The following program is a PBS
Wisconsin original production.
Capital.
Make his way into the Assembly
chambers.
Ibas will address the full
legislature, his cabinet, and the
people of Wisconsin.
Good evening.
I'm Zach Schultz from PBS Wisconsin.
And I'm Shawn Johnson from Wisconsin
Public Radio.
We're about to hear from Governor
Tony Evers about his state budget
plans for the upcoming biennium.
That is state of the state address.
A month ago, Governor Evers
previewed some of his budget
priorities, including calling this
the year of the kid and prioritizing
funding student mental health
improvements, as well as efforts
to remove lead from drinking water
and provide free breakfast and lunch
at public schools.
It looks like the governor has just
been introduced, so let's watch
him as he comes in and greets
members and makes his way to the
podium.
You expect to hear the governor
cover a range of items,
big ticket items like a new
$2 billion tax cut, some
childcare costs, proposals,
some of these. He's been kind of,
I guess, parceling out over the last
few months, as you mentioned in his
speech, unveiled the massive
corrections overhaul.
That was just, came out over
on Monday of this week.
So some pretty heavy policy in
there. But but it's worth noting
that if he's going to run for
reelection, this would be his last
budget before,
that election comes in.
So typically you can kind
of get a sense of where governors
are coming from by the budget that
they present, you know, this time
of year.
And when they have
this stage, they really only get the
one night. So previewing it the
weekend before dropping a few
nuggets even this morning about
he's going to be previewing a ending
taxes on tips kind of stealing
an idea from from Trump on the
campaign trail.
Definitely campaign type items
that have a lot of popular support
around the state. Expect to hear a
lot more of that as we go through
this speech, especially.
Then when you talk about he only
gets one night.
In a way that's more true now
than it ever was before.
It used to be that a governor's
budget could would kind of be
the foundation or the bulk of
a final budget that passes the
legislature.
I think you've seen this dynamic
with Governor Evers and the
Republican controlled legislature,
where he presents his plan,
and they proceed to kind of do their
own thing. But they do agree on
some, you
know, big picture stuff toward the
end, but there's a lot of
disagreements starting in,
you know, an hour or so.
The press conference has already
been followed.
Here's the governor.
Thank you.
At this time,
it is my honor to introduce the
governor of the great state of
Wisconsin, the.
Honorable Tony Evers.
Thanks so.
Much.
It's all good.
Here we go, folks.
Good afternoon. Good evening.
Wisconsinites, honorable Supreme
Court justices,
tribal leaders, nation
tribal leaders.
And in the,
in the tribal nations,
constitutional officers, members
of the Wisconsin National Guard and
active and retired members
of our armed forces.
Cabinet members, legislators.
Distinguished guests and
Wisconsinites joining us from
wherever you are.
Thank you for being with us tonight.
And my wife Kathy is up there
in the gallery tonight, folks.
Where are you? Kathy?
Thank you.
Kathleen Francis, you are my
best friend and sounding board.
There's no one else I'd rather
shovel heaps of snow with or lose
a game of pickleball, too.
I love you so much, Kathy.
Folks, I'm Tony Evers, and I'm
excited to be here tonight to
introduce my fourth biannual budget
as the 46th governor of the great
state of Wisconsin.
Wisconsinites were not even
50 days into 2025,
but my administration and I have
been hard at work doing the right
thing for Wisconsin.
I'm excited tonight to be able to
share some of the good work we've
been doing, including laying out
our state's policy priorities
for the next two years.
Our budget includes my comprehensive
plan to lower costs from childcare
to medication to help working
families, seniors and students.
I'm also providing nearly $2 billion
in tax relief, including eliminating
income tax on tips.
And my plan invests in public
education at every level
while holding the line on property
taxes to make sure the average
homeowner will not see a property
tax increase.
I'm announcing plans to stop price
gouging on prescriptions and crack
down on insurance companies for
denying Wisconsinites medical
bill of claims.
