Increasing K-12 school funding, giving a ten percent tax cut for the middle class, and creating a paid family and medical leave program were among the ideas shared in Governor Tony Evers’ biennial budget address on Wednesday night.
The budget totals approximately $104 billion in spending over the next two years, as it also addresses other areas of concern like childcare, affordable housing, neighborhood development, workforce creation, and more.
Part of the budget would add $50 million to continue Evers’ Main Street Bounceback Program, a pandemic-born initiative he highlighted with separate visits to Door and Kewaunee counties last fall. The budget also calls for $117 million to bolster tourism by recruiting new large-scale events and additional visitors.
At the end of his address, Governor Evers called for bipartisanship for his “breakthrough budget” that contains priorities for the state. “This is a budget about solutions, not wish lists. This is a budget about pragmatism, not politics. This is a budget about getting back to basics and doing the right thing,” Evers said.
Wisconsin Republicans have already panned much of the budget, with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos saying it is “devoid from reality.” He said in his Republican response that while there are some areas in the governor’s budget where they hope to find common ground, “the solutions will look dramatically different.”
You can watch the budget address and the Republican response below.
Governor Evers'? budget is absolutely devoid of reality. Here's my response. pic.twitter.com/RDvT2qzME5
— Speaker Robin Vos (@SpeakerVos) February 16, 2023