Evers' Proposal For $150 To Every Wisconsite Has Uneasy Path Ahead

MILWAUKEE, WI — Gov. Tony Evers announced on Thursday a plan to send $150 refund checks to Wisconsin households, using state surplus funds.

Wisconsin is expected to have a $3.8 billion surplus in general state funds, Evers said in a news conference. Of the surplus money, $1.7 billion would go to $150 checks to every Wisconsin resident, while the rest would go caregivers and K-12 schools.

The plan would have to be approved by the state's Republican-controlled Legislature, which are unlikely to approve it.

"Senate Republicans will not gamble with a projected state surplus to fund Tony Evers' re-election gimmicks," Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) said in a statement Thursday.

Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said in a statement that the governor's plan was a "knee jerk reaction" and that he was only thinking about the election in November.

Evers, a Democrat, had criticized a child care tax credit plan enacted by former Gov. Scott Walker to send $100 to families months before the election in 2018, The Associated Press reported.

"We weren't in a pandemic back then and we didn't have people that were struggling mightily at home, especially with some inflationary costs," Evers told The Associated Press.

The plan for refund checks was announced the same day that Republican Kevin Nicholson announced his run for governor against former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and incumbent Evers.

See Also: Republican Kevin Nicholson Announces Run For Wisconsin Governor