I also want to invest in fighting
fires and land and getting
contaminants out of our
out of our land service lines,
bubblers, schools, homes and
childcare centers for good.
And we're going to keep.
Fixing and iron roads and
infrastructure, building more
affordable housing, keeping
our kids, families and communities
safe and expanding.
High-Speed internet.
The budget I am proposing balances
our priorities of investing
in our kids and needs that
have been long neglected, while
providing real and sustainable
tax relief and saving where
we can.
So let's get to work
here in America's Dairyland.
Agriculture is a $116
billion industry.
Everybody knows farmers, farm
families and producers have been the
backbone of our state for
generations.
So when we heard about President
Trump's 25% tariff tax,
which could spark trade wars
with Wisconsinites largest
export export partners,
hurt our economy and farmers and
drive up costs for gas and
groceries, we got right to work.
Just as that 25%
tax was set to go into effect.
I announced a new plan to help
protect Wisconsin farmers and our
egg industry and bolster
our supply chain.
Under my administration, Wisconsin
is on its way to becoming a top
ten state for egg
exports.
We can't afford to lose our momentum
because of tariffs.
Tier four is in Washington.
So my plan creates a new
ag economist position and state
government that will help farmers
navigate market disruptions
and volatility caused by
tariffs.
I'm also proposing to double
our investments in the Wisconsin
Initiative for Egg Exports,
to help increase exports for our
dairy meat crops,
and help farmers and producers
expand into new markets.
And we're going to build upon our
support for the meat and dairy
processors to help keep
our supply chains strong.
We have to. We also have to help
make sure farmers and producers and
can get product to market.
We just announced 55 new
projects across 36 counties
to improve rural roads and
infrastructure through our
Agriculture Roads Improvement
Program that we created last
session.
Tonight, I'm announcing we're going
to invest $50 million to
continue that successful program
to help ensure our farmers
and our producers and egg and
forestry industries have reliable
roads they can depend on.
I also kicked off the new year
declaring declaring 2025
a year of the kid across our state.
I want everything we do together
this year to be focused on doing
what's best for our kids and the
families who raise them.
So I'm asking the legislature to
approve a budget that does what's
best for our kids at every stage,
in every way, and
no matter where they live and our
state.
In 2025, a year of the
Kid. I'm excited to be introducing
the most pro kid budget in
state's history.
An important part of doing what's
best for kids is reducing exposures
to dangerous chemicals
and getting harmful contaminants
out of the water.
Every Wisconsinites should have
access should have access to clean
and safe drinking water no matter
where they live.
Tonight, I'm introducing my plan
to combat water pollution and
improve water quality across
Wisconsin.
Lead exposure and poisoning
is especially dangerous.
There is no safe level
of lead exposure for kids.
Even a small exposure can affect
a kid for life.
Reducing learning capacity and
attention span and affecting
academic achievement.
So I approved an emergency
rule strengthening our lead
standards statewide, and
announced new investment to support
kids and families when they are
exposed to learning.
But we should be working to prevent
our kids from ever being exposed to
lead in the first place.
In the last few weeks, Wisconsin has
seen cases of lead poisoning
in kids who are exposed to
dangerous levels of lead
at school.
At school. Fox.
That should never happen anywhere
in Wisconsin, period.
We have to work together to fix
this. Tonight, I'm asking
bipartisan support for
to invest over $300 million
to help get that out of our
service lines, our bubblers,
our schools, our homes and childcare
centers for good.
And let is just one contaminant
that's affecting kids, families and
water across our state.
Let's talk about us forever.
Chemicals like PFAS are chemicals
that have been used for decades, and
things like nonstick cookware,
firefighting foam, and even food
pads. Packaging PFAS
exposure at certain levels can mean
developmental delays and kids.
Increased cholesterol levels,
reduced immunity, response
to infections, and even heightened
risk of some cancers.
Addressing PFAS and other
contaminants grows harder and more
expensive each day of delay.
