpose revenue. Andraca, in explaining the proposal, said state funding for a system like that is more important now than ever. 'We're talking weather alerts. We're talking about making sure that people know when there's something heading their way. We are in a time where we need these alerts more than ever. In fact, yesterday was an unhealthy air day, and… we're looking at drastic federal cuts,' Andraca said. Republicans rejected the measure and instead approved a 5% increase that will be used on general program operations, transmitter operations and emergency weather warning system operations. Rep. Tip McGuire (D-Kenosha) joined Republicans in favor of the motion. The committee also took action on several other agencies with support splitting along party lines Republicans approved a modification to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation's budget, lowering it by $3.8 million, due to projections that surcharge collections appropriated to WEDC will be lower than estimated. They also rejected Democrats' proposal to provide an additional $5 million in the opportunity attraction and promotion fund, which makes grants to attract events that will draw national exposure and drive economic development. The committee was scheduled to take action on the Wisconsin Elections Commission budget, but delayed that after the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to the state agency accusing it of violating the Help America Vote Act. The letter threatened to withhold funding and criticized the absence of an administrative complaint process or hearings to address complaints against the Commission itself. Ann Jacobs, the commission chair, has disputed the accusations and said there is no funding for the federal government to cut. Marklein said the state lawmakers want more information before acting on the agency's budget. 'Out of caution, we think we're just going to wait and see,' Marklein said. 'We need to analyze this and see what implications there may be for the entire Elections Commission and what impact that may have on the budget.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Republicans favor expanding employer child care tax credit; providers skeptical
Corrine Hendrickson, child care provider and advocate, waits to speak at a rally in front of the state Capitol Tuesday, May 13. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner) Republican lawmakers have filed a proposed bill expanding an existing state business development tax credit related to child care. Child care providers who want to see a permanent state investment in their work said the bill was an inadequate gesture. The state's current business tax credit for child care applies only to capital expenditures for an employee child care program. The proposed bill would expand that to include other costs, including operating a child care program for employees, reimbursing employees for child care costs and other costs related to child care benefits. 'These changes will increase the number of available child care slots and provide more options for families,' wrote Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Karen Hurd (R-Withee) in a memo seeking cosponsors. 'While not a silver bullet, these changes are another step in the right direction to address the child care issue in Wisconsin.' Critics dismissed the measure as inadequate. In a press release Rep. Randy Udell (D-Fitchburg) sent out after the Assembly's floor session Tuesday, he noted that last week the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee 'shot down 612 budget items including $480 million in childcare funding, and they proposed a childcare tax credit in its place that would benefit corporations instead of childcare providers under threat of closure.' Shawn Phetteplace, national campaigns director for Main Street Alliance, sent a memo to lawmakers Tuesday also dismissing the proposal. 'Providing a 15% refundable business tax credit for businesses providing child care benefits will not appreciably increase access to child care for Wisconsin workers,' Phetteplace wrote. 'It will simply be another tax break for large corporations. A similar credit exists at the federal level, the 45F credit, which is widely regarded as not achieving the goal of increasing affordability and accessibility to childcare for employees.' Corrine Hendrickson, co-founder of Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed (WECAN), said at a Capitol rally Tuesday she would like to meet with Marklein, who cochairs the finance committee, as well as Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) the other cochair. The business tax credit is refundable: The credit recipient receives the full value of the credit back from the state, even if it is more than what the recipient owes in taxes. Hendrickson criticized the lawmakers for 'refusing to do the same for our hard-working families with the child and dependent tax credit.' The state's child and dependent care tax credit for families, which was expanded in legislation enacted in March 2024, is not refundable. That effectively makes the tax credit worth much more to people with higher incomes than to those with lower incomes, as the Wisconsin Examiner has previously reported. 'We are not going to accept anything more that will entrench the wealthy and well connected into our system of having success in life,' Hendrickson said. Born issued a statement this week that declared Republicans were focusing on other alternatives to the proposal for $480 million in subsidies for child care providers. 'Legislative Republicans have consistently supported a targeted approach to helping families afford child care, build provider capacity, and support recruitment of child care professionals,' Born said. 'Parents are best equipped to make decisions about the needs of their children and Legislative Republicans are committed to providing parents with options, helping families directly make child care more affordable.' Born said the Legislature spends 'almost $1 billion' for child care. Hendrickson said that virtually all that money is from the federal government and simply passes through the state budget. Only about $24.4 million comes from the state as a required match. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Joint Finance Committee eliminates over 600 items from Evers' budget proposal
Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) told reporters that they would be starting from 'base' with the budget. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner) The Joint Finance Committee kicked off its work on the next Wisconsin State Budget Thursday by eliminating over 600 items from Gov. Tony Evers' sweeping budget proposal, saying they would start from 'base' and his budget had too much 'irresponsible' spending. Democrats criticized Republicans for blocking all of Evers' proposals without presenting a plan of their own to address the concerns of everyday Wisconsinites. The committee spent last month hearing from members of the public, many of whom called for investments in public education and health care, and from some agency heads, who have defended Gov. Tony Evers' budget requests. The state has a $4 billion budget surplus it's considering, and Evers proposed the state tap those funds and raise income taxes on the wealthiest Wisconsinites to fund his proposals. The list that lawmakers eliminated from the budget bill spanned about 20 pages and includes a new 9.8% income tax bracket for high-income earners, Medicaid expansion, nearly $500 million for the Child Care Counts program, marijuana legalization and taxation, $125 million to create a grant program to address PFAS, $200 million to address the replacement of lead pipes and other provisions to help address lead poisoning and many provisions related to public schools including free school meals, a 'grow your own' teaching program and ensuring access to menstrual supplies in schools, funding for the Office of School Safety and a provision to cap participation in the state's voucher programs. Ahead of the budget meeting, committee co-chairs Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) told reporters that they would be starting from 'base' with the budget, meaning removing all of the items and taking the budget back to the one in place for 2023-2025. Born said legislators are accustomed to 'the way we have to manage the governor's executive budgets.' Since Evers took office in 2019, Republicans have kicked off every budget cycle by removing all of his proposals. 'Unfortunately, [Evers] sends us an executive budget that's just piles full of stuff that doesn't make sense and spends recklessly and raises taxes and has way too much policy,' Born said. 'So, we'll work from base and the first step of that today is to remove all that policy… and then begin the work of rebuilding the budget.' Responding to Democrats' criticism that Republicans are removing items that are popular with the public, Marklein said they should draft separate bills and use the regular legislative process to advance those ideas. 'I can point to things in the budget bill that we're going to pull up that I like… and we're pulling that out as well. It's a policy,' Marklein said. 'It's got nothing to do with the budget.' Born noted that there are also other ways that lawmakers could address issues of concern apart from Evers' suggestions, saying the removal of items 'doesn't mean that when we build this budget over the next couple of months, we won't impact those areas in positive and significant ways.' 'The governor has one idea on how to fund child care or one idea on how to impact mental health,' Born said. 'There are other ways that we can do that in current law and current budget operations by inserting more money in things that I can most likely see us do.' Marklein also noted that there could be some changes to how they go about drafting the budget this year following the state Supreme Court upholding Evers' partial veto in the last budget. 'I anticipate that you're not going to see too many references to digits, years anymore,' Marklein said. 'My guess is that our drafting attorneys are going to recommend that you spell out those years, and those dates in the budget.' Born said the decision could also affect the education budget because there are increases already 'baked into the cake.' Evers slammed Republicans for gutting his proposal, saying that they are refusing to help Wisconsinites. 'The most frustrating part for me as governor is that Republicans consistently reject basic, commonsense proposals that can help kids, families, farmers, seniors and Wisconsinites across our state, all while Republicans offer no real or meaningful alternative of their own,' Evers said. 'Republicans talk a lot about what they're against, but not what they're for.' During the meeting, Democrats proposed keeping 19 items in the budget across a handful of motions that touched on certain issue areas, saying they hoped they could carve out some spots for agreement. One would have placed $420 million back in the budget to fund the Child Care Counts program, as well as several other child care related measures. Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) said Republicans are 'willing to pull out really, really important items' and said the child care proposals are essential, warning that money for the Child Care Counts program is expected to expire in June. 'We are at risk of losing 87,000 [child care] slots… The fact that these things are being pulled out of the budget today and as of today, there is no mention or discussion of a replacement plan for something as important as this,' she said, is creating uncertainty among Wisconsinites and exacerbating a crisis. 'Our children deserve quality services. Our families deserve affordable rates,' Johnson said. Another motion would have placed Medicaid expansion back in the budget. Wisconsin is one of only 10 states that haven't accepted the federal expansion, which would allow coverage for those up to 138% of the federal poverty line. 