MADISON, Wis. (AP) - With a K-12 school aid increase on solid ground, a University of Wisconsin tuition cut in serious jeopardy and a solution to road funding still elusive, the Legislature’s budget-writing committee will come together Monday to begin voting on the two-year spending plan.
The meeting marks yet another phase in the drawn-out, sometimes tortuous process of passing the $76 billion spending plan. Gov. Scott Walker introduced it on a freezing February day in Madison.
Three months later, with tulips in bloom around the Capitol grounds, the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee is reconvening to start making changes to the budget.
So what’s changed since the day they got their first look at the plan?
Not much.
Wariness about several key planks of Walker’s proposal continues to divide Republican legislative leaders in May, just as it did in February. Here are where major parts of the budget stand:
- ROADS: No agreement is in sight on how to plug a projected $1 billion shortfall in roads funding, although there are positive signs. Walker and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald have both said they’re open to spending more money on roads from the state’s main account. But proponents of a long-term funding solution, including Assembly Republican leaders, are still pushing for tax and fee increases to replace some of the half-billion in borrowing Walker proposed. Democrats say they’re willing to work on a bipartisan solution, but they favor allowing the gas tax to increase along with inflation. Walker has promised to veto a gas tax and says he also doesn’t want any vehicle registration fee increases. The key question, said Republican budget committee member Sen. Luther Olsen, is how sustainable the solution will be. “Do you solve it for the long run or do you do a Band-Aid approach?” Olsen said. “I’m getting out my Band-Aids.”
- SCHOOL FUNDING: At six statewide hearings by the budget committee, the public consistently supported Walker’s call to increase K-12 aid by $650 million. There may be some wrangling on the final number, where exactly the money comes from and how it’s delivered to schools, but Republicans seem to have accepted that schools are in for a boost in aid. Olsen said that $650 million is “baked in the cake.” And Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach said he thinks the K-12 money is in “good shape.”
- UW: Walker wants to hold UW tuition flat for one more year and then cut it 5 percent in the second year of the budget. Republicans didn’t much like the idea in the middle of winter and they haven’t warmed to it in the spring. There’s a push among some to target relief based on financial need, while others say university tuition should be able to go up after being frozen for five years. Olsen said he wants to take the money for the tuition cut and instead hold tuition flat and give the extra money to the university. Erpenbach said Walker has been “very irresponsible” about freezing tuition for so long because it will put pressure on UW for a double-digit increase once the lid is lifted.
- SELF-INSURANCE: Walker proposed moving state workers to a self-insurance model, rather than having the state contract with HMOs to provide coverage. Budget committee members have questioned the wisdom of that and whether it would save the $60 million Walker estimated. “As of now, I don’t think there’s enough votes to pass it,” Olsen said.
- NEW NUMBERS: A revised forecast of how much tax revenue will be available to spend in the budget is expected in early May. That could make it a lot harder - or easier - to write the budget. Democratic Rep. Gordon Hintz said he thinks Republican lawmakers are anxious to put their stamp on the spending plan. Walker’s initial proposal was more of a campaign re-election document than a budget, Hintz said. With Walker looking for good news to run on next year, and the Legislature having other priorities, Hintz said, “It will be interesting to see where the divergence is.”
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