Late budget all but certain as Wisconsin Republicans cancel votes

MADISON, Wis. — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature are all but guaranteed not to pass a budget on time as leaders of the state Assembly and Senate stand opposed on negotiations with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

READ ALSO: Wisconsin day care owners fear rate hikes as state funding set to expire

The GOP-led budget-writing committee canceled a meeting at the last minute on Thursday where they were set to vote on spending plans for child care and the state Department of Justice, as well as a long-awaited Republican proposal to close the aging Green Bay Correctional Institution.

Watch: Late budget all but certain as Wisconsin Republicans cancel votes

Republican leaders of both chambers followed up with statements saying they had recently resumed their budget talks with the governor’s office only to watch them fall apart for a second time. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said the most recent round of talks was “heading in a direction that taxpayers cannot afford.”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he believed negotiations were on the right track and called on Senate Republicans to come back to the table.

“This is the most conservative and the most responsible option,” Vos said. “This budget is on a trajectory to have a more conservative growth rate than the budget that was passed by the Assembly and the Senate two years ago.”
Evers also urged Senate Republicans to continue negotiations.

“Ultimately, the Senate needs to decide whether they were elected to govern and get things done or not,” Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback posted on X.

So far, two GOP senators have publicly signaled that they may not vote to pass the budget. With a slim 18-15 majority, Senate Republicans can only afford to lose one vote.

Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee accused Republicans on Thursday of bending to the wishes of “extremists” in their party and called for a bipartisan approach to the budget.

“They’re not able to actually agree among themselves,” Democratic Sen. Kelda Roys said. “Ultimately, what we really need is for Republicans to pick up the phone, for the Senate majority leader to decide that he is not willing to risk his majority and his more vulnerable members to kowtow to the most extreme voices that have clearly said that they're actually not interested in the budget.”

Republicans didn’t say when their work on the budget will pick back up, but the finance committee has yet to vote on spending plans for nearly all of the major state agencies.

Earlier this week, the committee postponed a vote on funding for the Universities of Wisconsin. It also hasn’t voted on the Departments of Natural Resources, Health Services, or Transportation.

With a June 30 deadline looming, a late state budget is almost all but guaranteed. If a new budget isn’t in place by the end of the fiscal year, state funding will remain at current levels. That could eliminate programs that are running on federal funding set to expire this year. It would also pose difficulties for school districts and local governments trying to set their own budgets without knowing how much money to expect from the state.

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