Latest news with #WisconsinCountiesAssociation
Associated Press
26-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates spar over Musk and Soros donations in high-stakes race
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court race who has received the support of Elon Musk said Wednesday that it's more concerning that his Democratic-supported opponent is benefiting from donations by liberal philanthropist George Soros. 'I don't think these two things compare,' Brad Schimel told reporters. 'I don't think they equate at all.' The race for ideological control of the battleground state's highest court is nonpartisan in name only, with Republicans lining up behind Schimel and Democrats backing Susan Crawford. The election on April 1 will determine whether liberals maintain their 4-3 majority on the court with major cases dealing with abortion, union rights, election law and congressional redistricting already under consideration by the court or expected to be argued before it soon. It could be the most significant U.S. election since November, as it will serve as an early litmus test for Republicans and Democrats after President Donald Trump won every swing state, including Wisconsin. Big money is pouring in on both sides, leading both Schimel and Crawford to say it won't affect their independence on the court even though each argues that it will influence their opponent. 'I don't have any agenda that I'm working alongside anyone,' Schimel told reporters after speaking at a Wisconsin Counties Association meeting. 'I'm grateful for our supporters, but they're getting nothing except me following the law.' Crawford said Tuesday that she has 'never made any promises' to her donors. Musk's America PAC is spending $1 million to help Schimel, a former Republican attorney general and current Waukesha County judge. Another group Musk has funded, Building America's Future, is spending $1.6 million on TV ads attacking Crawford, a Dane County circuit judge. Schimel has also received nearly $1.7 million from the state Republican Party. Crawford has gotten $3 million from the state Democratic Party, including $1 million that the party received from Soros and $500,000 that it got from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Schimel said Wednesday that the Soros donation was more problematic than the support from Musk, the world's wealthiest man and a top adviser to Trump. Schimel, a former district attorney, said he thinks Soros has 'very dangerous ideas for America,' citing his support for groups working to reduce funding for police. He also accused Crawford of wrongdoing when she spoke at an event with Democratic donors billed as a 'chance to put two more House seats in play.' Republicans, who made Wisconsin one of the most gerrymandered states in the country when they controlled all the levers of power, say this shows that she is committed to redrawing congressional districts to benefit Democrats. 'That is pay for play,' Schimel said Wednesday. Crawford's campaign did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Donations from the political parties and billionaires has also raised questions about whether Schimel and Crawford would recuse themselves from cases involving them. Tesla, the electric car company owned by Musk, has a lawsuit pending in Wisconsin challenging the state's decision blocking it from opening dealerships. That case could ultimately be decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Schimel would not commit Wednesday to stepping aside should the case reach the court, saying he knew nothing about the lawsuit and would evaluate it the same as he would any other case. Crawford has made similar comments about whether she would step aside in cases involving her donors.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos seeking broad tax cuts in upcoming budget
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) speaks at a WisPolitics event. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) criticized much of Gov. Tony Evers' budget proposal on Tuesday, saying Republicans wouldn't get behind the spending increases and taxation proposals. He said Republican lawmakers are starting the process of coming up with their own proposals, including for a broad tax cut plan. Evers' 2025-27 state budget proposal dedicates $4 billion to K-12 and higher education, cuts nearly $2 billion in taxes and raises income taxes for the state's wealthiest residents. Evers said during a Wisconsin Counties Association conference on Tuesday that his proposal was 'realistic' and that he hopes the Legislature will agree. Vos said the plan was unrealistic, however, because it would increase state spending by about 20% and included plans to raise taxes. He also complained Evers presented his plans without speaking with lawmakers first. Wisconsin has an estimated budget surplus of about $4 billion. Democrats are seeking greater investments in the state's public services while Republicans want to limit state spending. Vos told the audience at the WisPolitics event people are thinking about the budget surplus the wrong way. 