The Budget Battle Begins

 The Budget Battle Begins

Political posturing is not enough

 

Once again, we see the stark differences between Democrat and Republican visions for Wisconsin’s future on full display. Democrats see us working together to address the needs and desires of working families while Republicans want to favor the rich and continue fighting culture wars already lost. The venue this time was our state capitol, and the vehicle was Governor Tony Evers’ State of the State Address coupled with the Republican response.

 

Evers’ address laid out his proposed state budget for the next two years coupled with a plea for Democrats and Republicans working together to solve common problems.

 

Evers’ proposal increases state spending by a modest 23%, cuts income taxes for most state taxpayers by 10%, increases funding for public schools dramatically and addresses much needed reforms for most state programs.

 

The proposed tax cut would save almost 200 million Wisconsin taxpayers about $200 per year. It would apply to individuals making less than $100,00 per year and couples filing jointly less that $150,000 annually. He also proposes to increase the state supplement to the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit and expanding the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, saving low-income taxpayers more than an additional $500 annually.

 

Evers also wants to modify the capital gains tax for the wealthiest taxpayers by limiting it to those earning less than $400,000 per year. He also proposes sending 20% of the state’s sales tax revenues back to local governments to help them defray costs for transportation and public safety.

 

Evers proposes the largest increase in public school funding in Wisconsin history, $2.6 billion. The goal is to return the state to Tommy Thompson’s promise of funding two-thirds of the cost of public education along with paying 60% of the cost of special education for students with disabilities. He includes funding increases for the state voucher programs and independent charter schools along with special needs scholarships to private schools while freezing enrollment in those programs. 

 

Mental health services in all schools would receive $270 million over two years under the Governor’s proposed budget. 

 

Infrastructure spending would continue under the Governor’s proposed budget. It includes $750 million in grants to further expand rural broadband internet services and paying off $380 million in transportation revenue bonds so state funds can be used to fix more roads.

 

Evers proposes to continue programs he started with Federal pandemic funds, including $319 million for the Child Care Counts program which helps child-care providers pay caregivers more without raising tuition for parents and $22 million to continue helping employers pay for childcare for their employees. 

 

The budget proposal addresses the crisis in our justice system by adding more assistant district attorneys and state public defenders, increasing their starting salaries, and returning 17-year-olds to the juvenile justice system rather than handling their criminal cases in adult courts. 

 

Evers also added more protections for workers in his budge proposal. He wants to provide 12 weeks of family and medical leave for both public and private sector workers funded by employer and employee payroll contributions with a $242 million kickstart from the state. He also proposes to restore collective bargaining rights for state and government workers and to repeal the so-called right to work law which keeps unions from requiring workers they represent to pay dues. Increases in the state minimum wage law and a requirement for public building projects to pay workers the local prevailing wage for their trade are also in the package.

 

The proposed budget also addresses clean up of water pollution from PFAS chemicals and increased staffing for the Department of Safety and Professional Services to deal with the backlog of pending professional licenses. 

 

Finally, Evers proposes to legalize and tax marijuana and to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act making more low-income people eligible for Badger Care health coverage. 

 

Republicans in control of both houses of our legislature were quick to reject most of Evers’ budget proposals, vowing to create their own two-year budget without starting with the Governor’s proposal. Among the GOP priorities are returning much of the state’s surplus to taxpayers through tax cuts and the imposition of a flat tax scheme that would benefit the wealthiest Wisconsin residents. Many of Evers’ proposals have already been rejected by GOP legislative leaders such as marijuana legalization, Act 10 repeal, and increased staffing for state agencies. 

 

We will see if the two sides can come to any agreements on what the next budget will finally look like. Otherwise, we will see once more a GOP budget modified heavily by Evers’ line-item veto pen ending up with a revenue and spending plan no one likes. 

 

Spring Elections

Spring Elections are important

 

This Spring brings the most consequential election in recent memory.

 

Currently, conservative Republicans hold a 4-3 majority on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. One of the conservatives, Chief Justice Patricia Roggensack, is not running for re-election. This has brought four candidates into the race to fill the open seat. Even though our judicial races are nominally non-partisan contests, the current political climate has made them anything but non-partisan.

 

The current major issues driving the Wisconsin body politic are the viability of our statutory abortion ban passed in 1849 and the GOP’s use of gerrymandered election districts to maintain power in the legislature and in the composition of Wisconsin congressional districts. Both are currently the subject of litigation which will eventually come before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. How those cases will be decided will clearly depend upon who wins the upcoming election.

 

Predictably, the four candidates who will appear on the February 21^st primary election ballot fall into one of the two political camps. There are two clear conservatives, former Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly and current Waukesha Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow. There are two clear liberals, Milwaukee Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz and Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell. 

 

Both Kelly and Dorow received their law degrees from Regent University which was founded by Christian televangelist Pat Robertson. It is not a prestigious law school by any stretch and uses the Bible to guide its curriculum. Both candidates have openly embraced their religious views and maintained that they form the foundation of their legal rulings. Both took religious exceptions to U.S. Supreme Court rulings with which they disagreed in their applications to former Governor Scott Walker for for their respective appointments to the bench. Both have indicated that abortion should be illegal and that the ban on abortion should remain. Both have been endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life. 

 

As noted in statewide media accounts, Kelly and Dorow are pulling no punches with each other. Both have endorsements from prominent GOP justices who dislike each other. Roggensack has endorsed Dorow while Justice Rebecca Bradley has endorsed Kelly. Kelly was clearly miffed when Dorow jumped into the race after presiding over the high-profile trial of Darrel Brooks. Dorow’s campaign has taken swipes at Kelly as well. 

 

Before Kelly lost his seat on the Court to Justice Jill Karofsky in 2020, he voted in favor of every position taken by the uber conservative law firm, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), after serving on its Board of Directors. His website is found at justicedanielkelly.com

 

Dorow was appointed to the bench by former Governor Scott Walker and appointed as the Chief Judge of the Third Judicial Distict by the Supreme Court in 2017. Her endorsement by Justice Roggensack who was well known as a rubber stamp for Republican positions signals that Dorow too will be a handmaiden for the GOP. 

 

In a recent debate between all the candidates, Dorow read from a prepared script and read answers from a binder while failing to answer questions completely indicating that she is not prepared to work in the rarified collegial institution of our highest court. Her website is found at judgejennifer.com

 

I knew Janet Protasiewicz many years ago when she was an Assistant District Attorney in Milwaukee County. She was fair and worked her cases ethically. Her reputation since becoming a Circuit Court Judge has been stellar. She graduated from Marquette Law School. She has gained endorsements from attorneys and judges around the state. She has been endorsed by major labor unions and progressive political organizations. She believes that Wisconsin’s legislative district maps are “rigged.” She supports a woman’s right to choose. Her website is found at janetforjustice.com

 

Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School and has been active in progressive attempts to work with juveniles caught up in the legal system. He has garnered endorsements from former Governor Jim Doyle, former Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler as well as judges and attorneys around the state. He is also a minister having graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary before attending law school. He is younger than the other candidates and has less judicial experience. His website is found at judgeeverettmitchell.com

 

The February 21 primary will narrow the field from four to two who will go head to head in the April election. The choice is clear if you want justices on our Supreme Court who will bring common sense to their rulings and not be swayed by hyper-partisan agendas. I will be voting for Janet Protasiewicz.