The State Senate passed a shared revenue plan in a bipartisan vote that will send $1.5 billion to municipalities across Wisconsin and prevent the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County defaulting on Wednesday, but you will not find Senator Andre Jacque (R-De Pere) among its supporters. Speaker Robin Vos, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, and Governor Tony Evers announced last week that the two sides compromised on a plan that also repeals the personal property tax and allocates more money for public and private school children. After the deal was announced last week, Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) said there are things he likes and does not like about the plan, but the fact they were able to reach a compromise was the biggest win. Jacque was harsher in his critique when he announced Wednesday why he did not support the measure. He says that “initial agreements that would have ended the duplicity of the falsely labeled “Police and Fire Protection Fee”, funded critical public safety communications, and doubled law enforcement training reimbursement while ensuring voter consent for on the imposition of sales tax hikes” were stripped from the bill that eventually passed by a 21-15 margin in the Wisconsin Senate with Jacque voting in the minority. It passed the Wisconsin Assembly earlier in the week by a 56-36 bipartisan vote and now will wait for Governor Evers’ signature.

STATEMENT FROM SENATOR JACQUE

“I have long championed efforts to eliminate unfunded mandates and empower local spending decisions.  Unfortunately, today’s vote will result in missed opportunities that will foreclose prospects for future reforms and represents a step backward from initial agreements that would have ended the duplicity of the falsely labeled “Police and Fire Protection Fee”, funded critical public safety communications, and doubled law enforcement training reimbursement while ensuring voter consent for on the imposition of sales tax hikes.  Over the last several weeks, these provisions were gradually stripped from the package behind closed doors, taking it further and further away from a place that would have my vote.

It is extremely disappointing that needed reforms to the state shared revenue formula have been held hostage to backroom deals that ostensibly bail out Milwaukee after decades of fiscal mismanagement - while at the same time allowing for continued wasteful spending and social engineering.  In the end, that was too high a price to pay for me to support this legislation.”