More details are surfacing about the 2009-11 state budget that was crafted exclusively by Governor Doyle and legislative Democrats, most done behind closed doors outside the purview of the public and news media. There also remains a lot to flush out and fully comprehend, especially the financial ramifications the biennial budget will have.
First, let's examine what we do know about the new state budget, none of it very good. The nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WTA) has dissected the document and the findings reveal numerous problems.
Remember, Governor Doyle is blessed with possessing one of the most powerful veto pens of any governor in the country. Filled with billions of dollars in spending, tax and fee increases, the budget the Democrat-controlled Legislature forwarded to the governor was ripe for lots of veto strokes. The WTA notes the governor only vetoed about $10 million or less than 0.02 percent out of a bloated budget during a recession.
An angry public was upset over well-documented news reports about all the unnecessary pork contained in the budget. Again, this was a golden opportunity for heavy use of the veto pen. However, the WTA examined five top state agencies and found that only eight (11.9 percent) of 67 identified earmarks were vetoed.
Since 1993, it has been standard procedure that nonfiscal items are kept out of the state budget. Governor Doyle failed to veto any nonfiscal items. Some left in the budget include a repeal of the Qualified Economic Offer (QEO), changes in public-employee bargaining, restrictions on the Milwaukee school choice program, motor vehicle insurance requirements, domestic partnership benefits, prevailing-wage mandates, and collective bargaining for university faculty and staff.
This budget spends more, 9.4 percent more, again, during a recession.
Out of all the tax increases, the biggest is in individual income taxes totaling $529.8 million. Wisconsin's growth in per capita income ranking is one of the lowest in the nation.
The very moment Governor Doyle signed the 2009-2011 state budget into law, it created a gigantic hole of $899 million going into 2010-11 and $1.15 billion the year after.
Hopping from one budget disaster to another is a national crisis. Governing magazine reports, "The real problem may be that the news coming out of capitols hasn't been shocking enough. Rather than planning ahead, lawmakers have done their best to muddle through this year's woes, hoping that an economic turnaround will make budgets easier to deal with in the near future. That, however, seems unlikely. Many states begin this new fiscal year looking at fresh shortfalls that will require action within a matter of months. State revenue sources tend to be lagging indicators, meaning that even if the economy were to start growing again tomorrow, it would take quite a while before tax collections perked up."
Governing magazine is correct. There is a real possibility that before the year is over, the state Legislature will quickly be called upon to consider another budget adjustment bill. The Legislature approved one in February of this year.
What we don't know, as the Green Bay Press Gazette editorialized, are "all of the mysteries regarding the impact of the state budget formed in secret and passed before most lawmakers could read the last-minute changes and additions."
That is going to take weeks and months for individual taxpayers to determine. The results certainly won't be pretty.
- Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, can be reached at Sen.Lazich@legis.wisconsin.gov, P.O. Box 7882 Madison, WI 53707 or 1-800-334-1442.
First, let's examine what we do know about the new state budget, none of it very good. The nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WTA) has dissected the document and the findings reveal numerous problems.
Remember, Governor Doyle is blessed with possessing one of the most powerful veto pens of any governor in the country. Filled with billions of dollars in spending, tax and fee increases, the budget the Democrat-controlled Legislature forwarded to the governor was ripe for lots of veto strokes. The WTA notes the governor only vetoed about $10 million or less than 0.02 percent out of a bloated budget during a recession.
An angry public was upset over well-documented news reports about all the unnecessary pork contained in the budget. Again, this was a golden opportunity for heavy use of the veto pen. However, the WTA examined five top state agencies and found that only eight (11.9 percent) of 67 identified earmarks were vetoed.
Since 1993, it has been standard procedure that nonfiscal items are kept out of the state budget. Governor Doyle failed to veto any nonfiscal items. Some left in the budget include a repeal of the Qualified Economic Offer (QEO), changes in public-employee bargaining, restrictions on the Milwaukee school choice program, motor vehicle insurance requirements, domestic partnership benefits, prevailing-wage mandates, and collective bargaining for university faculty and staff.
This budget spends more, 9.4 percent more, again, during a recession.
Out of all the tax increases, the biggest is in individual income taxes totaling $529.8 million. Wisconsin's growth in per capita income ranking is one of the lowest in the nation.
The very moment Governor Doyle signed the 2009-2011 state budget into law, it created a gigantic hole of $899 million going into 2010-11 and $1.15 billion the year after.
Hopping from one budget disaster to another is a national crisis. Governing magazine reports, "The real problem may be that the news coming out of capitols hasn't been shocking enough. Rather than planning ahead, lawmakers have done their best to muddle through this year's woes, hoping that an economic turnaround will make budgets easier to deal with in the near future. That, however, seems unlikely. Many states begin this new fiscal year looking at fresh shortfalls that will require action within a matter of months. State revenue sources tend to be lagging indicators, meaning that even if the economy were to start growing again tomorrow, it would take quite a while before tax collections perked up."
Governing magazine is correct. There is a real possibility that before the year is over, the state Legislature will quickly be called upon to consider another budget adjustment bill. The Legislature approved one in February of this year.
What we don't know, as the Green Bay Press Gazette editorialized, are "all of the mysteries regarding the impact of the state budget formed in secret and passed before most lawmakers could read the last-minute changes and additions."
That is going to take weeks and months for individual taxpayers to determine. The results certainly won't be pretty.
- Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, can be reached at Sen.Lazich@legis.wisconsin.gov, P.O. Box 7882 Madison, WI 53707 or 1-800-334-1442.
