MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Latest on Wisconsin budget briefing (all times local):
10:55 a.m.
Republican lawmakers say Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is ignoring Wisconsin’s worker shortage problem and will actually make it worse in his budget that calls for increasing the minimum wage and repealing the right-to-work law.
The Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee was dissecting Evers’ workforce development proposals Thursday.
Republicans told Department of Workforce Development Secretary Caleb Frostman the budget doesn’t do enough to find ways to attract workers to the state. Sen. Luther Olsen says the budget “really missed the mark.”
Frostman says increasing the minimum wage as Evers proposed, as well as spending more on fixing roads and on education will make Wisconsin more attractive to workers.
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9:48 a.m.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ proposals for the state prison system, natural resources and workforce development were to be dissected by Republican lawmakers who control the Legislature’s budget committee.
The agencies were on tap Thursday for the second of two days of agency briefings.
The hearing with officials from Evers’ administration gives Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee a chance to criticize the new governor’s budget while offering an alternative plan. No votes are taken.
Republicans have been highly critical of Evers’ plans related to the state’s corrections system, bolstering oversight of natural resources and addressing worker shortages.
Starting on Friday, the budget committee will begin hosting public hearings across the state to gather input. They are scheduled in Janesville, Oak Creek, River Falls and Green Bay.