Republicans and Democrats must work
together to finally get something
done on this issue.
As part of my comprehensive plan
to improve water quality statewide,
we're working to strengthen
Wisconsin's groundwater standards
for funds, and I'm asking the
legislature to support an investment
of over $145 million
to fight PFAS contamination
statewide and provide
emergency resources like bottled
water, to families
and communities affected by water
contamination.
Cleaning up our water is a key part
of our work to keep kids and
families across Wisconsin
healthy and safe.
But we should also invest in
preserving our natural resources,
increasing outdoor recreation
opportunities, and expanding
access to public lands for hunting,
trapping, and fishing.
So let's reauthorize the Noles
Nelson Stewardship Program for
another decade, and let's do
it with bipartisan support.
Let's deliver on the promise to our
kids and grandkids of a better state
and world than what we inherited.
This budget is about doing what's
best for our kids.
Yes, by addressing pressing
challenges facing our kids today.
But we must also work to do what's
best for our kids futures, too.
Every Wisconsin kid should have
access to a high quality public
education.
From early childhood to our K
through 12 schools to our higher
education institutions institutions.
In 2024 2025,
the year of the kid, I'm urging
the legislature to do what's best
for our kids by approving
significant investments in public
education at every level
in Wisconsin.
Let's start with higher education.
Wisconsin has one of the best
technical college systems in
the country.
So our budget invests in green
jobs and our health care workforce
and worker training for artificial
intelligence.
And I am proposing nearly $60
million to support our technical
colleges and their good work.
But I also want to talk about our
universities.
This is a make or break
budget for our UW campuses.
I know there's a lot of talk in
Washington about higher education.
And look, folks, I can't speak to
what's happening on other campuses
across other parts of our country,
but I visit just about every
campus every year.
So I've seen what's happening on our
UW campuses with my own two
and I tries.
And we're doing things differently
here.
Politicians in Washington don't know
a darn thing about what's
going on in campuses across
Wisconsin.
They don't understand that our UW
system has been part of Wisconsin
since we first became a state.
It's enshrined in our state
constitution.
You don't know how important our UW
system has been to our state's
success, or how important it is for
our future.
At UW Claire, they're working
to improve health care outcomes and
lower health care costs in rural
areas.
UW Platteville is helping address
rural health health care
shortages by training a new
generation of physician assistants.
UW Milwaukee and UW Whitewater
are among the top campuses in the
country for supporting students
who are service members or veterans
through a workforce centered
program. UW Parkside has
increased graduation rates
by about 20%.
UW Stevens Point is training
more than 1200 future educators
who are supporting classrooms and
over 200 different school
districts across Wisconsin.
You're Debbie lacrosse is partnering
with local businesses to make sure
skills, the skills they're teaching,
meet local employer needs.
And I can go on, and
I will.
You're never you.
UW Oshkosh supported over
500 Wisconsin small businesses
that needed help with digital
marketing marketing support efforts.
You know, be a green Bay is working
with school districts that give high
high school students the opportunity
to earn an associates
degree UW superior.
Small business business Small
Business Development Center is
helping entrepreneurs start
or expand their businesses across
eight northern counties.
UW River falls is expanding
hand on learning activities to
support our dairy industry
right here in America's dairy land.
UW Madison is leading
national efforts to study
Alzheimer's, to help improve
treatment and find a cure for
the more than 110,000
Wisconsinites who live with
that cruel disease every day.
UW Stout's Manufacturing Outreach
Center has worked on
more than 470
projects in Wisconsin, with
Wisconsin manufacturers
across 33 of our
72 counties.
Folks, this is a story of
what's happening on UW campuses.
Each and every day, UW
is helping improve our daily lives
here in Wisconsin and the world
over, and our ability
to compete and be successful,
to have a strong economy and
workforce, to retain our homegrown
talent, to solve problems
in our smallest towns, to our
largest cities, and make life better
for everyone who calls our state
home depends on
our UW system.
