The state's general fund is facing a $283-million deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30, according to new estimates from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. That's $132.1 million higher than the Walker administration's estimate in November.
Spending can be reduced in some areas. Deficits like this usually are solved by delaying aid payments past July 1. It also will be remembered that six months ago, the Fiscal Bureau said Wisconsin's decision to reject Medicaid expansion under Obamacare cost the state's general fund $206 million.
Meanwhile, Gov. Scott Walker is proposing a drug-testing program for people receiving public assistance. Walker said his program is aimed at helping find drug-free workers for Wisconsin employers.
It's also great politics, playing to the "us-versus-them" feeling abroad in many areas. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate in 2012, talked about the moochers who get government benefits.
Walker said his program will cover many aid programs including unemployment compensation, Medicaid and the federally-funded food stamps program. Close attention will be paid to the size of Walker's program and how much it will cost the state's general fund in the upcoming biennium.
Similar programs are offered is several states in the South and West where legal challenges have been raised. The devil may be in the details covering who will actually be tested and who will lose their government aid while getting help to shed drug use.
The governor said the initial screening for those who will lose their benefits and then be required to participate in treatment programs will be determined by answers to questionnaires from the government.
Potential issues are the age, gender, race, veteran status, health status and education of those elected for the new program. And, of course, how much Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature want to spend on a new program.
The state's financial situation also was mentioned by Walker as he rejected the construction of a $800 million Native American casino at the site of the old Dairyland Greyhound track in Kenosha County. The Menominee nation has said its proposed casino would provide thousands of jobs in the area which has had high unemployment.
But the state might be required to refund payments made by the Potawatomi nation, which operates a Native American casino in Milwaukee. A lengthy legal battle seems certain.
"After a comprehensive review of the potential economic impact of the proposed Kenosha casino project, the risk to the state's taxpayers is too great," the governor said in a statement accompanying the announcement of his decision.
In Wisconsin, the governor is the sole decision-maker on Indian gambling issues. There is no role for the 132-person Legislature. That approach was adopted in the late 1980s when Indian gaming started in Wisconsin.
The decision made by a then-Democrat-controlled Legislature left Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson to make the initial calls. Legislators feared that giving any role to the Legislature would be an invitation to bribes and scandal because the financial stakes were so high.
Years later, then-Gov. Jim Doyle signed an amended Potawatomi agreement under which the tribe increased payments to the state, but won protection against competition such as the Kenosha site. Republicans think any blame for Walker's decision should flow to Doyle.
"This is a huge loss to the Racine and Kenosha area," said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who is seen as a potential governor. He blamed Doyle.
The Menominee Nation had a different spin on the outcome. It said the Potawatomi "and the one goal of Walker - the presidency - has led to a 'no' for our people."
- Matt Pommer, a 35-year veteran of covering state government in Madison, writes the weekly State Capitol Newsletter for the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. His column is published Monday in the Times.
Spending can be reduced in some areas. Deficits like this usually are solved by delaying aid payments past July 1. It also will be remembered that six months ago, the Fiscal Bureau said Wisconsin's decision to reject Medicaid expansion under Obamacare cost the state's general fund $206 million.
Meanwhile, Gov. Scott Walker is proposing a drug-testing program for people receiving public assistance. Walker said his program is aimed at helping find drug-free workers for Wisconsin employers.
It's also great politics, playing to the "us-versus-them" feeling abroad in many areas. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate in 2012, talked about the moochers who get government benefits.
Walker said his program will cover many aid programs including unemployment compensation, Medicaid and the federally-funded food stamps program. Close attention will be paid to the size of Walker's program and how much it will cost the state's general fund in the upcoming biennium.
Similar programs are offered is several states in the South and West where legal challenges have been raised. The devil may be in the details covering who will actually be tested and who will lose their government aid while getting help to shed drug use.
The governor said the initial screening for those who will lose their benefits and then be required to participate in treatment programs will be determined by answers to questionnaires from the government.
Potential issues are the age, gender, race, veteran status, health status and education of those elected for the new program. And, of course, how much Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature want to spend on a new program.
The state's financial situation also was mentioned by Walker as he rejected the construction of a $800 million Native American casino at the site of the old Dairyland Greyhound track in Kenosha County. The Menominee nation has said its proposed casino would provide thousands of jobs in the area which has had high unemployment.
But the state might be required to refund payments made by the Potawatomi nation, which operates a Native American casino in Milwaukee. A lengthy legal battle seems certain.
"After a comprehensive review of the potential economic impact of the proposed Kenosha casino project, the risk to the state's taxpayers is too great," the governor said in a statement accompanying the announcement of his decision.
In Wisconsin, the governor is the sole decision-maker on Indian gambling issues. There is no role for the 132-person Legislature. That approach was adopted in the late 1980s when Indian gaming started in Wisconsin.
The decision made by a then-Democrat-controlled Legislature left Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson to make the initial calls. Legislators feared that giving any role to the Legislature would be an invitation to bribes and scandal because the financial stakes were so high.
Years later, then-Gov. Jim Doyle signed an amended Potawatomi agreement under which the tribe increased payments to the state, but won protection against competition such as the Kenosha site. Republicans think any blame for Walker's decision should flow to Doyle.
"This is a huge loss to the Racine and Kenosha area," said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who is seen as a potential governor. He blamed Doyle.
The Menominee Nation had a different spin on the outcome. It said the Potawatomi "and the one goal of Walker - the presidency - has led to a 'no' for our people."
- Matt Pommer, a 35-year veteran of covering state government in Madison, writes the weekly State Capitol Newsletter for the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. His column is published Monday in the Times.
