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| The '''Wisconsin state budget''' operates on a biennium, covering two fiscal years at a time, and is decided by the state's governor. [[Wisconsin]] was facing a budget gap estimated at $5.4 billion, or 17 percent of the biennial budget.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?locid=19&prid=3921 ''State of Wisconsin'', "State of the State fact sheet," January 29,2009]</ref> In order to address the state's low revenue and increasing budget deficit Gov. [[Jim_Doyle|Jim Doyle]] emphasized, "This is clearly a time when we will have to make very deep cuts. This budget makes the largest cuts we’ve ever seen." However, Gov. Doyle said that despite necessary budget cuts [[Wisconsin_school_districts|education]], health care, public safety and the state's job market must be protected from severe cuts that could endanger state programs.<ref name="GovBudget">[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?locid=19&prid=3966 ''State of Wisconsin'', "Governor Doyle’s 2009-2011 Budget Address," February 17,2009]</ref> In early 2009 the legislature passed a budget repair bill that took $700 million off of the projected shortfall by raising taxes on some multi-state corporations, taxing hospitals and applying the 5-cent sales tax to Internet downloads and specialized computer software. The governor's proposal for FY 2010 called for a combination of budget cuts, approximately $2 billion in tax increases and $2 billion in federal stimulus funds in order to balance the budget.<ref name="2010budget"/> At the end of the 2010-2011 biennium the governor said that he expected not just to have eliminated the deficit but to have a positive balance of $270 million.<ref name="GovBudget"/> | | The Wisconsin state budget operates on a biennium. In 2009, [[Wisconsin]] was facing a budget gap estimated at $5.4 billion.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?locid=19&prid=3921 ''State of Wisconsin'', "State of the State fact sheet," January 29,2009]</ref> In early 2009 the legislature passed a budget repair bill that took $700 million off of the projected shortfall. |
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| For the first time in approximately 30 years, state lawmakers finalized the state budget before the June 30 deadline. On June 29, 2009 Gov. Doyle signed into law a $62.2 billion budget with several cuts and tax increases to help close the state's budget deficit. Some of the cuts included a five-to-ten percent decrease in funding for state agencies, 16-day furloughs and the potential layoff of 1,400 state employees. Some of the tax increases included a 75-cent addition to the cigarette tax, a 75-cent fee every month for anyone who owns a cell phone, land line, or other device that can call 911 service and higher income taxes. The state sales tax, however, would not increase.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=10612986 ''WBAY'', "Governor Signs Deficit-cutting Budget Ahead of Deadline," June 29, 2009]</ref>
| | On June 29, 2009 Gov. Doyle signed into law a $62.2 billion budget.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=10612986 ''WBAY'', "Governor Signs Deficit-cutting Budget Ahead of Deadline," June 29, 2009]</ref> |
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| ==Impact of budget woes==
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| ::''See also: [[State budget issues, 2009-2010]]''
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| *Under the governor's budget plan the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee would take a $19.8 million budget cut over the next two years. The University would account for 11 percent of the total $174 million budget reduction to the state university system. The biggest cut - $63.4 million - came from the state's public flagship university, UW-Madison. UW-Parkside's cut totals $3.4 million over two years, and UW-Whitewater would slash $7.5 million.<ref>[http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/40579907.html ''Journal Sentinel'', "State cuts may cost UWM $20 million," March 2,2009]</ref>
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| *On February 19, 2009 Gov. Doyle approved imposing a 5 percent sales tax on a number of digital goods - including music, ringtone and video game downloads - as part of a bill aimed at narrowing the state budget deficit. The new tax would go into effect October 1. The tax was expected to raise about $10.9 million for the state between 2009 and 2011.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://media.www.spectatornews.com/media/storage/paper218/news/2009/02/26/CampusNews/Digital.Downloads.Get.State.Sales.Tax-3649167.shtml ''The Spectator'', "Digital downloads get state sales tax," February 26,2009]</ref>
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| *Wisconsin’s unemployment rate for January 2009 jumped to 7.6 percent, up from 5.8 percent in December 2008 and 2.7 percentage points higher than the January 2008 rate of 4.9 percent, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.<ref name="Unemployment">[http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/02/23/daily79.html ''The Business Journal of Milwaukee'', "Wisconsin unemployment rate jumps," February 26,2009]</ref>
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| *In the FY 2010 budget Gov. Doyle proposed a 75 cent per pack tax increase on cigarettes. The tax was expected to generate about $290 million of revenue over the next two years.<ref name="TaxIncrease">[http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/443603 ''Wisconsin State Journal'', "Doyle's plan had $1.7 billion two-year tax hike, budget office says," March 18,2009]</ref>
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| *The governor's FY 2010 spending plan would increase gun background check fees from $8 to $30. The FBI runs background checks on long rifle buyers in Wisconsin. The state Justice Department handles handgun checks through a hotline for dealers. The fee had not been changed since 1991.<ref>[http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20090302/WDH0101/90302141/1981/WDHopinion ''Associated Press'', "Wis. gov. wants to increase gun background fees," March 2,2009]</ref>
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| ==Budget background== | | ==Budget background== |