Period.
This is just water, folks.
Today, after years of attacks
and disinvestment, UW is
facing campus closures and program
cuts. Students are facing tuition
increases and faculty and staff
are facing layoffs.
And with new federal efforts to cut
higher education funding, things
for UW could go
could get a whole lot
worse.
So tonight, I'm keeping the promise
I made to the people of Wisconsin.
And I'm asking the legislature
to approve the largest two year
increase for our UW system
in state's history.
We have to get this done for us.
It's up to us, each of us together,
to invest in our UW system, to
defend it, and to protect its
promise for future generations.
Let me be clear to the elected
officials in this building, whose
public education at UW
helped get you to where you are
today.
You share in that important
responsibility.
Don't tell our kids.
They don't deserve to have the same
opportunity you did.
Doing what's best for our kids will
always be what's best for our state.
Investing in our kids will pay
dividends for their futures
and ours too.
That's why my Pearl kid budget makes
significant investments in public
education at every level, including
our K through 12 schools.
The cost of short changing our kids
is expensive, folks.
We cannot afford to fail them.
We have a responsibility to improve
outcomes for our kids, both
within our schools and beyond
them.
And I've talked a lot about the work
we must do to improve student
outcomes in class, and how
we're finally getting.
And get finally help shorten
the odds.
And we have to begin with the
basics.
I know some legislators have tried
to use student outcomes to
argue against investing
in our kids in our schools.
Folks, if you believe that, you got
it backwards.
The outcomes we are seeing
are exactly why we must do
more to do what's best for
our kids.
The.
Legislature should approve my plan
to make sure every kid can get
healthy meals in schools at
no cost, regardless of whether
their family can afford it.
Why?
Because our kids will perform better
in our classrooms when we do.
Legislators should approve of my
plan to make sure kids
can access comprehensive mental
health services, no matter where
they go to school.
Why is that?
Because our kids will perform
better in our classrooms when
we do.
The legislature should approve my
plan to help make sure kids have
access to clean drinking water, no
matter where they live.
Why? Because our kids will perform
better in our classrooms
when we do.
If the state isn't committed to
meeting some basic needs
and we can't have serious
conversations about improving
outcomes. It's that simple.
If our kids are fed, healthy
and feel safe, they will perform
better in class.
So we have to get back to the basics
in this budget.
Reading is fundamental.
There are a lot of discussions right
now about our kids reading scores,
how we measure student outcomes
and how we improve them, regardless
of how they're measured.
These discussions are important,
but this legislature and I
approve $50 million
in the last budget that could be
improving our kids reading and
literacy.
If it wasn't still sitting in
Madison today and nearly two years
later.
So we can have
those discussions.
But let's start by releasing
millions of dollars we all agreed
would improve reading statewide.
We're going to have to work even
harder to reverse these trends and
make up for lost time.
It's one of those reasons that in
2025, the year of the kid,
I'll be asking the legislature
to approve $80 million
to invest in literacy, coaches,
tutoring and other key supports
to help improve reading of scores
statewide.
Doing the right thing for Wisconsin
begins by doing what's best for
our kids.
So my pro my pro kid
budget makes the largest
investment in Wisconsin.
Kids in any budget by
any governor in state's history.
During my first term, I fought to
secure the first special education
aid increase in over a decade and
the largest increase in funding
for special education ever in
state's history.
Tonight, I'm proposing the highest
ever amount of state education aid
funding, and we're going to
guarantee the state reimburses
special education costs at
60% to ensure every
kid gets a public.
Education they deserve.
But folks, here's the truth.
Our current system isn't working.
Take them off some school district,
for example.
The fate of their school district is
on the ballot today.
And kids, parents and educators
will be holding their breath tonight
to see if their schools will be
saved.
That's the reality.
Become all too often.
In 2024, we saw a historic
number of school referendums on the
ballot, and 169
of those referendum passed.
