MADISON, Wis. — With public feedback sessions on the upcoming state budget now finished, Democrats on the legislature’s budget-writing committee shared what they heard.
While taxes could be among the biggest issues to be debated, the four members said they were not a big concern voiced by constituents. Instead, they heard more about topics including Medicaid, Social Security and funding for education.
“We heard a consensus across the board of taxpayers coming in and testifying, saying that the referendums are not sustainable,” State Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, told reporters. “It’s not the way for them to fund public education.”
After holding public hearings in Kaukauna, West Allis, Hayward and Wausau alongside their Republican colleagues, Democrats insisted there wasn’t enough talk of tax breaks to make it one of the most important issues going forward.
“One of the things we heard nothing about was a request for more tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. That’s one thing that nobody asked for,” State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, said during a press conference Wednesday. “And yet, that seems to be the focus of my Republican colleagues. In fact, they are focused on trying to shove through an irresponsible tax cut before we even engage in meeting the needs of Wisconsinites.”
Even so, Democrats aren’t completely ruling out a compromise on a tax cut, though they have some starting point demands.
“It has to be a part of the budget process; it has to be responsible and not create a massive structural deficit that then Republicans will use as an excuse to undermine the services that we rely on in our public schools, and number three — it has to be targeted to ordinary Wisconsinites. Everyday Wisconsinites who are working, who are trying to pay their taxes,” Roys added.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is also open to discussions, as long as any tax cut is included in the overall budget instead of passed as a separate bill.
Republicans are fine with that and said they want to reach a compromise on meaningful reform sooner rather than later. Last week, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told reporters he hoped for more meetings with the governor to get a deal done.
“Just like any family, the first thing you do when you create a budget is you have to know how much do you have to spend. And that’s why, to me, the most important thing is finding out and discovering where we can find agreement on a tax cut, and then once we see what’s left, we’ll begin to invest in our priorities be it roads, schools, whatever it’s going to be, so I feel like we’re in an okay spot,” Vos explained.
During Wednesday’s press conference, Democrats also said they hope Republicans will add the postpartum Medicaid extension, which passed the Wisconsin Senate 32-1 last week, to the budget if Speaker Vos doesn’t bring the measure to a floor vote in the Assembly.
