by Chris Kulow | Apr 8, 2021 | Federal Issue, Legislative Update Blog, State Budget
The Senate and Assembly Committees on Education will hold a joint informational hearing on Thursday, April 8 at 11:00 a.m. in Room 411 South, State Capitol. The committees are chaired by state Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) and state Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt (R-Fond du Lac) and are scheduled to take invited testimony only on “Federal Funding Distributed to Wisconsin related to K-12 Education.” The hearing will be covered live on WisconsinEye. The WASB GR staff will monitor the hearing and report anything worth noting to our members.
The committees have invited the following speakers for this hearing: (more…)
by Chris Kulow | Mar 17, 2021 | Legislative Update Blog, State Budget
The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) has completed its analysis of the governor’s budget proposal. The much-awaited “Summary Document” is now available.
This is a key preliminary step that precedes the so-called “agency briefings” where state agency heads come before the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) to answer questions about their agency’s budget. Typically, these agency briefings are held shortly before the JFC public hearings begin.
(more…)
by Dan Rossmiller | Mar 17, 2021 | Federal Budget, Federal Issue, Legislative Update Blog, National Issue, State Budget, State Issue
Today (3/17) the U.S. Department of Education announced funding allocations from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) for all 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.
The announcement includes a table outlining the individual funding amounts that will be distributed to each state.
These allocations are from the $122 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding
(more…)
by Chris Kulow | Mar 15, 2021 | Legislative Update Blog, State Budget
Recently, I conducted an interview with Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek), member of the powerful Joint Finance Committee, to get her thoughts on the governor’s budget proposal for schools. This is the latest in a series of interviews I will be conducting with key state lawmakers to provide legislative insight on the state budget. We thank Rep. Rodriguez for taking the time to join us!
Rep. Rodriguez told me that she is concerned that the level of spending in the governor’s proposal may not be sustainable moving forward. She did feel optimistic, however, that there would ultimately be bipartisan agreement and mentioned special education aid and broadband expansion as shared priorities.
You can watch the full interview below: (more…)
by Chris Kulow | Mar 11, 2021 | Legislative Update Blog, State Budget
The Wisconsin Policy Forum has released their state budget brief which “provides an overview of Evers’ proposal while scrutinizing key areas of the budget that require attention regardless of what state lawmakers ultimately approve and send to the governor’s desk.” See the Full Report. (more…)
by Dan Rossmiller | Mar 10, 2021 | Legislative Update Blog, State Budget
At a morning Capitol press conference, Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) today announced plans to hold three in-person public hearings on the state budget as well as an additional statewide virtual hearing.
In-person hearings will be held on the following dates and locations:
- Fri., April 9–UW Whitewater
- Wed., April 21–Rhinelander (Hodag Dome)
- Thurs., April 22–UW Stout (Menomonie)
(more…)
