Northern Wisconsin lawmakers react to state budget

Jul. 8—SUPERIOR — Wisconsin has a new budget after Gov. Tony Evers signed it into law Wednesday, July 5.

The budget includes an increase in the level of state support for public schools at $325 per pupil and an increase in the revenue limit from $10,000 to $11,000.

Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Cameron, said the increase in state spending for schools is going to be a gamechanger for about half the school districts in northern Wisconsin. The revenue limit change is something Quinn said he's been pushing for because it affects so many school districts throughout the 25th District.

"That part's still good," Quinn said of the education funding increases. "The shared revenue piece was still important ... I'm glad he didn't monkey with that at all."

Quinn said

state shared revenue

coupled with funding for the

Blatnik Bridge replacement

are all good for the area.

However, Quinn said it is frustrating the governor vetoed specific projects in northern Wisconsin that the Legislature approved.

Projects struck from the final budget included development and maintenance of state parks in Douglas County, and improvements to the state's Les Voigt and Brule fish hatcheries.

"It felt kind of personal," said Rep. Chanz Green, R-Grand View. "We have a fish hatchery in my district that is operating at 30% capacity. The budget passed by Republicans would have provided millions of dollars to drill new wells, keep up with facility maintenance, renovate current buildings and construct new buildings."

In his veto message, Evers wrote that he doesn't agree with "having unobligated stewardship bonding authority available only for earmarks at the discretion of the Legislature."

Rep. Angie Sapik, R-Lake Nebagamon, said despite the governor stating he supported plans for Amnicon Falls and Pattison state parks during

a visit to Superior on June 20,

Evers vetoed $2.1 million in funding for improvements to them.

"By playing politics with funding for our state parks, Gov. Evers harms not only the great

people of Douglas County, but also the countless visitors who enjoy these parks' beauty and recreational opportunities," Sapik said in a news release. "These renovations are decades overdue. The funding for these improvements would have helped our local economy."

Evers said he vetoed the state park earmarks because he objected to limiting flexibility to prioritize projects based on highest need. The veto, he said, will allow the Department of Natural Resources to use the funding for development and maintenance projects throughout the state park system.

In a news release, Quinn called the governor's decision a "deceitful about-face" after Evers said on video June 20 that he supported the funding in response to a question from the Superior Telegram. Quinn plans to introduce standalone legislation to address the state parks in Douglas County. He said he would also support Green's effort to provide funding for the town of Sanborn, which was also vetoed by the governor.

A total of $3.6 million included in the budget would have helped Ashland County and the town of Sanborn after the courts ruled Native Americans subject to the 1854 treaty were not required to pay property taxes on tribal lands. That court ruling will result in a 300% increase in property taxes for residents who are not Native American, Green said.

Furthermore, people statewide who earn more than $28,000 will see very minimal tax relief after the governor vetoed reductions to the third and fourth tax brackets, Green said.

"There were a lot of great things in this budget that would have benefited northern Wisconsin," Green said in a news release. "But with the stroke of a pen, funding for projects and tax relief have been taken away."

Roughly half of the proposed tax cuts would have benefited people with incomes above $200,000 and would have put the state at risk of having to repay billions of dollars received through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Evers said.

The governor did preserve proposed cuts that reduce taxes by $175 million for individuals in the lowest two income tax brackets.

Overall, lawmakers would have liked to see more support for northern Wisconsin in the budget, but said elements of it will support residents in their districts.

"I think the Republican Legislature did a great job with the budget ... I am disappointed that Gov. Evers said that he would support the state park and fish hatchery renovations before vetoing them, but overall, I think this is a great bipartisan budget that will provide positive benefits to the people of Wisconsin, particularly in education," Sapik said.

It's a budget Evers said fell short in several key areas: state funding for broadband; affordable and accessible child care; categorical aid increases for schools; funding universal school breakfast and lunches; investing in the University of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Technical College systems; BadgerCare expansion; and paid family leave.

"I understand that, in light of these short-sighted decisions, there are those who would have me veto this budget in its entirety — to send the Legislature back to the drawing board to start from scratch," Evers wrote in his budget message. "Vetoing this budget in full would mean abandoning priorities and ideas that I have spent four years advocating for."