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In June of every odd-numbered year, the primary focus in the State Capitol is the fate of the State Budget. This year is no exception. Capitol observers believe that the State Assembly, with its 60-39 Republican majority, has been prepared to pass the version forwarded by the Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) without any substantive amendments. The task in the Senate, controlled by the Republicans 19-14, is not quite so simple. The majority party, barring some Democrat votes for the budget—which is unlikely—cannot have more than two defections and still pass a Republican budget bill.
As of this writing, the speculation is that the 17 votes needed have not been secured. Those members of the Senate Republican caucus who have expressed concerns or reservations are not coalescing with the Democrats on contentious issues. Quite the contrary. The two votes that need to be secured need to come from a group (four?) of “fiscal conservatives” who would apparently like to see less spending and less potential for deficit spending. Nonetheless, most people around the process remain optimistic that a resolution will be realized by July 1.
The Senate has indicated its intention to have one regular floor session day next week. The Assembly has not formally announced its intentions, but is expected to begin floor debate on the budget sometime next week.
We invite readers to review last week’s Tidbits for a summary of JFC action on the budget bill.
| In this Issue |
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Fiscal Bureau Compares JFC/Doyle’s Budget
Senate Session Day/Recent Activity
School Choice Focus of News Report
Amtrak Hiawatha Service Ridership "On Track" for Record Year
Dane Co. DA--No Log Rolling in Minimum Wage "Deal"
Governor Doyle Names Randy Romanski Deputy Chief of Staff
Falk/Feingold Winners in WisPolitics Straw Poll |
| Policy Developments |
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Fiscal Bureau Compares JFC/Doyle’s Budget
A Legislative Fiscal Bureau Paper provides a preliminary comparison of Joint Finance and the Governor’s Budget proposals. The report shows that the committee (JFC) reduced more than $600 million in GO and revenue bonding from the Governor’s proposal. The Governor proposed all funds spending of $53.2 billion for the 2005-07 biennium, compared to $52.9 billion in total spending under the JFC version.
The Governor’s proposed budget included $25.9 billion worth of a general purpose revenue (GPR) while JFC’s number is $26 billion. The Governor and the JFC have approximately the same number of full-time employee cuts. The Governor’s budget included roughly $1.7 billion in segregated fund (SEG) transfers and program revenue (PR) lapses. Under the JFC version, lapses and transfers totaled roughly $900 million or $800 million less than the Governor proposed.
Senate Session Day/Recent Activity
The Senate will be in session on Thursday, June 23. It will be the only session day for the Senate next week. The Assembly could begin budget floor debate as early as Tuesday, June 21.
[Except where indicated by a link to a roll call vote, all other bills passed on a voice vote.]
Bills passed by the Senate:
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SB 42: Voter ID Passed 21-12 (All Republicans plus Democrats Carpenter and Plale).
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AB 107: relating to: the cutoff time for receipt of documents for filing and recording with a register of deeds, federal tax lien forms, and maintenance of county highway registers;
Bills passed by the Assembly:
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AB 437: Passed the Assembly 61-35; this bill would make it easier for utilities to use land owned by local governments for transmission lines. (The bill, which was held up procedurally, will automatically be sent to the Senate next week.)
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AB 441: Applications for certificates of public convenience and necessity for certain electric generating facilities. Passed the Assembly 76-24;
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AB 116: Changing the definition of industrial development project, and limiting the scope of certain projects, under the Industrial Development Law;
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AB 299: County shoreland zoning ordinances in territories annexed by cities, villages, or towns;
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SB 55: Removes limits on designation of enterprise development zones. (This bill has passed both houses and will be presented to the Governor who had proposed basically the same changes as embodied in SB 55 which JFC included in its budget proposal with some modifications. The basic provisions of SB 55 are expected to be signed into law as a stand alone bill or as part of the budget.);
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AB 259: Provider organizations subject to health care liability requirements;
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AB 207: The “conscience clause” bill, which would allow health care providers to refuse to provide care based on moral objections, passed 63-36. (Gov. Jim Doyle has promised to veto the bill if it reaches his desk, as he did two years ago with a similar proposal.)
School Choice Focus of News Report
In 1990, Milwaukee began what has been characterized as a revolutionary experiment in school choice for low-income students. Over the past five months, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters visited 106 schools to examine how the program is faring. Their research was focused not on politics and court battles, but on the classrooms themselves and the experiences of the nearly 14,000 students now served by choice schools at a cost this year to taxpayers of $83 million.
An in-depth report on their findings has been featured in a seven-part series in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Amtrak Hiawatha Service Ridership "On Track" for Record Year
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation recently announced another record year for ridership on Amtrak. The 43,598 passengers who traveled between Milwaukee and Chicago aboard Amtrak's Hiawatha Service trains last month is an 18 percent increase over the 36,871 passengers who utilized the service in May of 2004. It is the sixth straight month that a monthly ridership record has been set. If the robust ridership trend continues, annual Hiawatha ridership will likely top the 500,000 mark this year for the first time ever.
Hiawatha Service trains currently provide seven daily round trips (six on Sundays) between Milwaukee and Chicago while posting the best on-time performance of any Amtrak route in the nation.
For more information on legislation of interest to CTCW members, go to the CTCW Tracking Report.
