After months of negotiation, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature announced Tuesday that they have reached a bipartisan budget deal to boost education funding, pass more than $1 billion in tax cuts, and support the state’s struggling child care industry.
The deal, which comes after the Legislature missed its June 30 deadline to pass a new two-year budget, notably does not include a plan to close the troubled Green Bay Correctional Institution.
Legislative leaders say the agreement comes with enough Democratic votes to pass a budget through the state Senate, where Republicans can only afford to lose one detractor from their slim 18-15 majority.
The biggest win for Republicans is Evers’ agreement to sign their $1.3 billion tax cut plan into law. Those cuts would exempt retired Wisconsin residents from paying taxes on their first $24,000 of retirement income and expand the state’s second tax bracket, lowering income taxes for roughly 1.6 million residents.
“This budget delivers on our two biggest priorities: tax relief for Wisconsin and reforms to make government more accountable,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said.
Evers, a former state superintendent, has prioritized investments in child care and education during budget talks.
Watch: Governor reaches budget deal with Republicans to cut taxes, fund university
“I’ve always believed that what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state, and today, after three months of negotiations, I’m proud to be announcing a bipartisan budget agreement that delivers on that promise,” Evers said.
Under the deal, Republicans agreed to funding $110 million in direct payments to child care providers as federal pandemic relief aid supporting the Child Care Counts program expires. GOP leaders have previously objected to directly subsidizing child care centers.
In return, Evers agreed to pass GOP-authored policies that loosen child care regulations as part of the budget. The agreement also sets aside $66 million to support child care providers who run 4-K programs to prepare children for kindergarten.
Republicans also agreed to increase state funding for special education to cover 42% of the costs to school districts in the first year of the budget and 45% in the second. That’s roughly $275 million more than the plan GOP lawmakers voted for last month for special education, but falls short of the 60% reimbursement rate Evers proposed in his budget.
Last year, the state’s primary special education aid covered 32.4% of special education costs, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. School districts are required to cover the rest, leading many to turn to referendums to cover funding gaps.
The deal also includes both Republican and Democratic priorities for the Universities of Wisconsin. Republicans have pushed for more control over the university system and sought to cut back on so-called administrative bloat. Evers, meanwhile, has advocated for increased investments in higher education, proposing more than $850 million in new funding for the UW system in his budget draft.
Under the plan, UW’s budget would increase by more than $256 million over the next two years. Faculty would also be expected to increase their teaching loads, and it would become easier to transfer credits between UW schools. Finally, the deal orders an audit of the UW system to evaluate whether its current operations are sustainable.
The agreement only encompasses a portion of the state budget. The governor’s office said Evers has agreed not to use his partial veto power to strike down any of the items he negotiated with Republicans. In addition to education, child care, and tax cuts, the deal includes various proposals within the budgets for other state agencies, such as the Departments of Transportation and Health Services.
The glaring lack of a bipartisan agreement on how to address deteriorating conditions at Green Bay Correctional Institution didn't stop Republicans from introducing their own prisons plan on Tuesday.
The Legislature's budget-writing committee voted set aside $15 million to have architects and engineers come up with a plan to close GBCI. They also included $130 million to build a new juvenile facility to replace the troubled Lincoln Hills youth prison, a move Evers proposed in his budget.
Evers in February proposed a nearly $500 million plan to close GBCI by 2029 by expanding early release programs to reduce the state’s prison population and renovating existing prisons. Republicans have favored building a new prison altogether, which could cost upwards of $1 billion.
"I think this is a really good first step to close Green Bay Correctional," Republican Sen. Eric Wimberger said of the plan Republicans included in the budget. "I think there's still going to be significant disagreement between Republicans and the governor and Democrats about how you do earned release. That's a tough one."
The governor’s office and co-chairs of the Legislature’s budget-writing committee didn’t say why a plan for GBCI wasn’t included in their negotiations.
The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee finished its work on the budget on Tuesday afternoon. Both chambers of the Legislature are expected to vote on the budget in special sessions on Wednesday.
Evers can then use his partial veto power to amend the plan before signing it into law. The governor’s office said in a press release that the deal between Evers and Republicans is “contingent upon the governor approving the final committee motion and statutory language drafted by Republican lawmakers.”
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