>> Amy Loudenbeck is a state representative from Clinton,
Wisconsin and she sits on the Joint Finance Committee.
She joins us this week with the perspective of Assembly
Republicans to the Senate proposal and the start of a
budget break-through this week.
Thanks for being here. >> Thanks for having me.
>> We hope it's a break through.
The governor's approval of putting the $200 million income
tax revenue toward roads, did that break the impasse between
the Senate and the Assembly?
>> It doesn't appear it has with the Senate.
But I will tell you that Assembly Republicans are on
board with what the governor proposed.
We think it could break the impasse and be a real win for
both of our caucuses and the governor and the taxpayers and
help to meet the transportation and infrastructure needs that we
know are all across Wisconsin.
>> How does the $200 million offset $712 million in bonding?
Where's the rest of that revenue?
>> It's going to be a leaner transportation budget.
For Assembly Republicans, as you know,
we had contemplated even going to base if we had to because
we recognized the trajectory of debt payments and debt ratio
to revenues was becoming unsustainable.
This impasse would actually free up an additional $200 million we
could use to pay cash for our road projects.
I'm sure we're willing to accept some additional bonding,
but it will be a leaner, overall transportation dollar amount
versus what the Senate has proposed.
>> Any idea how much bonding the Assembly would be willing to
accept?
>> I believe if we did an offset of the $200,
maybe we would do the $300 million to basically have
the same commitment that the governor had put forward.
I also know we have talked in our caucus that we would be
willing to go forward with additional bonding if we could
put additional revenues in place to pay for the debt service
associated with that bonding.
>> Where would that revenue source come from?
>> There are several revenue options.
For example in the Fiscal Bureau papers.
If any of those were acceptable to both caucuses,
I think that we would-- even if we could do $20 million in
additional revenue that we put into the segregated
transportation fund that would give us the leverage we needed
for an additional $100 or $200 million worth of additional
bonding.
>> As we've discussed, Senator Fitzgerald as of today is saying
there isn't a deal.
What's your message to him?
>> Our message is hopefully we can come together.
Hopefully we can take advantage of an opportunity that has been
presented that we know the governor supports and we know
the Assembly supports.
And maybe reconsider their position or really look at what
other options might be available because we know that if it's
down to transportation -- and I think we agree on so many areas,
and it's a good budget.
We have property tax reductions.
We're investing significant dollars into K-12 education.
Meeting our MA obligations to say there's always going to be
work that we need to do next session.
So the priorities of the Senate are also priorities for our
caucus, but what can we do in this budget and let's sit down
and hammer this out.
>> Meanwhile, describe the role of having to prepare for an
incentive package to Foxconn has in all of this.
>> I think the flexibility of what the governor proposed is
going to be key to give us some breathing room not only in this
budget.
But if incentives needed to be put forward in the next biennium
that were not locked into any sort of structural commitment.
If you look at what the governor proposed initially and Senate
proposed initially, the tax cuts or the personal property tax
cuts would have been in place over the next biennium as well.
Where if we're using one-time money of $200 million to
basically backfill the gap that we have in transportation,
that's going to reduce our structural deficit by about $200
million.
We have that built-in flexibility,
and I think that's smart for a lot of reasons.
But Foxconn being one of them.
>> Are you ready to take the budget to Joint Finance
next week? >> I'm ready.
We have tried to be really flexible and tried to make
ourselves available whenever the time was to meet.
We have met as our Assembly finance team
and made our decisions on DNR and DATCP
and some of the other remaining issue areas.
Education, I think we're really close.
I think we can start to make progress on the things were we
do have agreement and just hopefully keep that momentum going.
And if transportation is the last thing that we vote on,
I think we still have at least two days of work, if not three,
and so we could continue to meet and vote and close out different
issue areas so that we're close.
But yes, I'm ready.
>> Representative Loudenbeck, thanks very much.
>> Thank you.