Do not start making plans for the $150 you could receive from the state under a proposal pushed by Governor Tony Evers during his State of the State Address. During the address, Governor Evers pushed for $150 to be given to every Wisconsinite as a part of a plan for an expected $3.8 billion surplus from tax collections, which is about $2.9 billion more than originally forecasted. Other parts of the plan would invest $611 million in K-12 education and provide a total of $139 million for the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Technical College System. Governor Evers says the surplus funds should be in the hands of Wisconsinites that need to buy groceries and gas and pay for child care and utilities. Democratic State Rep. Kristina Shelton of Green Bay added after a stop by Governor Evers to the Green Bay YMCA that we should “invest these public dollars back into our communities and into each other in support of common good.” Republican State Rep. Joel Kitchens likes where some of the dollars are going, but does not like where they are coming from. He points out that much of the surplus is because of federal programs that expired, making the investments unsustainable for the future.

Governor Evers highlighted other initiatives during his State of the State Address, which includes $30 million to support and stabilize EMS units in rural communities, $5 million for mental health support for Wisconsin National Guard members, and $20 million for mental health support for children. He called for a special session for the Wisconsin Legislature to discuss his plans for the surplus, but Kitchens expects it to be as quick as previous requests that were as simple as gaveling in and gaveling out.