| ::''See also: [[Wisconsin state budget and finances]]'' | | ::''See also: [[Wisconsin state budget and finances]]'' |
| Wisconsin operates on a biennium, covering two fiscal years at a time. A fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year; however, the biennium begins July 1 of odd-numbered years. Agency budget requests are submitted in September of even-numbered years. During the following months, the governor meets with the departments and agencies to hear their budget proposals for the following fiscal year. Following the hearings the governor issues a budget recommendation for the upcoming fiscal year to the [[Wisconsin_Legislature|legislature]]. Both the [[Wisconsin_State_Assembly|State Assembly]] and the [[Wisconsin_State_Senate|Senate]] are required to make any necessary changes or adjustments to the budget until the bill is passed in both houses. Although it is roughly estimated that the budget process end by July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year, the legislature has generally not completed work on the budget by June 30 of the odd-numbered year as required by law in recent years.<ref>[http://www.mhawisconsin.org/Uploads/publicpolicy/pp_wibudgetprocess.pdf ''Mental Health America of Wisconsin'', "Wisconsin budget process," accessed March 18,2009]</ref> When the legislature passes the bill the governor can approve of the bill as a whole, veto the entire bill or execute line-item vetoes.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4118169/The-Wisconsin-Biennial-Budget-Process-Overview-of-Governmental-Structure ''State of Wisconsin'', "The Wisconsin Biennial Budget Process Overview of Governmental Structure," accessed March 18,2009]</ref> | | Wisconsin operates on a biennium, covering two fiscal years at a time. A fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year; however, the biennium begins July 1 of odd-numbered years. Agency budget requests are submitted in September of even-numbered years. During the following months, the governor meets with the departments and agencies to hear their budget proposals for the following fiscal year. Following the hearings, the governor issues a budget recommendation for the upcoming fiscal year to the [[Wisconsin_Legislature|legislature]]. Both the [[Wisconsin_State_Assembly|State Assembly]] and the [[Wisconsin_State_Senate|Senate]] are required to pass the bill.<ref>[http://www.mhawisconsin.org/Uploads/publicpolicy/pp_wibudgetprocess.pdf ''Mental Health America of Wisconsin'', "Wisconsin budget process," accessed March 18, 2009]</ref> When the legislature passes the bill the governor can approve of the bill as a whole, veto the entire bill or execute line-item vetoes.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4118169/The-Wisconsin-Biennial-Budget-Process-Overview-of-Governmental-Structure ''State of Wisconsin'', "The Wisconsin Biennial Budget Process Overview of Governmental Structure," accessed March 18,2009]</ref> |
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| ===Budget figures=== | | ===Budget figures=== |
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| *NOTE: The figures for FY 2009 had not been finalized at the time this data was compiled. | | *NOTE: The figures for FY 2009 had not been finalized at the time this data was compiled. |
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| ==Ideas about why the crisis occurred==
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| *The total of delinquent taxes owed state government rose about 27 percent from 2007 to 2008, going from $800 million to $1.03 billion on July 1, 2008, according to Revenue Department figures. Of the $1 billion owed, $204 million involved accounts that were more than 9 years old.<ref>[http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/40691957.html ''Journal Sentinel'', "Unpaid taxes in Wisconsin reach $1 billion mark," March 3,2009]</ref>
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| *From December 2008 to January 2009, total Wisconsin non-farm jobs decreased by an estimated 87,900 to 2,755,600. Private sector jobs shrank by 72,500. Trade sector jobs fell by 17,600 over the month, while government 15,400 jobs and manufacturing jobs decreased by 13,500.<ref name="Unemployment"/>
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| *For some areas of Northern Wisconsin, the winter months prove to be businesses' only form of revenue, particularly for the tourism sector when a lot of people travel to go hunting. The city of [[Hayward%2C_Wisconsin|Hayward]], for example, collected $130,349 in room tax in 2008, well below 2007’s record of nearly $140,000.<ref>[http://www.businessnorth.com/exclusives.asp?RID=2915 ''Business North'', "Despite tourism industry’s challenges, recession gloom seems overstated," March 18,2009]</ref>
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| *According to the Department of Revenue, as of January 2009, income tax revenue fell 10 percent as compared to January 2008. General sales and use was at $379 million compared to 2008 at $387 million, a 2.1 percent drop; corporation and franchise income fell a reported 245 percent from $13 million in 2008 to -$19 million; cigarette taxes increased 67.6 percent from $27 million in 2008 to $46 million. In total, January 2009 saw a 9.5 percent decline in tax revenue as compared to January 2008.<ref>[http://www.dor.state.wi.us/news/090219.pdf ''Department of Revenue'', "Department of Revenue Collections, January FY2009," February 19,2009]</ref>
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| ==Proposed actions==
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| ===Governor Jim Doyle===
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| For fiscal year 2010 Gov. Doyle proposed a total of $1.7 billion in tax hikes for the next two years. The governor's tax proposals included a 75 cent per pack increase in the state cigarette tax, a higher income tax on married couples making more than $300,000 a year, a tax on oil companies and a range of complex tax increases on corporations that did business in states besides Wisconsin. These tax proposals would be in addition to the FY 2009 budget repair approved taxes on multi-state corporations that were estimated to produce $215 million in revenue over two years.<ref name="TaxIncrease"/> In addition to tax increases, the budget recommendation relied on $2 billion in federal stimulus funds.<ref name="2010budget"/>