'Families are struggling to afford the care they need, and we have an opportunity — and I would argue an obligation — to do something,' Andraca said. Andraca noted that Congressional Republicans, including Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, are considering cuts to the Medicaid program as they aim to extend the 2017 tax cuts from President Donald Trump's first term. 'We heard how people are fearful of cuts to the programs that they rely on, and they are forced to make increasingly hard choices between groceries and prescriptions,' Andraca said. 'Are you still willing to turn your backs on the people who entrusted us to vote for their best interests? Honestly, our constituents deserve better than this.' The final proposal from Democrats would have kept items in the budget related to veterans including tax credits for veterans, funding for a veterans' mental health program and for the Wisconsin Veterans Museum as well as an item to designate Juneteenth and Veterans Day as holidays. Rep. Tip McGuire (R-Kenosha) said he hoped they could agree on not making veterans' lives harder. 'I recognize that it's sort of the whole brand of the Republican party right now is to make everyone's life a little bit more difficult,' McGuire said. 'Certainly, it's harder to travel in this country, It's harder for people to access health insurance, it's harder for people to afford college or go to college or manage their student loans. It's harder for people to afford groceries and there may even be a question of what you can have full shelves soon… I know it's your whole brand to make people's lives harder, but I think we can all agree… [veterans] should still deserve some support.' Republicans rejected each motion. McGuire doubled down on his point, saying that Republicans' opposition to supporting even smaller parts of Evers' proposal is a sign that they don't want to help the average person. 'People are struggling and it is a challenging world and the one thing we should not be doing the one thing that nobody votes for their legislator to do is to make their life harder,' McGuire said. 'Yet, that is all we are seeing out of the Republican party right now. That's all we see out of the federal Republican party and frankly the Republican party here,' McGuire said, noting that Republican lawmakers recently passed legislation that would place additional restrictions on unemployment benefits. 'You're making things less affordable and more difficult for regular [people] and that's bad and we shouldn't do it,' McGuire said. Marklein said he was 'glad we're going back to base' because Evers' budget proposal included a 20% increase in spending, an additional 1,300 positions funded by general purpose revenue and an increase in taxes. 'When I talk to my constituents about the process, they are truly supportive of us not starting from this inflated budget that [Evers] put before us,' Marklein said, noting that Evers signed the last budget after they went through a similar process. 'The idea that the door is closed on all these things is pretty ridiculous.' McGuire pushed back on Marklein's comments, saying that lawmakers are pretending it is a 'nice and friendly' process. 'Part of the process that occurs here today is that not only do you remove the governor's budget items, which make life easier for Wisconsinites, but then, you also prohibit anyone from ever discussing them ever again,' McGuire said. 'And that's really bizarre… This is a top-down totalitarian committee where we're not permitted to discuss things past a certain point.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tony Evers, Josh Kaul sue Sean Duffy over loss in federal funds for EV charging stations
Wisconsin is joining 15 other states suing the U.S. Department of Transportation and Secretary Sean Duffy, a former Wisconsin congressman, over a loss in federal funding that stands to dampen the state's electric vehicle efforts. Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filed the lawsuit May 8 over the Trump administration's freeze of funding for EV infrastructure, including more than $62 million that Wisconsin could lose. Without the funds, Wisconsin's efforts to build EV charging stations along highways and near gas stations, restaurants and hotels could be delayed or canceled, "threatening jobs and economic activity in the state," according to a release from Kaul's office. In a statement, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said the Trump administration and Duffy are "singlehandedly trying to block Wisconsin from receiving the investments we were promised." Evers cited bipartisan legislation he signed into law last year that created a path for Wisconsin to capture nearly $80 million in federal funding to help private businesses develop charging stations. "Much of those funds and projects are in jeopardy," Evers said. At the time, state Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, said he authored the bill on behalf of private-sector businesses who want to participate in the EV charging industry. More: Trump administration freezes funds for Wisconsin electrical vehicle charging stations The U.S. Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit. Unlike other members of Trump's Cabinet, Duffy received bipartisan support during his confirmation as secretary in January, including from U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Some Democratic senators opposed his nomination over Trump's federal funding freeze. During his confirmation hearing, Duffy did not reference specific projects like EV charging stations but said he would commit to implementing projects funded by the Biden administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The law included $5 billion for electric vehicle funding. The lawsuit Kaul joined argues the funding was already approved by Congress and the administration can't terminate it. The lawsuit is now pending in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Evers, Kaul sue Sean Duffy over loss in funds for EV infrastructure
