by Dan Rossmiller | Nov 21, 2022 | Legislative Update Blog, State Budget, State Issue
In a statutorily required report, the state Department of Administration (DOA) today said the state’s fiscal condition is in the best position it has ever been, and it expects a nearly $6.6 billion budget surplus to end the current fiscal year on June 30, 2023. That figure is well above previous expectations that the surplus would total roughly $5 billion.
In addition, the DOA report issued today anticipates growth in state revenues will add another $1.5 billion to the state’s coffers over the two-year period beginning on July 1, 2023.
The report provides the first look at how the 2023-25 (biennial or two-year) state budget shapes up and the outlook is encouraging. The report finds state agencies have requested a total combined spending increase of $3.6 billion in new general purpose revenue (GPR) over the 2023-25 biennium. (General purpose revenue (GPR) is used to fund state aid to schools, among other things, and is derived mainly from state income and sales taxes.)
Comparing the projected GPR surplus in the current biennium and the expected GPR revenue growth in the next biennium with state agencies’ budget requests, the report indicates the state could fund every single agency request and still have $4.4 billion left over in the general fund. (Typically, the Governor’s recommended budget will contain modifications or additions to state agencies’ budget requests, even when the fiscal news is not as positive as it is this year.)
The report also reiterates that the balance in the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund (a/k/a “Rainy Day Fund”) is slightly more than $1.73 billion.
The takeaway is that there should be plenty of money available in state coffers to both increase public school funding and cut state taxes, which could satisfy both Governor Evers’ goals and the goals of some legislative leaders, particularly leaders in the state Senate. (more…)
by Dan Rossmiller | Nov 18, 2022 | Legislative Update Blog, State Issue
Wisconsin’s public school libraries will receive a record $52 million from the state’s Common School Fund for the 2022-23 school year. This amount is not only the largest-ever annual Library Aid distribution but represents a 27% increase from the 2021-22 distribution.
The money to be distributed comes from the investment proceeds of Wisconsin’s Common School Fund, established 174 years ago when Wisconsin became a state. Back in 1848, the framers of the state Constitution established what is now known as the Common School Fund and required proceeds to be distributed to public schools.
The initial deposits into the Fund came from sales of lands granted to the state by the federal government. Since 2019, the Fund has distributed nearly $160 million to public schools to help defray the costs of maintaining school libraries and to help buy books and technology. For many school libraires, the Common School Fund and the Library Aid it generates is the is the primary, and often only, dedicated source of support. (more…)
by Dan Rossmiller | Nov 11, 2022 | Election, Legislative Update Blog, State Budget, State Issue
Voters on Nov. 8 approved 64 of the 81 school district referendum questions placed before them, reflecting a 79 percent overall passage rate. That is generally in line with the passage rate for all types of school referenda on the ballot earlier this year. Prior to Nov. 8, voters had approved 69 of 85 school referenda, reflecting an 81.2 percent overall passage rate. (more…)
by Dan Rossmiller | Nov 8, 2022 | Election, Legislative Update Blog, State Issue
Voters will go to the polls today to select their choices for several state Constitutional offices including Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and State Treasurer. Voters will also decide who will be Wisconsin’s U.S. Senator for the next six years and will select the winner in each of Wisconsin’s eight congressional seats, including an open seat in the third Congressional District in Western Wisconsin.
All seats in the state Assembly and the odd-numbered seats in the state Senate are on the ballot. Voters will also decide who will fill seven open seats in the state Senate and twenty-five open seats in the state Assembly, meaning there will be seven brand-new state senators and as many as twenty-five brand new state representatives in January. (Two sitting state representatives are running in what are new seats for them due to redistricting.)
Republicans will maintain solid control over the state Legislature. However, a key question to be decided is whether Republicans can garner a two-thirds supermajority in both houses and thus be able to override a gubernatorial veto with solely GOP votes. To achieve a two-thirds majority in the state Senate, Republicans only need to pick up one seat. Republicans would need a net gain of five seats to reach two-thirds (66) of the seats in the 99-member state Assembly.
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by Dan Rossmiller | Oct 24, 2022 | Election, Legislative Update Blog, State Issue, Uncategorized
There will be 39 school district referenda on the Nov. 8 ballot seeking authority to borrow money for capital projects (school facilities). That is in addition to the 35 such questions that have already gone before school district voters this year. (Twenty-five of those earlier referendums were approved for a passage rate of just over 71 percent.)
The 166 school district referendum questions of all types placed before voters in 2022 is the highest total number since calendar year 2000, when 192 school district referenda of all types took place. (That 2000 total was prior to restrictions being placed on when school district referenda cold take place and how many times a district could place referendum questions before voters in a calendar year.)
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