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| Gov. Jim Doyle said that the various business tax increases in his latest budget proposal would help eliminate any steep cuts in state educational, university, police and health care programs. "I'm not prepared to cut the schools and cut the universities," said Doyle.<ref>[http://www.jsonline.com/business/40779987.html ''Journal Sentinel'', "Governor defends budget proposals, tax increases," March 5,2009]</ref>
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| ===Republicans===
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| Wisconsin [[Republican|Republicans]] said that Gov. Doyle's budget recommendation relied too heavily on the increase of taxes and did not do enough to create new jobs or cut spending in government operations. The $63 billion FY 2010 two-year budget being considered by the legislature would increase spending 7.7 percent over the next two years. [[Alberta_Darling|Sen. Alberta Darling]] said that with the current budget proposal there would not be enough money to balance the budget once the federal stimulus funds ran out. Rep. [[Robin_Vos|Robin Vos]] said that although there were not any increases to income or sales tax, "If you live in Wisconsin, under this budget, you will pay higher taxes," he said.<ref name="2010budget">[http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/03/17/ap6178286.html ''Associated Press'', "Republicans criticize Wis. gov for raising taxes," March 17,2009] ''([[dead link]])''</ref> In addition to tax increases Gov. Doyle added a “prevailing wage” provision, which would mandate what developers pay in wages. This, said Mark Jefferson, Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, would hurt job creators looking to employ. “While employers shut their doors and folks lose their jobs, Governor Doyle should be looking for incentives to create jobs and put Wisconsinites back to work instead of making it more expensive for employers to hire our workers and do business in our state,” said Jefferson.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.wisgop.org/NewsBack.aspx?guid=c8077edd-1c27-4b6e-aedf-4412f26b6d97 ''Republican Party of Wisconsin'', "Prevailing Wage Policy Doesnt Belong in the Budget," March 18,2009]</ref>
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| ===Democrats===
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| [[Democrat|Democratic]] lawmakers in Wisconsin said that they planned to use use the 2009-2011 budget and federal stimulus money to add and keep jobs. Assembly Majority Leader [[Tom_Nelson|Tom Nelson]] said Wisconsin’s budget crisis was so intertwined with the country’s economic crisis that when the nation’s problem was fixed, the state’s would be, too. Nelson added, “We know the budget deficit is largely cyclical” and, therefore, he proposed that the federal stimulus money be used to patch the shortfall in state revenue and improve Wisconsin’s human capital by investing in education and its physical capital by investing in roads, bridges and schools.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.riverfallsjournal.com/articles/index.cfm?id=91027§ion=homepage ''River Falls Journal'', "Adding, keeping jobs was basic to state budget says majority leader," March 18,2009]</ref> In March, Speaker [[Mike_Sheridan|Mike Sheridan]] and Senator [[Russ_Decker|Russ Decker]] issued a proposition to repeal the scheduled raise for the next session starting in 2011. Sheridan noted that eliminating the pay raise would save the state $314,000 over three years. "In the face of these historic economic and fiscal challenges, we must find ways to cut costs and save Wisconsin taxpayer dollars," said Sheridan.<ref>[http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10001181 ''WKOW-TV'', "Top lawmakers move to freeze pay," March 13,2009]</ref>
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| ===Economic stimulus package===
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| Wisconsin was expected to receive $3.8 billion from the $787 billion dollar economic stimulus.<ref name="Stimulus">[http://www.recovery.wisconsin.gov/docview.asp?docid=16002&locid=164 ''State of Wisconsin'', "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Estimates for the State of Wisconsin," accessed March 18,2009] ''([[timed out]])''</ref> All told, the federal stimulus plan would create or save 70,000 jobs in Wisconsin, based on White House estimates.<ref>[http://www.recovery.gov/?q=content/estimated-job-effect ''American Recovery and Reinvestment Act'', "Estimated job effect," accessed March 18,2009]</ref>
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| '''According to preliminary reports, Wisconsin was expected to receive:'''<ref name="Stimulus"/>
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| *$1.2 billion towards Medicaid
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| *$107 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
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| *$529 million for highway funding
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| *$81 million for transit
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| *27 million for homelessness prevention
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| *$55 million towards the state energy program
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| *$144 million towards weatherization
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| *$9 million towards Head Start
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| *$717 million towards the education stabilization fund
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| *$180 million towards Title I education for the disadvantaged
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| *$8 million for education technology
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| ==Budget transparency==
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| As of 2009, '''Wisconsin''' had no government-sponsored state spending database. As mentioned below, Milwaukee residents had some level of transparency, thanks to the independent transparency site hosted by [[Citizens for Responsible Government (Sunshine Review)|Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG)]].
