MADISON, WI —Wisconsin’s Legislature passed a bill that will increase state aid to local government and allow Milwaukee to raise its local sales tax on Wednesday night, following months of negotiations that culminated in a deal struck between Republican leaders and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. As a part of that deal, lawmakers passed another bill […]
Tag: Joint Finance Committee
Posted inGovernment, Local news
Republicans’ proposal to increase State lawyer pay unanimously approved by Joint Finance Committee
Wisconsin’s assistant district attorneys and public defenders would make a starting wage of $36 per hour under a plan proposed by Republican lawmakers on Tuesday. The proposal is $1 more than what Gov. Tony Evers included in his executive budget. The Joint Finance Committee voted unanimously to approve the plan, which is meant to alleviate […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news
Budget, shared revenue bill test Assembly Speaker Vos’ vision of bipartisan compromise
by Baylor Spears, Wisconsin ExaminerMay 15, 2023 Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said the “disappointing” results of Wisconsin’s 2022 elections — where Democratic Gov. Tony Evers won reelection by a healthy margin and Republicans held onto their majority in the state Legislature but fell short of a veto-proof supermajority — made him decide to hit […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news
2023-25 budget listening session – some numbers and lots of policy
MOUNT PLEASANT — The 2023-25 Wisconsin biannual state budget is a work in progress – for now at least. The approximately 25 residents who gathered at Mount Pleasant Village Hall on Tuesday evening, got the Republican Party’s perspective on the prospective state budget from a pair of GOP lawmakers who represent Racine County: Assembly Speaker […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news
GOP lawmakers start budget process by cutting over 500 Evers proposals
by Baylor Spears, Wisconsin ExaminerMay 3, 2023 The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) started its work crafting Wisconsin’s next biennial budget on Tuesday by removing hundreds of items from the budget proposed by Gov. Tony Evers including Medicaid expansion, the legalization of marijuana and paid family and medical leave. The motion passed 12-4 by the Republican-led […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news
Vos sets state budget listening sessions for May 2
UPDATE (May 4, 2023): For the rest of this story, please read the following article: ORIGINAL STORY (May 1, 2023): RACINE COUNTY — Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) has scheduled three state budget listening sessions here for Tuesday (May 2). Listening sessions with Vos The one-hour meetings will be held at: 3 p.m., Veterans Terrace, […]
Posted inCommunity, Local news, Opinion
Op-Ed: Yes! Send a penny of sales tax back to locals
OPINION — What does a penny buy these days? When it comes to the state budget, you might be surprised. First, a bit of background The state of Wisconsin levies a 5% tax on retail sales – a rate unchanged since 1982. This state sales tax rate works out to five pennies on every dollar […]