A Workforce Development Bill. . .
We've been keeping our eye on the Wisconsin September special session for some time now. Democratic Governor Tony Evers brought the legislature back on September 20 for one purpose - to pass his $1bn package of workforce development support. His proposals would have provided $365m to keep a child care subsidy program running, introduced during the pandemic, along with $200m to construct a new engineering building at University of Wisconsin Madison and $243m to fund a 12-week family medical leave program. The measures would be funded by using £1bn of the current $4bn budget surplus enjoyed by the state.
At a hearing in October, Dept. of Workforce Development Secretary Amy Pechacek told lawmakers, "in a tight workforce like this, we need to bring along everyone that we can, and keep everyone that we can working, to keep our communities, and our families, and our businesses moving forward.” The new engineering building for UW-Madison has been a sore point for some time. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, while saying he would like to find a way to provide funding for the construction, expressed concerns about recent diversity, equality and inclusion programming which he feels is a waste of public funding. Vos has also blocked pay rises for for UW employees on the same grounds, prompting a lawsuit from Governor Evers arguing that such action in unconstitutional.
. . . Turns into a Tax Cutting Bill
Republicans, however, were not convinced of the bill's merits. The Republican controlled legislature gutted the bill and replaced the workforce measures with a $2bn tax cut. The tax cuts include cutting income tax from 5.3% to 4.4%, creating a tax credit for families paying for child care and increasing income tax deductions for those parents paying for private school tuition. The revised bill passed through both chambers with votes splitting along party lines. The only Republicans opposed were Scott Allen in the Assembly and Stephen Nass in the Senate.
On November 20 Governor Evers vetoed the amended bill, describing the Republican proposals as 'unserious'. In his veto message he said that the bill failed to "“meaningfully and sensibly address the workforce challenges that have plagued Wisconsin for a decade.” Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said the bill that Evers vetoed, “would have provided meaningful relief for Wisconsin families to address inflation and rising child care costs.” Republicans lack the votes to override the veto.
History of Conflict
This is a familiar story in Wisconsin. Even before the Governor took office, the legislature passed measures to weaken his powers. They have repeatedly rejected appointees he has made to boards and commissions including firing a majority of the Natural Resources Board in October. In turn, Evers has issued more vetoes than any other Wisconsin governor, including blocking Republican attempts to change how elections are run in the battleground state.
Republicans have a two-thirds veto proof majority in the state Senate (22 - 11) and are only two seats shy of that in the Assembly. They are looking to increase their majorities to break the deadlock. In an echo of the current battle to draw congressional maps in Georgia, Evers and other Democrats support a lawsuit before the state Supreme Court seeking to have the Republican-drawn legislative map tossed out. The case opened on November 21 and the supreme court seemed supportive, which could end the Republican dominance by requiring widespread redrawing of the district maps.
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Cover photo by Tom Barrett on Unsplash