Nearly 400 referendums passed
in the last four years.
So the good news is Wisconsinites
have shown this legislature time
and time again they support
increasing investments in our public
schools.
The bad news is, Wisconsinites
had to raise their own property
taxes to prove it.
This system isn't sustainable.
It creates winners and losers, haves
and have nots.
But referendums are not inevitable.
That's right.
Let's stop.
This
just.
Wisconsinites wouldn't have to raise
their own property taxes to keep
school lights on and doors open.
If this legislature invested in
K through 12 education from the
get go in, the budget I'm announcing
tonight proves we can both make
the investments in our kids that we
need to and hold the line
on. Prevent property taxes
from going up.
All told, our Pro kit
budget will do what's best for our
kids by providing more than
$3.15 billion.
Nearly all of it is spendable
revenue for schools across
Wisconsin.
And we're going to make those
investments while holding the line
on property taxes to ensure
the average homeowner will not
see a property tax increase.
My budget would create a new
incentive for local governments to
freeze their local property taxes.
If local governments agree not to
raise local property taxes,
they'll get a direct payment from
the state.
This will ensure local partners
can still afford to pay for basic
and unique local needs alike,
without property taxes going up.
Working to prevent property tax
increases. As a key part of my plan
to lowering costs for working
families.
But we can do more to reduce
every day out of pocket costs
for folks across the state
where Wisconsinites are working
than ever before.
But paychecks today aren't going
nearly as far as they used to.
We're only concerned about President
Trump.
Trump's 25% tariff
tax will not only hurt our families
and our farmers and egg industries
and our economy, but it will also
cause cause prices to go
up on everything from gas to
groceries.
Some estimates indicated this could
raise costs on the average American
by about $1,200 a year.
That will make it even harder
for Wisconsin Wisconsinites
to make ends meet.
So I'm asking Republicans and
Democrats to work together to pass
my comprehensive plan to lower
everyday out-of-pocket costs
for working families.
Wisconsinites need a leg up to be
able to finally get ahead on utility
bills, child care costs
and groceries, medication
and doctor visits, and everything
in between.
And we've got a plan to do just
that. Here's how we get it done.
Let's save Wisconsinites money
on their monthly utility bills.
I'm proposing to eliminate the sales
tax on electricity
and gas for Wisconsin homes,
which will save Wisconsinites
about $100 million
out of pocket costs each year.
Wisconsinites also need the
legislature to get serious
about lowering out-of-pocket costs
for child care.
This session, no more serious
folks. Putting two young kids
in child care in Wisconsin costs
more than the average rent or
mortgage in 2023,
child care costs consumed as much
as a third of families household
incomes.
Our workforce and economy can't
afford more parents leaving their
jobs because they can't afford
childcare.
Let's invest in our child care
providers so that they can hire
more staff, reduced waitlists,
and lower the cost of child care so
that we can get working families,
working parents and families a
little more breathing room in their
household budgets.
It's a win win win
for our kids, our families, our
workforce and our state.
My plan will provide nearly $2
billion in tax relief through
efforts to lower property taxes,
eliminate the sales tax on several
everyday expenses, and cut
income taxes for middle class
Wisconsinites, including homeowners,
renters, veterans and
seniors.
That's all. Let's also make sure
Wisconsinites and keep more money in
their pockets. I'm proposing to
nearly double Wisconsin's personal
income tax exemption.
That means Wisconsinites will pay no
income taxes on the first $1,200
they earn. Period.
And I want us to work together to
pass my proposal to support
students and workers in our service
industries by letting them keep
the tips they earn tax free.
That's eliminate taxes on cash
tips.
I.
Thought I heard the president
talking about that too.
My plan will also give Wisconsinites
more tax relief back based
on the mortgage and rent they pay
by building on our building upon
our homestead tax credit.
My new property tax on
rent rebate will provide
nearly $150 million
in tax relief for about 165,000
homeowners and renters across
our state.
