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Joint Finance Budget Process
The Joint Finance Committee concluded its public hearings on the 2025-27 state budget last week with hearings in Hayward and Wausau. The Committee heard a significant amount of testimony on increasing school funding, increasing special education funding, and addressing childcare needs across the state. The Committee also heard testimony in support of funding transportation, funding transit, and supporting county conservation. As the process goes forward some things to keep in mind include:
- It is expected one of the first actions the Committee will take is to remove all “policy” from the Governor’s proposal. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo listing all the policy is usually seen the last week of April or first week of May.
- The Legislative Fiscal Bureau releases updated revenue estimates on or around May 15. The Committee usually waits until after those numbers are released to do the major work on the budget.
- Currently, Congress is working on a reconciliation proposal which could include cuts for funding like Medicaid. U.S. House Speaker Johnson has indicated he’d like to have that done by Memorial Day.
- The Legislature is still waiting for Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions regarding the Governor’s veto authority. The Supreme Court session ends on June 30, so the decision could come any time between now and then.
Finally, it is important to remember that Wisconsin continues its budget at the current level of spending until a new budget is signed. Unlike Congress, Wisconsin does NOT shut down waiting for a new budget to be completed.
Supreme Court Has a New Chief Justice
Justice Ann Walsh Bradley began her term as the next chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday, May 1. Bradley succeeds Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler. Chief Justice Bradley has served on the Supreme Court since 1995 and will hold the position as chief justice until the end of her term on June 30, 2025. Justice Jill Karofsky was elected to serve the remainder of the current two-year term as chief justice starting on July 1.
Property Tax Estimates from Governor's Budget
The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) provided their estimates of the impact to property taxes from the Governor’s proposed budget. According to LFB, property taxes on a median-valued home in the state, which was $272,500 in 2024 and is expected to rise to $299,000 by 2026, would go up by $4 in bills sent out this December and $46 on bills sent out in 2026. These increases would be less than those projected under current law, which are primarily driven by the increase in the school levy after the Governor’s 400-year school levy partial veto was upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court that the Governor proposed backfilling with a school levy buydown.
Republicans Propose Administrative Rules Package
A group of Republican legislators announced a new package of bills last week which would make changes to the administrative rules process. Administrative rules and regulations, collectively known as the Wisconsin Administrative Code, are detailed guidelines and standards created by state agencies to implement and enforce laws which are passed by the Wisconsin Legislature. The rules provide specific details on how laws are applied. Examples include building codes, environmental regulations, hunting and fishing regulations, or health standards. Conflicts have emerged between the executive and legislative branches over administrative rules over the years, regardless of party in control of either branch. The following legislators introduced bills as part of the package:
- Rep. Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee)
- Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie)
- Rep. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown)
- Rep. Nate Gustafson (R-Fox Crossing)
- Rep. Ron Tusler (R-Harrison)
- Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin)
- Sen. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield)
The package includes four proposals:
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LRB-2514 Memo Admin Rules (Gustafson, Nate) Requirements for proposed administrative rules that impose any costs.
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LRB-2507 Memo Admin Rules (Tusler, Ron) Challenges to the validity of administrative rules and making an appropriation.
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LRB-0565 Memo Admin Rules (Neylon, Adam) The expiration of administrative rules.
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LRB-2509 Memo Admin Rules (Hutton, Rob) Statements of scope for administrative rules.
Releases:
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Rep. Neylon. Republicans Unveil Red Tape Reset Legislative Package
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Sen Hutton, Rep. Knodl. Introduce Key Regulatory Reform Bill to Increase Transparency and Reduce Red Tape
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Rep. Nedweski. Red Tape Reset: Nedweski Champions Transformational Regulatory Reform
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