'People believe we have this huge surplus, which is true on one-time money, but we have very little money for the government to be able to expand or increase funding for programs,' Vos said. Vos said the last state budget was 'really disappointing' because Republicans met Evers' goals by increasing spending on education, but Evers vetoed most of Republicans' tax cut proposals. In the upcoming session, Republicans will seek to focus on using the budget surplus for cutting taxes. Evers proposed an array of tax cuts in his budget including eliminating taxes on cash tips, sales taxes on electricity and gas for Wisconsin homes and on over-the-counter medications. Vos compared tax cuts to 'chocolate cake,' saying they are all good. However, he said his caucus will likely look at doing broader tax cuts and that he wants cuts that 'people can actually feel.' 'My preference is something that is ongoing and meaningful to families,' Vos said. Vos said that lawmakers will work to pass a tax cut bill package before the end of the budget process. 'Hopefully that'll get signed, but if not, unfortunately, the budget will probably have to wait until we can find consensus on that tax cut,' Vos told reporters after the event. Evers also proposed a new tax bracket with a marginal rate of 9.8% for the state's wealthiest residents — those making above $1 million for single filers and married joint filers. The current top tax bracket has a 7.65% rate and applies to single filers making $315,310 and joint filers making $420,420. Vos said Republicans would not support increasing taxes. Evers for his fourth budget in a row proposed that Wisconsin join the 40 other states in the country that have taken the federal Medicaid expansion, which ensures coverage for people making up to 138% of the federal poverty line. One difference in this budget cycle, however, is that the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers are seeking to cut Medicaid funding in order to help pay for tax cuts. The new reality, Vos said, appears to validate his ongoing opposition to accepting the federal Medicaid expansion. 'Thank goodness we never expanded Medicaid,' Vos said. Vos said he would prefer block grants from the federal government, and that it would be better for Wisconsin to get 90% of the money from the federal government without 'strings attached' than to get 100% of the money and have to follow federal guidelines for how to spend it. Vos was also critical of expanding postpartum Medicaid to cover new mothers for the first year after giving birth, casting doubt on a Republican-backed bill that supports Wisconsin joining the 48 other states that have done this. Currently, Wisconsin only covers up to 60 days after birth for eligible mothers. Evers included the extension in his budget proposal and a Republican-authored bill that would extend coverage has 23 Senate cosponsors and 67 Assembly cosponsors. Despite the widespread bipartisan support for extending postpartum Medicaid, Vos said he was not the only person in his caucus who opposes expanding coverage. He said it doesn't make sense to expand Medicaid coverage because those with incomes up to 100% of the federal poverty line can still keep coverage after the 60 days and those who could lose coverage could seek coverage through Obamacare. 'I am not the only person in the Legislature who is opposed to it. Many Republicans are opposed to expanding welfare, it's just they are more than happy to let me stand in front of the arrows,' Vos said. Vos also critiqued changes to the state budget proposed by Evers that would update language to be gender neutral. The proposal would change certain words like 'father' to 'parent' and 'husband' to 'spouse.' Another section that is about artificial insemination would change 'the husband of the mother' to 'the spouse of the inseminated person.' Republicans have locked on the latter phrase to claim that Evers is trying to erase mothers and fathers. Evers told reporters Monday that the changes were made to ensure with 'legal certainty that moms are able to get the care they need,' noting that same sex couples could have been excluded from coverage under the old language. He accused Republicans of lying about the issue. 'I didn't know that Republicans were against IVF, but apparently they are because that is what it's about,' Evers said. Vos said the change was 'dystopian' and said the changes don't fix any issue and Evers was just coming up with an explanation. He later told reporters that the language made the state a 'national embarrassment.' Vos also complained about Evers' process for coming up with a plan to reform the state's prisons, saying he should have included lawmakers in developing it. The proposed plan, which would cost over $500 million, would make wide changes to many of the state's facilities including transitioning Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake youth correctional facilities into adult facilities, updating Waupun Correctional Institution, the state's oldest prison, and eventually closing Green Bay Correctional Institution. Vos said it's known that lawmakers have had an interest in the issue and questioned why they weren't consulted in developing the plan. 