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| ===Government tools===
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| The following table is helpful in evaluating the level of transparency provided by a state spending and transparency database:
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| {|style="width:100%" class=wikitable
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| |+ '''Criteria for evaluating spending databases'''
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| !State database!![[Criteria for evaluating databases|Searchability]]!![[Criteria for evaluating databases|Grants]]!![[Criteria for evaluating databases|Contracts]]!![[Criteria for evaluating databases|Line item expenditures]]!![[Criteria for evaluating databases|Dept./agency budgets]]!![[Criteria for evaluating databases|Public employee salary]]!![[Criteria for evaluating databases|Exemption level]]
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| |align=center|[[Wisconsin state budget and finances|None]]||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a
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| |}
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| ===Economic stimulus transparency===
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| *The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 designated $787 billion to be spent throughout the nation. Of that $787 billion stimulus package, it was estimated that 69%, or over $541 billion, would be administered by state governments.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.ntu.org/main/letters_detail.php?letter_id=664 ''National Taxpayers Union'', "A Letter to the Nation's Governors: Ensure Transparency and Accountability by Posting Stimulus Expenditures Online," March 10, 2009]</ref>
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| *Wisconsin was expected to receive an estimated $2,495,140,902.<ref>[http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-STIMULUS0903.html ''Wall Street Journal'', "Stimulus Spending by State," March 12,2009]</ref>
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| ===Support for creation of the database===
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| State Representative [[Bill Kramer|Bill Kramer]] announced his intention to re-introduce a comprehensive transparency bill to the Wisconsin State Legislature.
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| ===Independent transparency sites===
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| The [[Citizens for Responsible Government (Sunshine Review)|Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG)]] group sponsors the [[Milwaukee County GASP Database|Government Accountability in Spending Project]], a movement to place all of Wisconsin’s government spending online in a searchable database format. As of 2009, the group was focusing on the Milwaukee area, and had a database of agency expenditures and vendors. Thanks to CRG efforts, information from the Milwaukee Public Schools was available. As of September 15, 2008, the Milwaukee Area Technical College District financial data had been placed online.<ref>[http://milwaukeecounty.headquarters.com/ ''Citizens for Responsible Government'', "Milwaukee County GASP Database"]</ref>
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| ===Public employee salary information===
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| ::''See also: [[Wisconsin state government salary]]''
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| ==See also== | | ==See also== |
| *[[Wisconsin government sector lobbying]]
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| *[[Wisconsin state budget and finances]] | | *[[Wisconsin state budget and finances]] |
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| ==External links==
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| *Model transparency legislation from the [[American Legislative Exchange Council]] is available [https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.showmethespending.org/uploads/Taxpayer_Transparency_Act.pdf at this link.]
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| *[http://www.wpri.org/ Wisconsin Policy Research Institute]
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| *[http://lburnsinstitute.org/ Lucy Burns Institute]
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| *[http://www.taxpayersnetwork.org/DesktopDefault.aspx Taxpayers Network Incorporated]
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| *[http://www.doa.state.wi.us/ Wisconsin Department of Administration]
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| *[http://www.doa.state.wi.us/debf/execbudget.asp Wisconsin Executive Budget, 2007-2009]
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| *[http://ethics.state.wi.us/ContractSunshine/ContractSunshineAgentListings.html State Contract Information]
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| *[http://crgnetwork.com/ Citizens for Responsible Government Network]
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| *[http://milwaukeecounty.headquarters.com/ Government Accountability in Spending Project]
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| *[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://mps.spendingreports.com/search.aspx Citizens for Responsible Government Foundation's school spendingreports.com]
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| ==Additional reading==
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| *[https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?locid=19&prid=3922 ''State of Wisconsin'', "Governor Doyle’s State of the State Address," January 29, 2009]
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| ==Footnotes== | | ==Footnotes== |
