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CAPiTOL EYE
Tax drop
Property tax bills would drop under both budgets, but a little more under GOP’s version
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The owner of a mythical median-valued home in
Wisconsin would see a smaller property tax bill under the GOP version of the budget the Joint Finance Committee approved vs. the one Gov. Tony Evers proposed, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
The median-valued home, now worth $197,200, would see a property tax bill this December of $3,214 under the Joint Finance budget before going up to $3,246 next year.
By comparison, Evers’ budget would’ve produced property tax bills of $3,286 and $3,381.
That’s a total of $207 in savings under the Joint Finance version.
Both budgets would drive down property taxes compared to current law. The bill for that median-valued home, which was $3,315 last December, would be expected to drop to $3,288 this year before going up to $3,386 the following year.
The memo noted there will be more property tax relief under the lottery and gaming credit after sales came in higher than expected. That resulted in an additional $105.7 million in savings.
Low structural deficit projected
The state would face a structural deficit of $286 million for the next biennium under the budget the Joint Finance Committee approved, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
That would be one of the smallest structural deficits over the past two decades.
LFB projected the 2015-17 budget would leave a positive balance of $146 million. Otherwise, the other nine of the previous 10 budgets have resulted in an average structural deficit of nearly $1.6 billion. The highest was a structural deficit of $2.9 billion from the 2003-05 budget.
The measure compares future spending commitments to current revenues and doesn’t account for possible growth in tax collections. Absent revenue growth, the state would have to cut spending or raise taxes to cover the shortfall in the 2023-25 budget.
LFB noted in the memo it does the calculation to give policymakers an indication of the starting point for the next budget.
GOP budget spends $3.7B less than Evers’
The Joint Finance Committee’s version of the budget would spend $3.7 billion less in all funds than what Gov. Tony Evers proposed while approving 483 fewer state jobs, according to a summary from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
The comparative summary of the JFC budget and Evers’ version shows the committee’s proposal would spend $87.5 billion in state and federal funds, an increase of $4.5 billion compared to current law. It also would approve 71,306.4 full-time equivalent positions.
When adding in bond revenue, JFC approved a $89.2 billion budget that would leave the state with a projected gross balance of $458.9 million on June 30, 2023, according to LFB.
The JFC budget would spend $1 billion less in all funds on the Department of Public Instruction after the committee rejected Evers’ school funding plan. At the same time, the committee’s budget would increase Department of Public Instruction spending by $678.5 million compared to current law.
The other big difference is in the Department of Health Services, where the committee budget would spend nearly $1.4 billion less than Evers. Part of that difference is driven by the committee’s decision to reject Evers’ call to accept federal money to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The JFC budget would increase spending in the Department of Health Services by $3.5 billion compared to current law.
Evers sending $140M in fed money to tourism, entertainment
Gov. Tony Evers is sending more than $140 million in American Rescue Plan Act grants to tourism and entertainment sectors.
The largest sum, $75 million, will go to lodging in an effort to aid the tourism industry’s recovery from pandemicrelated restrictions. The grants will also support live event venues, movie theaters, summer camps and minor league sports, along with additional tourism marketing support and historical site reopenings.
“We are grateful for the Governor’s focus on the tourism and hospitality industry with these grant funds, as they will play a big role in helping us navigate through our recovery from the terrible situation that COVID-19 put us in,” said Bill Elliott, President and CEO of the Wisconsin Hotel & Lodging Association.
He added that the lodging industry lost $1 billion in revenue in 2020.
State GOP focused on 2020 election
The 2020 election was a hot topic at the recent GOP state convention.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced to GOP activists that former conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman will lead the investigators the Rochester Republican hired for a probe of last fall’s election.
Meanwhile, former President Trump in a pre-recorded message to the convention continued to argue he won Wisconsin last fall despite official results showing otherwise and the failure of numerous attempts to reverse Joe Biden’s win.
Trump also issued a statement on the eve of the convention accusing Vos, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Senate President Chris Kapenga, RDelafield, of “working hard to cover up election corruption” by trying to prevent a forensic audit of the results.
Kapenga responded with a letter to Trump saying he had earlier called the auditor overseeing a review of the 2020 election and “requested a forensic component to the audit.” Kapenga in the letter said he won’t disclose details of his request.
Report: Deputy AG discrimination not substantiated
Independent investigators did not substantiate racial and sexual discrimination claims against Deputy AG Eric Wilson as he denies allegations from the head of the Division of Law Enforcement Services.
Two UW System administrators independently investigated the allegations and concluded that Dem AG Josh Kaul’s second in command, Wilson, likely did not discriminate against women or racial minorities in the workplace. The reports, which were heavily redacted before being made public, did show Wilson likely treated women and men at work differently, but that treatment was not because of their gender identities.
From the Attorney’s Desk
by Jason Krautkramer, J.D.
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