>> Wisconsin has a new state budget signed in the dead of
night last week by Governor Tony Evers. It's the first
budget to have bipartisan support since 2007. Joining
us now is Governor Evers. And thanks for your time,
sir. >> So this has additional
funding for special education child care
providers and the UW system in exchange for tax cuts. It
sounds like it's an actual compromise budget.
>> Yeah, I would say it was. And I'm glad it was that way
myself. Over the last year or so, a couple of years, I
get out and talk to people all the time. That's what I
spend most of my time doing. And all across the state, I
heard that a lot. You know, the idea that it'd be great
that, you know, everybody knows we're a purple state,
that we actually do work on compromise. And so we were
able to do that. We had some wins and some things that
didn't. But I guess that's kind of the way the politics
work. If you're if you're a purple state like Wisconsin.
>> Now let's go back to the last budget where you used
your veto pen to create an ongoing $325 per pupil
increase in public education. But that increase
isn't funded in this budget. And property taxes will
taxpayers will pay for it if the school districts decide
to levy that amount that they can. Was that a
priority for you to try and get Republicans to fund
that, or were there just too many other places for the
money? We wanted both, obviously,
but at the at the end of the day, we, you know, we put
together a package that was I want to say it's $1.4
billion in spendable money. And also as you likely
remember, part of the problem in the past was the
amount of money that school districts had to backfill
into special education. And so now that is less of an
issue for them. And so we put we have the largest
increase ever in, in, in that arena. And so I think
it was a good start. Is it solving all the problems.
No. And that's the nature of working with the
legislature. And you know, we're a purple state. And so
we're not going to get everything. But it was a
good start. We had good starts in several areas. But
education we were we made some huge increases in, in
in the money for special education. That helps out in
a couple different areas. Is it solving every problem?
No, but it was a step forward. Yes.
>> Now negotiations with Republicans stopped and
started a few times throughout this process. And
at one point it looked like they were going to go their
own way as they've done the last few budgets. What were
out to them? Were you waiting for them to figure
out them and come back to the table?
>> That it was a ladder? Clearly the two houses
weren't on the same page. And after a while that
became less of an issue. And so they came back and we
ended up solving it. And, you know, we had some really
significant wins. Also. I, you know, I know the
importance of having, you know, both sides having some
wins, having, you know, some things didn't work. But for
example, our ability to get more money for our hospitals
in the state of Wisconsin, that was huge. That was a
win. That was a complete win. And because, as you likely
remember, we had two hospitals in Eau Claire
closed in one, you know, one year. And this keeps our
hospitals all across the state in a much better
place. >> Now, one reason
Republicans did need to compromise. You talked about
the difference in the houses is the Senate couldn't
afford to lose any votes in the Republican Party, and
that's because Democrats picked up seats in the last
election. So how much does redistricting play into what
happened in this budget? >> Absolutely. This budget
would not have looked anywhere near as positive if
it if it wasn't for that, having good maps that are
reflective of actually what happens on the ground, that
was huge. And so we'll and we'll, we'll continue to do
a good job as far as taking not taking advantage of it,
but actually reflecting that. But you know, from my
side to, from the Democratic side, just because we are we
have better maps doesn't mean that we can run
roughshod over the other side either. It just won't
work. We're we're as purple as they come in our state as
compared to other states, and we recognize that.
>> Let's talk about the Donald Trump's b-b-b big,
beautiful bill. What will be the impact of that bill in
Wisconsin? >> Yeah, I don't think it's
going to be good. You know, clearly, issues that they
feel strongly about is not necessarily good for
Wisconsin passing this bill kind of makes them all
legal. I think in the past there was some concern that
on my part and others that what was what was happening
in the new administration was very difficult and
frankly, not shouldn't have been able to do that because
the Congress has not weighed in. Well, they've weighed in
now. And so all those things that that we were against,
that were happening, happened. And so, yes, I
think it's going to be it's going to be a really
difficult time for us. And, you know, whether it's
schools, whether it's just about anything, you know,
I'm sure we'll have thousands of people in
Wisconsin that no longer have the health care. They
they had before. >> One area that's still up
is your corrections plan. As far as the prisons, you
vetoed the deadline to close the green Bay facility. Can
you use the experience negotiating the bill, the
budget, to figure out how to negotiate that plan?
>> Yeah, absolutely. We should. And we have to. I
mean, we green Bay is going to close. I get that whether
it's in 2029 or whenever it is closing. But in order to
allow that to happen, there's all sorts of steps.
We put together a plan several months ago, I think
it was a rational plan. And, you know, there are some
people that want to do different things. But the
start. It's like a dance. We have to do this first and
then this first and this first. I'm willing to talk
to any, any Republican, any Democrat on this issue. We
just have to get it done. Do I think we will? Yes. We
have to. >> It's tradition for the
governor to wait until after the budget is signed to
announce whether they'll run for another term. What is
the timeline for your decision, and do you have
any announcements you'd like to make today?
any. >> Today, but I'll tell you
it'll happen shortly. I would say a week or so.