Gov. Tony Evers tonight delivered his State Budget Address to the Legislature and released his proposed state 2021-23 biennial budget.
Some of the items in Gov. Tony Evers' proposed 2021-23 state budget to note:
- Modifying the valuation factor under levy limits to allow county and municipal governments to increase levies by the greater of the percentage change in equalized value due to new construction less improvements removed or 2 percent beginning with levies set in 2021.
- Eliminating the negative adjustment to county and municipal levy limits for services transferred from one local government to another local government.
- Creating an exclusion to levy limits for cross-municipality transit routes, meeting certain criteria.
- Creating a levy limit exclusion for those amounts levied for a county's required contribution to the budget of a regional planning commission.
- Creating a biennial appropriation to provide the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. with $200 million to assist Wisconsin small businesses in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, including assistance for the retention of current employees and the rehiring of former employees.
- Successive 2 percent increases in the County and Municipal Aid Program in 2021 and 2022.
- Gradually increasing the state minimum wage in tiers - to $8.60, then to $9.40, and then by the change in the consumer price index.
- Providing $100 million for a venture capital program, as well as other economic development initiatives.
- Providing $8 million in one-time funds to regional economic development organizations to support their pandemic recovery efforts across Wisconsin.
- Allowing counties and some municipalities to propose an additional 0.5 percent sales tax in addition to the current 0.5 sales tax, if approved via referendum.
- Various environmental initiatives to address climate change, including $30 million to address flooding.
- Providing $300,000 in each year of the biennium to support the UniverCity Alliance program at UW-Madison.
- Requiring employers conducting projects of public works to pay workers the prevailing wage.
- Establishing collective bargaining rights for state and local government front-line workers and their bargaining units.
- Eliminating the annual recertification requirement for state and local government bargaining units.
Evers' budget will be introduced into the Legislature and given a bill number. It will then be referred to the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, where it will receive public hearings and be amended by the committee, then move onto the full state Senate and Assembly for votes by those bodies.
The current fiscal year ends on June 30.
Click here to see the budget section relating to Shared Revenue and Tax Relief.
Click here to see the budget document summaries listed by state agency.
Click here to see the text of the governor's Budget Address.
Other Major Fiscal & Policy Items in Budget
Other major fiscal and policy items in Gov. Tony Evers' proposed 2021-23 state budget:
- Continuing the freeze on UW System undergraduate tuition.
- Calling for two-thirds state funding of schools.
- Expanding Medicaid.
- Providing more supports to the agriculture economy in Wisconsin.
- Various initiatives to reduce prescription drug prices.
- Overhauling the juvenile justice system.
- Providing $79.5 million to upgrade the state's unemployment insurance system.
- Legalization of marijuana.
