In an attempt to finalize a 2007-2009 biennial budget, Gov. Jim Doyle said he will call the full Legislature into special session today in hopes of passing a compromise budget.
“If the Legislature has not come to an agreement by Monday, then I expect both houses to pass this compromise bill – because Wisconsin families cannot afford to wait any longer,” Doyle said Tuesday at a press conference.
The compromise bill would eliminate all non-fiscal policy items in both the Assembly and the Senate versions of the budget on which both sides did not agree. It would cut spending by $430 million and eliminate $300 million in new revenue.
Without a new budget, UW System students could see an $800 increase in tuition, according to the governor’s office, which also cited other areas as being at risk for potential cuts, including funding for correctional facilities and “dozens of important road projects.”
At the end of Thursday’s Assembly Republican caucus, Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, said the Assembly will take up Doyle’s compromise budget but urged those voting to “say no to Governor Doyle’s tax hike.”
“Every representative and senator will have the question in front of them – can the people of Wisconsin afford a budget that raises taxes by $1 billion?”
Sen. Pat Kreitlow, D-Chippewa Falls, said he is disappointed the compromise budget doesn’t include $30 million to fund smoking prevention programs but is glad the bill includes fully funded tuition for veterans.
“We’re in agreement that this isn’t perfect but that’s the art of compromise; nobody gets everything they want,” said Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson Thursday in a press release. “Senate Democrats know this budget is more than 100 days late and they’re ready to go to the floor and show the leadership needed to break this impasse.”
In a Sept. 21 interview with The Spectator, Rodd Freitag, political science professor and department chairman, said if the Legislature did not agree on the K-12 education portion of the budget soon, local school districts would be forced to lay off teachers or property taxes would have to be raised.
“In the last couple of weeks, that has put more pressure on legislators,” Freitag said. “They will have to meet in the middle.”
