Walker has said he’ll sign the legislation, which could calm concerns among social conservatives frustrated by what they saw as his vagueness on the issue during his 2014 re-election race and in interviews.
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Even though an unusually high number of Republicans voted against the budget, there were still more than enough votes to pass it. Fond du Lac Republican Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt said he was proud to vote yes.
Originally, Gov. Walker proposed a $127 million dollar cut to K-12 education over the first year. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Chuck Grassley, the state’s senior senator, typically visit every county each year. “Quite frankly, we disagreed a lot, but that made (the budget) a better product”, Republican Representative Robert Brooks said. “If lawmakers know that anything they do can be shielded from public view, they will be doing things now that they never dared try”, Lueders said. I seems that unless our children have a Super PAC or a big crew of lobbyists you’re not going to listen to them. “And the parents of this state, myself included are sick and exhausted of it”, Taylor says. “I am disappointed that more than a dozen amendments some of which would adequately fund our public schools, invest in our transportation infrastructure, and reject cuts to recycling funding and for conservation of our natural resources”.
Democrats blasted the budget for expanding the private school voucher program and cutting the University of Wisconsin by $250 million.
Another hot button issue in recent months has been the prevailing wage. Lawmakers kept federal language insisting on “due consideration” for cyclists and pedestrians but also inserted a provision requiring the state to get authorization from local governments before installing any bike or pedestrian project, giving the state DOT “an additional hoop” to jump through, according to the Wisconsin Bike Federation. Some Republicans wanted to repeal the law while Democrats thought it should remain in place. The scheme would have restricted public access to information regarding the deliberative process used by state and legislative leaders – an impediment to open and accountable government.
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker sacrificed a leisurely Fourth of July weekend of grill-outs and fireworks in order to sneak a variety of harmful provisions into his state’s budget. Robin Vos is the Assembly Speaker.
Rep. Gary Hebl (D-Sun Prairie) criticized Republicans and Gov. Scott Walker for failing to accept federal money, under the Affordable Care Act, to expand Wisconsin’s medicaid program – commonly known as BadgerCare. “To me, I’d rather be talking in the future now more about our jobs plan and our plan for the future of the state”.
Fischer also catches us up on the status of several other cases now pending against Walker and/or his closest allies, including one that is set to face a crucial ruling shortly by the state’s Supreme Court.
“Prevailing wage is an outdated regulation, and the repeal package approved by the Senate provides Wisconsin with greater financial flexibility”.
What he’s planning to announce is loudly signaled by what Team Walker says will come next: On Tuesday, Walker is scheduled to appear in Las Vegas.
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Saturday the governor’s office released a statement saying he would work with lawmakers to remove the provisions from the budget.