'He chose not to do that because he has one way of operating, which is his way or the highway. Those of us that have some interest in corrections reform will get together and come up with our own package and present it to the governor and say, 'Here it is,'' Vos said. Vos also weighed in on Wisconsin's upcoming spring elections. State Superintendent Jill Underly, the Democratic-backed candidate, is running for a second term in office against education consultant Brittany Kinser, the Republican-backed candidate. Vos said that Kinser is 'the best candidate' because she supports school choice and appears willing to work with the Legislature. He added that he isn't sure whether he has ever met with Underly. He also criticized Underly for changes to the evaluation of Wisconsin's standardized test scores. He described the recent February primary as 'low profile' and said that with a 'different electorate' at polls in April, Kinser likely has a chance to win. The higher profile spring election is for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The technically nonpartisan race pits Susan Crawford, the liberal candidate against Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate. Vos said he thinks that the race will be about the candidates, but it is 'possible' that the race could be a referendum on Trump. He noted that Democrats are seeking to turn out voters who agree with them and billionaire Elon Musk and Trump are trying to bring out Republicans in the race. A group tied to Musk canceled a social media ad this week that featured a photo of the wrong Susan Crawford. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tony Evers on budget compromise, Trump and DOGE. Takeaways from the governor's meeting with county leaders
MADISON – Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday called on Republicans and Democrats to compromise to pass a state budget, referred to President Donald Trump as an "amazing human being" and focused on public schools in his latest public appearance. Speaking at the annual Wisconsin Counties Association conference, Evers went through highlights in his budget, which he announced last week, and answered questions on a variety of topics. Here's what the governor said. Though Republican leaders have already declared the proposal is "dead on arrival," and that they will be drafting their own "responsible" budget, Evers said his document is a good place to start. He said it would provide tax relief to those who need it, in addition to relief on grocery store prices. "I think it's a real it's a realistic start," he said. Evers acknowledged that there will likely be concessions from both Democrats and Republicans by the end of the budget cycle this year, because that's what residents need from their lawmakers. "At the end of the day, we're a purple state. I think most Democrats, most Republicans live in the world of the middle, and I think that's the majority," he said. Evers said voters expected legislators to reach compromise. "Frankly, they're not going to get reelected (without reaching compromise)," he said. "We should be having legislators on the Republican side and the Democratic side working together to get good compromise." He highlighted the passing of the shared revenue bill and another securing funding for the Brewers stadium in 2023 as examples of bipartisanship and said he hopes to see more of that kind of work this year. Evers highlighted his "Year of the Kid" designation and said a focus needs to be on schools during the budget season. An ongoing battle over literacy funding from the last budget is yet to be squared away and he called for setting aside funds for youth mental health. Though funding for public schools, the University of Wisconsin and the state's technical schools is large, it's a necessary investment, especially because of the uncertainty at the federal level, he said. "It's a large increase, but it's a reasonable increase," he said. Evers also called "unsustainable" school districts' need to go to referendum every few years to increase funding. Evers' budget as proposed is projected to create shortfalls later in the decade. Republicans have criticized language in Evers' budget using the words "inseminated person" instead of "mother," in addition to several other gender-neutral terms such as spouse and person. Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, said in a release last week that Evers needs to apologize to mothers for those changes for "diminishing the importance and dignity of motherhood." Evers did not talk about the language regarding parents in the budget during his time on stage, and he did not speak to reporters following the question and answer session. In an interview with WISN12 Tuesday morning, Evers said he didn't know Republicans were against in vitro fertilization, or IVF. "That's what it's about," he said in the interview. "Moms are moms and dads are dads. What we want is legal certainty that moms are able to get the care they need. That's it, end of story." "You can count on this being something Republicans are becoming very good at, and that is lying." When asked about attending a gathering of the National Governors' Association with President Donald Trump recently, Evers said he'd "never forget it." "The interesting thing, you know, the President's an amazing human being, and his way of communicating is so different from anything I've ever seen," he said. What was supposed to be a 20-minute conversation between Trump and governors turned into an hour-and-a-half event between Trump and his cabinet. But Evers then changed his tone, and expressed worry about the layoffs and cuts to federal funding that could have major impacts in Wisconsin. "I am very fearful," he said. Evers also took a hit at Elon Musk's DOGE committee, which he mispronounced "doggie," producing laughter from county officials at the conference. DOGE stands for Department of Government Efficiency. Evers went on to say he was concerned about the firings and the impacts to normal people Musk's committee is having. "It's going to impact our economy," he said. More: Milwaukee VA employees grapple with confusion over Elon Musk directive When asked if he was planning to run for office again, Evers declined to answer. "After the budget is done, I'll be announcing what I'm going to do," he said. Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@ and on X @SchulteLaura. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Takeaways from Gov. Tony Evers' comments Wisconsin counties leaders
