MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on Wisconsin Legislature budget committee meeting (all times local):
2 p.m.
The Legislature’s budget committee has voted to give it the power to approve transfers of money from the state’s veterans homes into a trust fund that pays for veterans services.
The Joint Finance Committee unanimously voted Thursday to give itself oversight of the transfers to the Veterans Trust Fund. The move comes a week after an audit found that $55 million had been transferred from the King veterans home despite concerns over needs there.
Gov. Scott Walker vetoed such oversight in the last budget. Committee co-chair Rep. John Nygren says he has no assurance that Walker won’t do it again.
Democrats argued that $26 million from the state’s main account should be used to make sure the veterans trust fund does not run out of money but Republicans rejected it.
Forecasts project the fund may run out of money by the end of the two-year budget.
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12:35 p.m.
Republican state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he opposes separating road funding from the state budget because it will be more difficult to reach a deal and only “muddy the funding picture.”
Fitzgerald on Thursday came out against the idea after the Republican co-chairs of the budget committee said they were considering it.
Fitzgerald says it is “challenging enough to gather member support for one budget bill.” He says if Republicans need to pass a separate roads bill with Democratic support “it clearly means we are in trouble.”
Gov. Scott Walker is also against separating roads from the rest of the $76 billion budget.
Republicans who control the Legislature have been unable to agree on a road-funding plan.
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12:25 p.m.
Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican leader of the state Senate both strongly object to the Legislature pulling roads funding out of the larger state budget to take up as a separate bill.
Republican co-chairs of the budget-writing committee said Thursday that approach was being discussed amid an impasse over how to plug a projected $1 billion road shortfall.
But Walker spokesman Tom Evenson says “There’s no reason why they can’t get this done through the normal budget process.” He says Walker is willing to work with the Legislature on a solution as long as it doesn’t raise taxes.
Evenson calls Walker’s budget that calls for $500 million in new borrowing and delaying projects as a “middle ground” between alternatives put forward by Republicans in the Senate and Assembly.
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12:05 p.m.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald opposes pulling roads funding out of the state budget.
His spokeswoman Myranda Tanck said Thursday that he would strongly advocate against taking transportation out of the $76 billion budget to pass it separately. Co-chairs of the Legislature’s budget committee say the idea is being discussed as way to move ahead with all other parts of the budget in the face of an impasse over roads funding.
Such a move would be unusual but not unprecedented. It comes as Republicans who control the Legislature have not been able to reach agreement among themselves or with Gov. Scott Walker over how to pay for roads.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos did not immediately return an email seeking his opinion on the move.
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11:35 a.m.
The Legislature’s budget-writing committee wants more control over transfers from a trust fund to benefit veterans.
The Republican co-chairs of the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee said Thursday the panel will vote to require any transfer from the Veterans Trust Fund to pass through the committee. Gov. Scott Walker vetoed that review requirement in the previous state budget.
Committee co-chair Rep. John Nygren says he is committed to the oversight to ensure that transfers are “valid and transparent.” But he says he has no assurances from Walker that he won’t veto it again.
The committee’s meeting comes days after an audit showed the Department of Veterans Affairs transferred $55 million from the King veterans home despite concerns about conditions there.
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11:20 a.m.
Facing an impasse on how to fund roads, Republican legislative leaders are contemplating pulling transportation funding from the state budget to pass it separately.
Co-chairs of the Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee said Thursday that option is being discussed but there’s no agreement on whether to do it. Both Rep. John Nygren and Sen. Alberta Darling say they are open to that approach.
Republicans who control both the Senate and Assembly have been unable to agree on how to plug a projected $1 billion roads budget shortfall. Nygren and Darling say they hope to find a solution that will win bipartisan support. Darling says with numerous funding options being floated “we have to start discussing them seriously.”
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6:27 a.m.
The Wisconsin Legislature’s budget-writing committee is turning its attention to veterans funding, less than a week after the release of a highly critical audit.
The Joint Finance Committee was scheduled to vote Thursday on Gov. Scott Walker’s spending recommendations for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The meeting comes less than a week after the release of an audit that found the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs transferred millions of dollars from the King veteran home despite growing concerns about the conditions there.
The committee is voting on changes to the $76 billion budget this month before forwarding its version of the spending plan to the full Legislature. A final vote on the plan isn’t expected until June or July.
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