Key part of my plan to
lower costs for working families,
including, includes making it
easier for folks to get the health
care they need without breaking the
bank. Health care should not be
a privilege afforded only
to the healthy and wealthy.
It's why I am again proposing to
expand Badger Care, which would save
Wisconsin taxpayers nearly
$2 billion over the next two
years as billion with a B,
folks, and expand quality,
affordable health care coverage
for about 100,000 Wisconsinites.
And I'm also I'm also
providing new hospital investments
to improve access to health care
across Wisconsin, including
our rural communities.
As part of my comprehensive plan to
lower costs for working families.
I'm also proposing sweeping
plans to lower costs for
prescriptions and medication,
and crack down on price gouging
for and health insurers.
My less for our
plan will lower costs for life
saving prescription drugs and
insulin we created.
We will create a prescription
drug affordability review board
to crack down on prescription price
gouging.
We'd cap the cost of insulin co-pays
at $35.
We'd set price ceilings
for prescription medication,
and we save Wisconsinites a
projected $70 million
over the next two years alone by
eliminating the sales tax
on over-the-counter medication.
Let's finally make lowering every
day out-of-pocket costs
for medication a bipartisan
priority this session.
And here's something else we can do
with bipartisan support in the ER,
the kid that's finally do
what's best for our moms and babies.
Let's extend let's extend
postpartum coverage for pregnant
women on Badger care up to
one year after giving birth.
Wisconsin and Arkansas
are the only two states in America
that haven't done this.
I mean, nothing against Arkansas,
but come on, folks.
I've heard policies in every budget.
I've been introduced as governor.
There's also a bipartisan bill to
get it done that almost 90
legislators support.
One legislator should not
be able to single handedly obstruct
the bill and supported by a super
much.
A super majority.
Wisconsinites should be able to get
the health care they need when they
need it.
But I hear from folks all
the time who feel like
they're getting ripped off by the
health care industry and insurers.
Folks can't get a straight answer on
what's covered by insurance and
what's not.
People can get sicker, people
can get sicker, and health problems
get worse because it takes too long
to get an appointment or be approved
for care if
it's ever approved at all.
People try to get their care paid
for. But insurance companies
refuse to cover it.
Families get a medical bill and see
all sorts of charges they don't know
about.
Or even worse, suddenly
collection agencies are calling
about unpaid medical bills
they didn't even know they hadn't
paid.
Wisconsinites aren't getting a fair
shake when it comes to health care,
and I want to change that.
So first things first.
I want to make Wisconsin the first
state in America to start auditing
insurance companies over denying
health care claims.
If an insurance company is going to
deny your health care claim,
they should have a darn good reason
for it.
It's frustrating when your claim
gets denied And it doesn't
seem like anyone can give you a
good reason why.
So here's what I propose
we do to fix that.
Under my plan, if an insurance
company is denying Wisconsinites
claim too often, we're going
to audit them.
Pretty simple, very simple.
And here's what else this plan would
do. We'd create a new office to help
Wisconsinites with health insurance
claims are denied for the first
time in state's history.
We'd have an office and state
government devoted to helping it.
Wisconsinites hold health
insurers accountable and ensuring
folks get the health insurance cover
they pay for.
That's a big deal, folks.
And another thing that gets me wound
up is how I start
shaking my finger, is how health
insurance companies require health
care professionals to get permission
before they get there,
before they prescribe medication
or care that you need.
Basically, that means health
insurers, not your doctors,
are deciding whether your prescribed
treatment is medically necessary.
Health insurance companies try to
use these so-called prior
authorization to help their bottom
line and cut costs.
They're breaking.
They're banking on being able to
avoid covering the services
and treatment you need.
And Wisconsinites, you pay the
price.
Folks have to wait to get care until
doctors get permission, or may
end up forgoing treatment altogether
because of all the hassles
with insurance that can cause health
conditions to get even worse,
even dangerous, and even life
threatening. So my plan was to
create new standards to expand
health care services procedures
that insurance companies are
required to cover.
