In the Republican controlled state Congress, lawmakers are looking to remove 15 pages of almost 300 items from Governor Evers’ $91 billion spending plan for the next two years. Within this proposal, Governor Evers is pushing for expanding Medicaid to capture $1.6 billion in federal funding as well as the legalization of both medical and recreational cannabis. However, the GOP is calling this proposal a ‘liberal wish list.’
Joint Finance Committee
This committee, made up of both Representatives and Senators, is currently debating Governor Evers budget proposal. This proposal would cover spending from July 2021 until July 2023 and is an estimated $91 billion. The committee has two co-chairmans, both republicans, Representative Mark Born and Senator Howard Marklein. They have said, “Republicans are working hard to craft a responsible budget that reflects the real priorities and needs of the citizens of Wisconsin.”
If these 15 pages are struck from the spending bill, then Republicans plan to work on rebuilding the spending plan from scratch, the way it should be done. Unfortunately, not every lawmaker agrees with the statements of the Joint Finance Committee.
“Wisconsin Republicans are sending a clear message that they haven’t listened to a single word of what the public has told them this year,” said Senator Kelda Roys (D).
Potential Removal
So what exactly are Republicans looking to remove from Governor Evers’ budget proposal? The main points are removing:
- Legalizing both medical and recreational cannabis
- Expanding Medicaid to capture that $1.6 billion in federal funding previously mentioned
- Granting a collective bargaining right to public workers
- That right was lost under Act 10 laws a decade ago.
- Freezing enrollment in the private school voucher program
- Allowing the University of Wisconsin to borrow for operational expenses
- To deal with short term losses from the pandemic
- Making Juneteenth, emancipation day, a state holiday
- Increasing taxes on capital gains and manufacturers
- Cutting taxes for families below the established poverty line
- Offering automatic voter registration
- Criminal justice reforms introduced after the murder of George Floyd
- Including banning no-knock warrants and chokeholds
- So-called red flag law for gun owners
- New state standards for “forever chemicals” called PFAS
- Allowing municipalities and counties to raise sales tax if approved by voters
Future
Where the budget proposal will go is unclear. But Republicans do plan on rewriting the budget with more conservative measures or by removing parts all together. Despite Governor Evers calling for cannabis legalization, there’s a large chance Republicans won’t add legalization back for their proposal.
A vote on the budget plan is expected this upcoming Thursday May 6th, which includes removing key points listed above. We will update you with the latest.
Make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp related news.