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Tony Evers' budget has a $2.4 billion net tax increase, would create a shortfall
MADISON – If approved by lawmakers, Gov. Tony Evers' new two-year state budget proposal would leave a potential shortfall of billions of dollars over the following two years, according to projections from his administration. The Democratic governor's fourth spending plan would cut income and sales taxes by $900 million and take steps to lower local property taxes by more than $1 billion. In separate provisions, the plan would raise state taxes by $3.3 billion for a net increase of $2.4 billion. Meanwhile, the budget would spend more than $59 billion annually — an increase of about 20% over current levels. The plan would balance the 2025-27 budget by drawing down the state's sizable reserves by an estimated $3.6 billion but would leave the state in a much more difficult financial position for the 2027-29 budget. When factoring in all spending and revenues, the plan creates a deficit lawmakers would have to address if they agreed to fund it completely by making cuts to key services and programs. The $119 billion plan comes as Evers considers whether to seek a third term as governor in 2026. Evers' plan would draw down the state's roughly $4.3 billion surplus, said Dale Knapp, director of Forward Analytics, the nonpartisan research arm of the Wisconsin Counties Association. The surplus wouldn't entirely be depleted in this two-year budget cycle, but it would be brought down to about $646 million at the end of the 2027 fiscal year. More: Tony Evers says he'll veto state budget if GOP requires state workers to return to office Further down the road, the state would be short about $1.6 billion by the end of the 2028 fiscal year and nearly $4 billion by the end of the 2029 fiscal year. That's assuming tax revenues stay the same. 'It does create some challenges for the next budget,' he said. 'When you're looking at an ending balance, essentially, of negative $4 billion, it tells you that they're going to be starting in a hole heading into that next budget.' Knapp recalled the state going from budget to budget with no extra money in the 2000s. 'It's really hard to budget in those situations, so we really want to avoid that if we can,' he said. The budget isn't just a financial document, he noted, but also a chance for Evers to make a 'statement about what his priorities are' like education, child care and tax relief. 'In the end, the Republicans and the Democrats are going to have to get together to get this budget done in some way,' Knapp said. More: A more evenly split state Legislature will convene next year. Will it lead to compromise? In 2023, Evers pitched a $104 billion budget that, if approved in full, would also have left the state with a structural deficit. Republicans rewrote the spending plan and ended with a smaller but still substantial projected deficit. The final state budget signed into law after a series of partial vetoes from Evers spent $2.8 billion more than revenues were expected to generate over the two years. Britt Cudaback, spokeswoman for Evers, said the governor's plan "makes significant investments in our kids and our schools, lowers costs for working families, seniors, and veterans, and provides nearly $2 billion in tax relief to help prevent property tax increases" while leaving a smaller deficit than the state budget plan Republican lawmakers passed in 2023. Cudaback said the budget also maintains about a projected $646 million balance in the state's general fund "so the state can respond to reckless federal cuts to programs Wisconsinites rely upon every day." More: Gov. Tony Evers takes aim at Trump in address focused on child care, new gun laws "Gov. Evers has consistently proposed budgets that prove the state can both make the responsible, pragmatic investments we need to, like supporting public education at every level, while still providing real, sustainable, and targeted tax relief to middle-class families, and this budget is no exception," she said in a statement. "The governor believes we must find ways to invest in our state's needs while staying within our means and finding ways to save where we can, and he's proposing a budget that balances these important obligations." Joint Committee on Finance co-chairman Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, called the governor's budget "reckless" and "unrealistic and unsustainable." "Republicans will start over and create a responsible budget that returns more money to taxpayers and invests in our priorities without bankrupting our state," he said in a statement. Molly Beck and Hope Karnopp can be reached at and hkarnopp@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Evers' proposed budget would create shortfall in the billions by 2029