That means more health care services
and procedures will be covered by
insurance insurance automatically.
No delays.
No hassles.
No questions asked.
Wisconsinites should know what
you're getting when you buy your
health insurance plan.
You should know which services and
treatments will need prior
authorization.
So we want to require health
insurance companies to be
transparent from the get go.
They have to tell you what to tell
you right up front.
Which services and treatments will
require prior approval
so that you can find a health plan
that's right for you.
And this may be obvious, but here's
one thing we have to make sure of.
No one should be in a mental health
crisis wondering whether insurance
will cover an inpatient stay
to get help.
So we're going to ban health
insurance companies from requiring
prior pre-approval for inpatient
mental health services so
Wisconsinites in crisis can be safe
and get life saving care.
Please.
Wisconsinites, you should be able to
get health care when and where you
need it, and you should be able to
get it quickly and close to home.
Folks can afford to travel hours
away to get basic services.
And you shouldn't have to wait weeks
and months to get an appointment.
So my plan is simple
would enable creating statewide
standards for maximum wait times
for scheduling appointments.
And I'm or I'm proposing to require
health insurance companies to make
sure the services they cover
are available within a minimum
time and distance of where you live.
And even if folks can get care
far too often, unpaid medical
bills are sent to collection
agencies because Wisconsinites
can't afford to pay them.
Other times, Wisconsinites might
even know about unpaid
medical bills before they're sent to
collections or report to credit
bureaus.
This plan would require health
providers to give Wisconsinites
notice of unpaid medical
bills, and we'd give Wisconsinites
a six month grace period.
Banning healthcare.
Banning healthcare providers from
reporting unreported unpaid
medical debt to consumer
reporting agencies during that time.
In this budget, we found ways to cut
taxes and save where we could while
investing in key priorities
and finding real solutions to
real problems Wisconsinites are
facing every day.
Well, we must.
We must continue to stay within our
means. We have a duty to do what's
best for our kids and future
generations.
We must continue to do the right
thing for Wisconsin if
we want to protect the future.
We've worked hard to build together.
Wisconsinites.
I'm so proud of our work to deliver
a budget that balances these
important obligations.
And that's important.
So much happening in Washington.
In Washington that's reckless.
And Partizan and Partizan
in Wisconsin.
We must continue our work to be
reasonable and pragmatic.
The needless chaos
caused by the federal government in
recent weeks has already made
preparing a state budget that much
more difficult.
We prepared for the worst.
Popular programs that kids,
families, schools, veterans, seniors
and communities rely upon every
day being drastically cut,
resources and investments that
Wisconsin is counting on and
budgeted for.
Some suddenly stalled or
gotten trade wars with
Wisconsin's largest export partners,
hurting our egg industries and
our economy.
Costs for working families
skyrocketing to the point they
can't even make ends meet.
It's why, even though I proposed
historic investments in several
areas statewide, it would not
have been wise.
We are responsible
to spend every last cent available
on this project.
We made difficult decisions and said
and saved where we could.
Leaving a balance of about $500
million in our state's checking
account with irresponsible
decisions in Washington every day,
hurting people in Wisconsin.
We will need to have state resources
readily available to respond
to basic and emergency situations
alike.
So as the legislature
deliberates my proposal, I
urge you to seriously
take seriously the disastrous
consequences federal decisions
will have on Wisconsinites
and our state and plan accordingly.
There is a lot of work to do,
folks, but I know we can get good
things done for Wisconsin
in this budget if everyone focuses
on doing what's best for our kids.
Delivering real solutions for
real problems Wisconsinites
face every day and
doing the right thing.
So let's get to work, folks.
Let's make it happen.
Thank you. And on Wisconsin
UW marching band.
Take her away.
And.
The UW marching band.
Governor Tony Evers concludes
his biennial budget address, talking
about new funding initiatives for
health care education.
