MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Legislature’s finance committee finally completed its revisions to Gov. Scott Walker’s state budget plan after a five-week delay early Friday morning, clearing the way for votes in the full Senate and Assembly.
Republicans who control the panel made a series of final changes to the $70 billion spending plan during a 12 ½-hour marathon session, including cutting $450 million for road projects and reducing taxes for married couples. They punted, at least for now, on two major issues that had led to the impasse: a $500 million financing plan for a new Milwaukee Bucks arena and changes to the prevailing wage law, which sets minimum salaries for construction workers on public projects.
Both of those issues are expected to be debated separately, perhaps next week, but some conservative senators say they won’t support the budget if it doesn’t have at least a partial repeal of the prevailing wage law. The Assembly is expected to take up the budget on Wednesday or Thursday, but Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has said he doesn’t have the votes to get the budget out of his house.
“It’s not a perfect document, but we made it as good as we could,” said committee member Rep. Michael Schraa, R-Oshkosh. “We made hard decisions. We made good decisions.”
Minority Democrats on the committee ripped the budget.
“It is a budget about attacking the ideas and values that I would say make us all Wisconsin,” Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, said. “What you’ve done makes me sick.”
The centerpiece of the Republican’s final revisions was a plan to fund road projects. The committee decided to allow $500 million in borrowing initially for road work, with $350 million more to be approved later. That would be $450 million less than what Walker originally called for. The plan would delay $350 million in major highway projects and $100 million in resurfacing and reconstruction projects around the state.
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Nearly all records created by state and local government officials, including bill drafts and communications with staff, would not be subject to the Wisconsin open records law under a sweeping surprise change Republicans introduced in committee Thursday as an amendment to the state budget.
The changes were part of a 24-page final motion to the budget that makes 67 alterations to the two-year, $70 billion spending plan that the Legislature was expected to vote on next week. The panel voted 12-4 Thursday night to add the changes to the budget, with all 12 Republican members voting for it. The full Legislature, along with Gov. Scott Walker, still must sign off before they would become law.
Numerous new protections would be extended to the 132 members of the Legislature, their staff, support agencies, and all other state and local government officials, including members of school boards.
“It’s astonishing,” said Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. “It is a full-frontal assault on the open records law as it pertains to the state Legislature and other agencies of government.”
Under the provision, all “deliberative materials” would be exempt from the open records law. That includes all materials prepared in the process of reaching a decision concerning a policy or course of action or in drafting a document or communication.
The exemptions are even more extensive for members of the Legislature and their staff. They would not have to disclose communications between one another, the public or others who work for the Legislature, such as staff in the clerk’s and sergeant at arms offices. The protection extends to a wide array of legislative business, including drafting bills, developing public policy, all aspects of legislative proceedings such as committee hearings, and investigations and oversight.
Legislative service agencies would be required to keep all communications, records and information confidential.
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) - An expansion of who can play sports and participate in extracurricular activities in public schools in Wisconsin is being scaled back.
The Legislature’s budget committee previously voted to allow home-schooled students, and those attending private, virtual or charter schools, to participate.
But on Thursday the committee scaled that back by limiting participation only to students in home schools.
The original proposal drew widespread opposition, including from advocates for home schoolers who feared it would lead to additional regulation.
The budget must be passed by both the Senate and Assembly, and be signed by Gov. Scott Walker, before becoming law.
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Legislature’s budget committee has voted to allow factory and retail employees to work seven straight days without a day of rest.
Under current state law, employers who own factories and retail stores must allow their workers at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every seven consecutive days. The requirement doesn’t apply to janitors, security guards, bakeries, restaurants, hotels and certain dairy and agricultural plants.
The Joint Finance Committee voted Thursday to let an employee voluntarily work seven straight days. The language mirrors a Republican bill that’s sitting in the Assembly labor committee.
The budget must pass the Senate and Assembly and be signed by Gov. Scott Walker before becoming law.
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