GOP leaders say tough state budget ahead

Wisconsin’s state budget is facing trouble as revenue takes a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, legislative Republican leaders said during a Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce webinar Tuesday.

State revenue losses are expected to exceed $2 billion over the next year, according to a mid-April letter Gov. Tony Evers sent President Donald Trump with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said they asked Evers to freeze spending in the second year of the state’s budget. He suggested that if spending increases take effect without adequate funding, the Legislature would have to pursue a budget repair bill after the November election.

“We have the opportunity to make some decisions right now that would mean less pain later,” Vos said. “I don’t think anybody would say that freezing spending at a time when basically revenues are cut through the middle of every single program would be a bad idea, but we haven’t been able to reach consensus on that either.”

Senate Majority Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, predicted “somewhat of a stalemate” over the budget since he expects Evers to suggest increasing taxes, which he described as a “high hurdle” for a Legislature controlled by the GOP.

That would mean the state budget would continue at current levels, he said.

“That’s going to be a tough thing moving forward,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s going to be really rough on shared revenue, on K-12 education, on health and human services – all of these things. It’s going to be very difficult to build consensus around anything. So it’s not a pretty picture right now.”

That could be impacted by whether or not the federal government helps out. Fitzgerald said the latest federal COVID-19 relief package didn’t include any funding for state and local governments.

Evers’ office did not return a request for comment in response to remarks by Vos and Fitzgerald.

Late Tuesday, Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan announced a 5 percent reduction in state spending to position the state to weather a potential recession and state revenue fall.

“These reductions will improve the general fund balance for fiscal year 2019-20, providing additional cushion until the revenue picture for the biennium becomes clearer,” Brennan said in an email posted by WisPolitics.com.

Vos called Brennan’s announcement a “fiscally prudent action.”

“This is a smart, proactive move by the administration. As we begin work to manage this impending fiscal crisis in Wisconsin, it’s good to see that we’re already on the same page,” he said in a Wednesday statement.

Vos continued to call for freezing the second year of the budget.

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