MADISON - Republicans who control the Wisconsin Assembly say they want to spare the state's land stewardship program from another round of cuts, but their Senate colleagues haven't committed to a plan and Gov. Scott Walker hasn't signaled how he intends to approach the issue.
The stewardship program is the Department of Natural Resources' main mechanism for purchasing land for preservation. About 1.5 million acres are currently in stewardship.
The program for years has drawn the ire of Republicans, who say it takes too much land off the tax rolls, generates too much debt and forces the state to pay too much to local governments to offset lost property taxes when land enters the program. In the last two state budgets, the GOP cut the program's borrowing authority by millions of dollars, capped the amount of stewardship land at 1.9 million acres and ordered the DNR to sell 10,000 acres by mid-2017.
Deliberations on the next two-year state budget are expected to begin early next year when Walker introduces his spending proposal to the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee. That panel will spend months revising Walker's plan before sending it to the full Legislature. Stewardship could be a lightning rod again as legislators work to solve the state's projected $2.2 billion deficit.
DNR officials didn't propose any cuts to the program in the budget request they sent to Walker, but the governor doesn't have to adhere to their plan as he drafts his budget and he hasn't signaled what he has in mind for the DNR.
"We will review (the DNR's) request as we go through the budget process," Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said.
Republican leaders in the Assembly, though, appear to have softened their stance on stewardship since the last budget. An outline of their new legislative goals calls for maintaining stewardship funding, saying the program helps boost tourism.
"People flock to our state to enjoy our pristine waterways and hike our beautiful forests - these are resources that we will protect by maintaining stewardship funding," the Assembly GOP platform says.
Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, the budget committee's co-chairman, said he doesn't want to cut the program this time around. He wants to see how the changes the GOP imposed in the last budget play out.
"This one should be off the table for this session and we're glad to see the Assembly's commitment to the program," said Amber Meyer Smith, a lobbyist for environmental advocacy group Clean Wisconsin.
Still, lawmakers will be under pressure to cut spending in light of the deficit and campaign promises to lower taxes.
Rep. Al Ott, R-Forest Junction, chairman of the Assembly's Natural Resources Committee, said he suspects someone will try to cut stewardship again out of concern the state is buying too much land.
"I would rather not see that happen," Ott said. "The next generation wants space to enjoy and the state has a lot of land. Honestly, it's never going to go away and you can always sell it."
Senate Republicans' position on stewardship this time around is murky. A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said any speculation on the DNR's budget is premature.
Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, a finance committee member, didn't promise to protect the stewardship program from more cuts.
"Do we buy more land or put more money in education? Transportation?" he said. "Is buying land a want or a need?"
The stewardship program is the Department of Natural Resources' main mechanism for purchasing land for preservation. About 1.5 million acres are currently in stewardship.
The program for years has drawn the ire of Republicans, who say it takes too much land off the tax rolls, generates too much debt and forces the state to pay too much to local governments to offset lost property taxes when land enters the program. In the last two state budgets, the GOP cut the program's borrowing authority by millions of dollars, capped the amount of stewardship land at 1.9 million acres and ordered the DNR to sell 10,000 acres by mid-2017.
Deliberations on the next two-year state budget are expected to begin early next year when Walker introduces his spending proposal to the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee. That panel will spend months revising Walker's plan before sending it to the full Legislature. Stewardship could be a lightning rod again as legislators work to solve the state's projected $2.2 billion deficit.
DNR officials didn't propose any cuts to the program in the budget request they sent to Walker, but the governor doesn't have to adhere to their plan as he drafts his budget and he hasn't signaled what he has in mind for the DNR.
"We will review (the DNR's) request as we go through the budget process," Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said.
Republican leaders in the Assembly, though, appear to have softened their stance on stewardship since the last budget. An outline of their new legislative goals calls for maintaining stewardship funding, saying the program helps boost tourism.
"People flock to our state to enjoy our pristine waterways and hike our beautiful forests - these are resources that we will protect by maintaining stewardship funding," the Assembly GOP platform says.
Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, the budget committee's co-chairman, said he doesn't want to cut the program this time around. He wants to see how the changes the GOP imposed in the last budget play out.
"This one should be off the table for this session and we're glad to see the Assembly's commitment to the program," said Amber Meyer Smith, a lobbyist for environmental advocacy group Clean Wisconsin.
Still, lawmakers will be under pressure to cut spending in light of the deficit and campaign promises to lower taxes.
Rep. Al Ott, R-Forest Junction, chairman of the Assembly's Natural Resources Committee, said he suspects someone will try to cut stewardship again out of concern the state is buying too much land.
"I would rather not see that happen," Ott said. "The next generation wants space to enjoy and the state has a lot of land. Honestly, it's never going to go away and you can always sell it."
Senate Republicans' position on stewardship this time around is murky. A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said any speculation on the DNR's budget is premature.
Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, a finance committee member, didn't promise to protect the stewardship program from more cuts.
"Do we buy more land or put more money in education? Transportation?" he said. "Is buying land a want or a need?"