"During my time in the legislature, I have often said that non-fiscal policy items don't belong in the state budget. These items deserve to be debated on their own and should have public input and discussion as separate legislation.

While I understand that all budgets have some amount of policy, it is always best to keep those policy items to a minimum. Unfortunately, this budget has an excessive amount of policy in it. By my count there are nearly 140 non-fiscal items contained in this budget. All of those items, could, and should, be introduced and debated as separate legislation. For that reason, I could not

in good faith vote in favor of this budget."

"Overall this is a reasonably good budget. There are many changes from what the Governor

proposed that are better for the 68th Assembly District. Provisions in this budget to be proud of

include: saving SeniorCare; no tax increase; significantly reduced bonding for transportation

projects; increased funding for K-12 public education, special education and rural schools;

increased resources directed to the successful job training program, Wisconsin Fast Forward,

which I authored last session; and, safeguarding and increasing Medicaid funding to protect the

elderly and disabled.

The budget process, whether at the state or local government level is difficult and messy. This is

my third state budget as Representative to the Assembly and this time was no different.

Unfortunately, I am left with deep concerns over several provisions included in this budget.

Prevailing wage reform deserves thorough debate outside the budget process. Voting for the

'take-it-or-leave-it' provision included in this budget was not the best option, in my opinion. I

believe that this outdated law requires further education and discussion, both in the legislature

and in the public, without the pressure of a looming budget deadline.

Cuts to the UW System are simply too deep, despite the legislature's restoring $50 million.

Efficiencies can and should be implemented, to be certain. However, not all UW campuses are

affected equally by these cuts, and I believe more time is needed to adequately address funding

levels.

While we were able to reduce the amount transportation bonding initially included the

Governor's budget proposal by half, to its lowest level since 1987, this budget does not address

the long-term needs of state and local roads or highways. The budget ignores revenue shortfalls

and makes no provision to restore our infrastructure. I think this was truly a missed opportunity.

In the end, I am confident that with the passage of the budget earlier this morning we will

continue to move forward as a state. However, I could not in good conscience vote in favor of a

budget that is short-sighted on so many key issues." (Source)

Education was also a key factor for Rep. Ed Brooks of Reedsburg, who said the budget that passed was an improvement over the one Walker introduced in February but felt it needed more.

"I feel the emphasis on investing in statewide private school vouchers instead of expanding educational options within public education was misplaced," Brooks said in a statement. "Also, we still need to find a better way to fund rural transportation."  (Source)

 "Over the past several months, many constituents contacted me regarding their top priorities for the budget. I listened to my constituents and worked to ensure that their concerns were addressed. I am proud that this budget moves to save SeniorCare for our seniors and protects IRIS and ADRC facilities for future generations. Most importantly however, I'm proud that this budget increases funding for our K-12 school system by $200 million. 

"Undoubtedly, the budget contained a number of positive aspects, but after much consideration, I felt I could not vote for its passage due to inclusion of a repeal of the prevailing wage. I was elected to fight for middle-class workers in northern Wisconsin, and I'm not convinced repealing this law with undocumented savings would be the most prudent action at this time. 

"I will continue to work hard for the constituents in my district and appreciate that so many of them reached out to me about their thoughts regarding the two year spending plan for the state. I am confident that our state will continue to move forward with the continued input from the hardworking citizens of our state." (Source)

"I believe that by voting no on this budget, I was best expressing the thoughts and views of the people that I represent."

"Included within the budget is a $150,000 grant to Northcentral Technical College to assist in developing its culinary arts program and a $100,000 grant to the Marathon County Economic Development Corp. (MCDEVCO) to establish a revolving loan fund for minority-owned businesses. I am proud to have led the effort to get these grants included in the budget."

"Also included in the budget is (a) ... pilot program that will reimburse dentists at a higher rate for providing care for children in need. At my request, this pilot program was expanded to Marathon County."

"If any of these items came before the Assembly in separate legislation, I would vote for them."

"One of the biggest issues I have with this budget is the increase in bonding for transportation. ... There were also items that reflected significant changes that I believe should have been handled outside the budget process as separate legislation. For example, the budget includes a provision that would repeal the prevailing wage for local units of government. ... The unknown impact on our local workers along with the unverified savings were enough to make me take pause on including this item in our budget. Another issue that concerned me was the changes to the room tax law. I heard from some of my local officials that this change was unwelcome and not needed." (Source)

[Excerpted]

 After several months of hard work I was able to get the following changes made to the state budget." 

? Protection of the Wisconsin SeniorCare program 

? Addition of $200 million to the governor's proposal to K-12 education. 

? Require funds to go towards fraud prevention in assistance programs, $1 million over two years. Every dollar spent in this effort generates 18 times the amount spent in savings. 

? State Highway 54 realignment and bridge project Environmental Impact Study (EIS) directly benefitting large scale developments, both residential and industrial, in Wood County. 

? Allow UW-Stevens Point (UWSP) to create a differential tuition program limited to the highest need departments experiencing bottleneck enrollment delaying enrolled student graduation dates. (Can only be exercised upon student referendum approval.) 

? Provide for the ongoing operation of the UWSP paper science making machine. An economic driver for our regions timber and paper-making industry. 

? Maintain the Educational Approval Board (funding, operations, duties and staff). 

? Remove all proposal language which would convert the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection Board to an Advisory Council. 

? Remove all language in order to maintain the appropriation for the UW System Discovery Farms Program. 

With all that being accomplished, I still had some concerns with the state budget. While I'm happy to see some great proposals and projects in the transportation fund, I believe we continue to borrow too much in order to fund it. The proposal to repeal the prevailing wage law should have been a stand-alone bill and never tied to the budget. 