There'll be a lot to discuss and
analyze in the weeks and months
ahead.
Tonight we're joined by Jason Stein,
president of the Wisconsin Policy
Forum. Jason, thanks for being here.
My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
So the band to stop playing for a
half second, but if we could talk
over them, any surprises from
what the governor laid out in his
speech?
I think what strikes me is just the
breadth and depth of the proposals.
I mean, these are very significant
in terms of the level of spending,
the extent of the tax cuts
that he's proposing, as well as some
tax increases.
You know, it's a significant
document, but these things won't
pass, but they would have a
significant impact if they did.
Jason.
Talk us through, like kind of the
size of the budget that we're
talking about here, because we've
heard for the second budget in a row
that we have this massive surplus,
about $4.5 billion,
roughly.
Sounds like a lot of money.
What would happen if all this became
law? Well, the one thing that's
important to know is that over the
current two year budget, we would
decrease the surplus by
about 3 billion, or the general fund
balance by about $3 billion,
including about $350 million
in this year.
And so when you look at what the
governor is doing with K-12
education, higher education,
child care,
you know, other proposals on
the tax side, like income tax cuts,
sales tax cuts, property
tax credits and aid to local
governments, you really look at
something that would be billions of
dollars of drawdown
of that general fund
surplus.
And so you really and that's
consistent with what he talks about
in leaving $500 million left.
So at the end of the speech, we
heard the governor use the phrase
reasonable and pragmatic in
describing his budget.
So we sat and watched the Republican
response.
There was no applause, even for
things that they had supported in
the past.
Do you think there will be anyone on
that side of the aisle that will
describe it as reasonable or
pregnant?
I mean, I think probably right now
to reporters, they are,
you know, saying pretty negative
things about the budget.
I mean, there may be some areas
where they can compromise.
For example, the governor
talked about increasing the school
levy credit, which essentially is
state money that buys down local
property taxes by about $350
million.
That's something that Republicans
have approved increases in
that credit in the past.
They might reach a meeting of the
minds on that.
Obviously, the tax cut for
tips for cash tips.
That's something the president has
talked about at the federal level.
Possible you could have a meeting of
the minds even if economists
wouldn't particularly like it.
And then finally, it's the
postpartum coverage for mothers
that he talked about.
That's something that, you know,
most states, red or blue have done
it around the country, and there is
bipartisan legislation to do that.
So even though he's proposing the
pass and it hasn't happened this
time, might be the charm on that
one. Jason, we don't know what the
governor is going to do in 2026
if he's going to run for another
term. But that prospect
is out there.
Republicans who run the legislature
know that. How could that affect
budget negotiations over the next
several months?
I mean, obviously, there's going to
be attention for Republican
legislators that they're not going
to want to deliver a win to a
governor who might run for
reelection.
At the same time, he's probably not
going to make that decision until
the fall or early 2026.
And so that's they're not going to
know that, and they're just going to
have to make a decision.
I think there are some things that
are going to put pressure on
both sides to reach a deal,
including the fact that in the
previous budget, the governor's veto
left this increase in school
revenue limits in place.
If we don't get a state budget
passed with new state aid
to school districts, that would put
upward pressure on property taxes,
which is something that neither
party really wants to see happen.
All right. Jason Stein of president
of the Wisconsin Policy Forum,
Jason, thanks for joining us.
Hey. My pleasure.
If you would like to see tonight's
speech, along with Jason Stein's
insights, you can watch it again by
going to PBS wisconsin.org.
It'll be posted there later this
evening. We'll also have continuing
coverage of the state budget process
this Friday night at 730
on here. And now.
Wisconsin Public Radio will also
continue to follow developments from
the state Capitol, both on the air
and online at npr.org.
I'm Shawn Johnson with Wisconsin
Public Radio.
And I'm Zach Schultz with PBS
Wisconsin.
This concludes Wisconsin Public
Media's coverage of the 2025
Wisconsin state budget address.
Thanks for joining us.