The biggest news is the appointment of the Budget Conference Committee. Here are the members’ home pages:
Senate
Judy Robson (D)
Russell Decker (D)
Robert Jauch (D)
Scott Fitzgerald (R)
Assembly
Michael Huebsch (R)
Kitty Rhoades (R)
Jeff Fitzgerald (R)
James Kreuser (D)
Not really news, but I think it is timely to give a plug for the Take Back the Assembly project.
In Effect is optimistic (more here and some good links in both):
Sure, a handful of Republicans in the Assembly will hold out for a budget like this one, but enough will ultimately side with a budget that looks far more like what came out of the JFC last month.
Adam Wise (Wisconsin Rapids Tribune) correctly locates education issues at the center of the budget conflicts.
WCLO (Janesville) reports that “Assembly budget would hurt many school districts.”
The Herald Times (Manitowoc) editorializes “Major policy issues don’t belong in budgeting process.”
The Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee) saw through the GOP rhetoric on school funding and correctly reported “Assembly aims to limit taxes, as well as school funds.”
The Beloit daily News continues this theme with the story: “Proposed budget hurts schools.”
The Appleton Post Crescent reports on the partisanship of the process but also includes a reminder that the state GOP is not all on board with the extremism of the Assembly budget.
Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna sided with the governor, literally, at a news conference at an Appleton fire station.
“I don’t necessarily agree with everything the governor has to say, but I do agree that that what’s in the Republican Assembly package would be bad for Appleton and it would be bad for the state,” said Hanna, a longtime Republican. “However, I believe the Senate Democratic package is just as extreme on the other end.”
More reports and press releases from the Governor’s swing around the state:
Milwaukee, Madison, Superior, La Crosse, Wausau, and Kenosha.
As always, the WisPolitics Budget Blog has more.
Don’t forget to let your Reps and Senators know how you feel.
Thomas J. Mertz
AMPS 