In regards to education, I have heard repeatedly from constituents that we must do more for our classrooms and better respond to the needs of our school districts. It is our responsibility as a state to provide the necessary dollars to educate our children and sadly I felt this budget falls short in allocating sufficient funds to do so. 

In Central Wisconsin, we have a very real struggle keeping our natural areas of beauty pristine and exciting for tourists to visit and enjoy. Lake Petenwell in Adams County in particular is very troubled and prone to large blooms of blue green algae. I don't feel this budget plan has gone far 

enough to protect areas like this across the state of Wisconsin. I am concerned with aquatic invasive species invading our local lakes, policy that protects groundwater quality, and policy that enables local governments to make good decisions on these issues. I look forward to working more on these issues the remainder of this session. 

After taking all of this into account, I decided to vote against the proposed state budget. I remain committed to making good public policy that represents Central Wisconsin's needs. I look forward to the fall session to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to achieve this goal. (Source)

Rep. Lee Nerison of Westby, chairman of the Assembly agriculture committee, cited the lack of support for rural roads.

"I am concerned that this vital economy will quickly erode if we don't take care of our rural roads so we can get our goods to market," Nerison said in a statement. "Rural areas need good roads just as much as Milwaukee does, and I'll keep fighting to get our fair share." (Source)

 "Over the past several months, I've heard from many of you about ways to improve our state's two-year spending plan and what I, as a legislator, should work to prioritize. With your feedback, I truly believe that I've been effective in taking the governor's original proposal and making it better for the people of southwest Wisconsin. 

"I'm pleased that this budget prioritizes our public schools and makes a $200 million in our K-12 system. It also moves to save SeniorCare, and ensures our ADRCs and IRIS are maintained for our most vulnerable. 

"And finally, this budget does a number of great things for our community - like creating an economic development fund for our region to help grow our economy. Per my request, this budget provides tax incentives for teachers, initiatives to promote tourism in our communities and even assistance that will help law enforcement combat drug abuse in our neighborhoods. 

"While I am proud of the progress that my colleagues and I made in improving this budget, I felt that ultimately I could not in good conscience support its final passage. 

"Although there is a reduction in the amount of borrowing in this budget, I continue to fear that our state's transportation spending is on an unsustainable path. With an aging infrastructure and a stagnant source of transportation revenues, this budget does not go far enough in addressing our state's long-term transportation needs. 

"Many of you have also shared with me your concerns with the effects that this budget will have on public education. As a parent of two, I strongly believe that it's our responsibility to ensure that our students, whether in our K-12 system or in our universities, receive the support they need to be successful. Sadly, I believe this budget falls short in this measure. 

"As an independent voice for our community in the state legislature, I will continue to work hard to represent your views in our state Capitol. The input I received from many of you was crucial in helping me reaching this decision, and I believe that my vote on this budget best reflects the views of our district."  (Source)

Rep. Warren Petryk cited the $850 million in borrowing for transportation as his primary objection.

"In my opinion our overall debt owed by the state continues to be much too high," the Eleva Republican wrote.

Petryk said he supported increasing the gas tax and registration fees to fund road construction. He also balked at full repeal of the prevailing wage law, which sets minimum pay for construction workers on public projects, and said he would have liked to see more support for education. (Source)

[Excerpted]

 "After long consideration, I ultimately had to make the difficult decision to vote against its passage. 

As Chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee, a farmer, and the owner of a small trucking company, I truly understand and experience daily how the status of our infrastructure can and does impact our state's economy. While I support many of the provisions included in the final budget, I cannot in good conscience vote for a plan that does not adequately address our state's long-term transportation funding issues. These are issues that have the potential to plague Wisconsin's commerce for decades. 

Fiscally, I believe we made the right decision in this budget to significantly reduce transportation revenue bonding by almost $850 million, the lowest levels of bonding in decades. The bill's original bonding levels would have raised our debt service to potentially $0.25 on the dollar, a number I believe is irresponsible and unacceptable to taxpayers. However, these reductions still come at a price. Without additional long-term solutions, projects all over the state will now be delayed. I cannot justify this transportation budget to my mostly rural district where communities have already been desperately waiting for these projects. 

I am also disappointed that prevailing wage language was included in the final budget. Last week, members of the legislature came to an agreement on a budget deal, a deal that included removing prevailing wage and the Bucks Arena provisions from the budget completely. While I was ready and willing to work with my colleagues on meaningful prevailing wage reform, we told our constituents that it would be brought forward as a separate issue, and I cannot agree with its inclusion. 

There are several provisions included in the final version of this budget that I wholeheartedly support and believe will move Wisconsin forward. As the product of public schools and the father of three children who attended them, public education remains a top priority for me. I worked with my colleagues to restore and increase K-12 public education funding, with a significant additional investment of $200 million over the biennium. We also continue to support Wisconsin families by holding the line on property taxes and extending the UW tuition freeze for another two years. 

Additionally, the final budget continues to defend our most vulnerable population by protecting IRIS and saving SeniorCare. We also invested an additional $15 million in an already effective Fast Forward program to continue closing the skills gap and successfully train employable people. This program has already benefited constituents and businesses in my district, and I am optimistic it will continue to do so in the future..." (Source) 

School funding and transportation borrowing were the primary reasons Rep. Travis Tranel (R-Cuba City) voted against the budget. 

 "We struggle to keep the lights on, honestly," in schools in southwestern Wisconsin, Tranel said. (Source)

"We have a lot of road surface in our district," VanderMeer said. "I believe that ... our transportation aspect is very vital to our rural areas and the expansion of future business and commerce."

The first-term Republican from Tomah said she would also have liked to see more spending on education but nevertheless was pleased that the budget did not cut Family Care and Senior Care, programs designed to keep the sick and elderly out of institutions.

"There are a lot of very, very good things in this budget," she said. (Source)