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| Wisconsin Politics |
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Dane Co. DA--No Log Rolling in Minimum Wage "Deal"
Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard won't take action on a complaint by Madison Alderman Austin King, who accused Gov. Doyle and legislative leaders of logrolling in order to get a state minimum wage and local minimum wage pre-emption package through the Legislature.
As stated in a letter from Blanchard: “The Governor and members of the legislature engaged in negotiations, the terms of which were publicly discussed, regarding issues related to minimum wage laws. The public nature of these negotiations supports the view that this was not private interest logrolling, namely covert agreements by public officials on matters of narrow or private interest made at public expense.
Criminal prosecution in this area could have chilling effects on necessary discussions between and among legislators and with a governor, as well as chilling effects on the decisions of public officials to share information about these communications with the public.”
Governor Doyle Names Randy Romanski Deputy Chief of Staff
Governor Doyle has appointed Randy Romanski as his Deputy Chief of Staff. Romanski is currently the Executive Assistant for the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation (DOT). Prior to his stint at DOT, Randy was a spokesman and policy analyst for the Justice Department while Doyle was Attorney General.
The Governor also announced that Chris Klein will replace Romanski as Executive Assistant at the Dept. of Transportation. Klein is now the Executive Assistant in the Dept. of Regulation and Licensing. Larry Martin, Chief of Staff for Lt. Governor Lawton, will replace Klein at Regulation and Licensing.
Falk/Feingold Winners in WisPolitics Straw Poll
Kathleen Falk and Russ Feingold both emerged as winners in a WisPolitics straw poll of activists at the Wisconsin Democratic Party convention last weekend.
Of the 299 ballots submitted for attorney general, Falk, the Dane County Executive who unsuccessfully ran for Governor in the 2002 Dem gubernatorial primary, edged incumbent AG Peg Lautenschlager. Falk tallied 152 total votes, or 50.8 percent, to AG Lautenschlager's 144, or 48.2 percent. Feingold was preferred by 38.8 % of the delegates voting from a long list of potential Democrat presidential candidates for 2008.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green was the other “winner” in that a majority (56 %) of delegates preferred Scott Walker as the Republican opponent to Governor Jim Doyle in 2006, presumably indicating that Democrats casting those votes believe that Green would be the more formidable opponent to the incumbent Governor. |
| Upcoming Fundraisers |
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Monday, June 20
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Gov. Jim Doyle, Verona
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Scott Walker (R) gubernatorial candidate, Milwaukee
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Rep. Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem), Wisconsin Dells
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Rep. John Gard (R-Peshtigo), Appleton
Tuesday, June 21
Wednesday, June 22
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Scott Walker (R) gubernatorial candidate, Elkhorn
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Jamie Wall (D) 8th CD Candidate, Madison
Thursday, June 23
Sunday, June 26
For details, go to Hamilton Consulting Fundraiser Calendar. |
CTCW Political Tidbits is a weekly newsletter on Wisconsin political and policy developments prepared for CTCW members by The Hamilton Consulting Group. Employees of CTCW member organizations can subscribe at: http://www.ctcw.org/form-subscribe-tidbits.html.
To unsubscribe, go to: http://www.ctcw.org/form-unsubscribe-tidbits.html.
© 2005 The Hamilton Consulting Group |
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For Further Information |
For further information on these initiatives, contact Jim Hough at The Hamilton Consulting Group.
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In the News |
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Pill ban at UW moves ahead: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 17,2005.
Bill may decide power line's fate: Duluth News Tribune, June 17, 2005.
Senate tries again on photo ID bill: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 16,2005.
Doyle praises health care effort: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 16,2005.
State Assembly OKs moral opt-out bill: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 15, 2005.
Bill allows health care refusals: Appleton Post-Crescent, June 15, 2005.
Voter ID bill could unfairly target some: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 14, 2005.
Schools, kids will suffer (opinion): Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 15, 2005.
Gard set to take on Doyle in budget fight: Green Bay Press-Gazette, June 15, 2005.
Power bill speeds through process: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 15, 2005.
DNR targets funds for brownfield cleanup: Green Bay Press-Gazette, June 15, 2005.
Doyle: GOP budget plan hurts schools: La Crosse Tribune, June 15, 2005.
Overreaction on pill (opinion): Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 15, 2005.
Bill's goal to eliminate Shaken Baby Syndrome: Marshfield News herald, June 15, 2005.
Doyle urged to veto entire GOP budget plan: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 13, 2005.
Tough choices may hurt Doyle bid: Appleton Post-Crescent, June 12, 2005.
Meth law goes into effect early: Appleton Post-Crescent, June 12, 2005.
Mercury emission rules leave plenty to jeer about: Racine Journal Times, June 12, 2005.
Tax-limiting budget advances: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 11, 2005.
Democrats look toward ’06 wins: Appleton Post-Crescent, June 11, 2005.
GOP offer targets several taxes: Appleton Post-Crescent, June 11, 2005.
Doyle Could Veto School Spending Limit, But ... : Wisconsin State Journal, June 11, 2005.
Finance Committee Oks Budget: Wisconsin State Journal, June 11, 2005.
Cord blood bill gets a boost: Madison Capital Times, June 10, 2005. |
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