Wisconsin Governor Enacts New Budget With Over 50 Items Vetoed

WISCONSIN — Governor Tony Evers on Wednesday signed a new biennial budget into law while making use of his broad line-item veto power over 50 times to change plans for public school funding, income tax overhauls and more.

Evers touted the 2023-2025 budget, alongside his vetoes, as providing tax relief to working families while investing in communities, workforce housing, infrastructure, shared revenue and more. But the governor asserted the budget remains "imperfect" and called upon the state's Republican-controlled legislature to rectify what he saw as shortcomings.

Among the greatest changes that Evers made to the budget was for public school and university funding. In a news release, Evers' office said the budget initially returned by Republicans fell short of the governor's proposal for K-12 schools. But in a move showcasing how much power a Wisconsin governor has with line-item vetoes, Evers cut out a few characters from the budget enabling school districts to claim an additional $325 per student across public schools until 2425.

To provide the revenue limit increase, Evers removed a hyphen and "20" from a part referencing the 2024-25 school year, according to a report by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"This is the largest increase in statewide revenue limit authority since revenue limits were first imposed on K-12 schools in 1993-94, and it is permanent and base-building," said a news release from Evers' office. "These record-high per pupil revenue limit increases also have the potential to take the burden off community members when it comes to school funding, as it alleviates the need for districts to seek operating referenda."

Another significant change to the budget stemming from Evers' veto power is state taxes. Evers said a plan proposed by Republicans would have benefited the 11 wealthiest filers in the state with $1.8 million in tax cuts each year. Evers said the new budget after his vetoes will reduce income tax rates for Wisconsin's two lowest income brackets, amounting to $175 million in reductions between 2023 and 2025.

Wisconsin Assembly Majority Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, said Evers' vetoes reinstate a "liberal tax and spending agenda," something that Legislative Republicans "worked tirelessly over the last few months to block."

"Vetoing tax cuts on the top two brackets provides hardly any tax relief for truly middle-class families," Vos said in a statement. "His decision also creates another economic disadvantage for Wisconsin, leaving our top bracket higher than most of our neighboring states, including Illinois."

The previous Republican plan would have moved the state closer to a flat tax rate, the Associated Press noted in a report Wednesday. According to AP, Vos also asserted the school revenue limit changes will inflate property taxes if schools do not get per-pupil funds from the state.

Other parts of the budget saw bipartisan support. A plan to expand access to affordable housing saw cooperation between the governor and legislature, amounting to a $525 million investment in workforce housing.

You can find documents of the 2023-2025 budget and the enacted budget online alongside Evers' veto message.