The bill also includes a requirement that agency base budgets be thoroughly reviewed once every three biennia. This effort, in conjunction with ongoing performance-based budgeting, will be a major step forward in ensuring that all programs are prioritized and every taxpayer dollar, not just the incremental increases, are used in the most effective manner possible.
In implementing this provision for the upcoming 2003-05 biennial budget, I am directing the secretary of the Department of Administration to include the Governor's Office and Legislature in the first round of agencies to be reviewed. It is only appropriate that the budgets for elected officials be the first to receive this scrutiny.
Vetoes
I am signing this bill with seventy-two vetoes. From general purpose revenue, net spending will be $11.3 billion in fiscal year 2001-02 and $11 billion in fiscal year 2002-03, for a biennial total of $22.3 billion. The bill, as vetoed, is expected to have a gross balance of $135.3 million on June 30, 2003, and a net balance, after setting aside the required 1.2 percent, of $0.9 million.
Several vetoes undo actions that compromise cost-effective, high-quality services to Wisconsin citizens. Wisconsin citizens are better served by retaining the technology coordination and return on investment focus of the Department of Electronic Government, maintaining the direct consumer service philosophy of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, and leveraging the broad perspective of the Department of Administration in serving the multiple educational and library service agencies impacted by the TEACH program.
I have also vetoed the permanent reduction of $541,400 GPR for local district attorneys because it will compromise critical prosecution services. Turnover savings have already been identified in the district attorney appropriation that will allow an equivalent amount of funding to be lapsed on a one-time basis in fiscal year 2002-03 to the general fund.
Several vetoes remove policy items from the budget that are best addressed through separate legislation and the legislative committee process. I have also vetoed several deadlines from the bill that have either elapsed or are unrealistic. A number of provisions that infringe on the ability of executive branch agencies to manage state programs have also been removed.
A number of vetoes collectively reduce spending by over $2.5 million. In particular, I have reduced the $10.7 million GPR increase in funding for the State Public Defender by $1 million. This reduction reflects the savings that can be realized by the State Public Defender Board if it allocates a portion of caseload growth to supervising attorneys. This is a reasonable reduction that reflects the need for all programs to contribute to closing the budget deficit.
I have also increased the across-the-board reduction for the Department of Revenue in fiscal year 2002-03 from 3.9 percent under the Legislature's bill to five percent. This is consistent with my initial proposal and is less than the 6.5 percent reduction that most agencies will have to address.
Conclusion
This bill sustains our priorities and addresses the immediate budget crisis, but our long-term fiscal outlook presents significant challenges. We remain in volatile fiscal territory as we look to the next budget cycle, faced with the possible threat of sagging revenues and rising costs. No one should pretend that the road ahead will be smooth. Hard choices remain, to be sure.
From the first day I assumed the responsibility of being your governor, my focus has been on meeting our long-term challenges and restoring Wisconsin's fiscal health. In the 2001-03 biennial budget (
2001 Wisconsin Act 16), I proposed the first meaningful mechanism for financing the state's rainy day fund. I called for the requirement that future budgets have a four-year horizon and be presented under generally accepted accounting principles.
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The Legislature signaled a willingness to begin changing its spending habits by adopting these proposals, but it was still necessary to use my veto pen to save a record $63 million to restore the legally-required 1.2 percent budget balance.
When it became evident last fall that revenue was not keeping pace with spending, I immediately ordered state agencies to reduce fiscal year 2001-02 operating budgets by 3.5 percent. I froze all nonessential vacancies and ordered department heads to limit travel.
My Budget Reform Bill, presented to the Legislature in January, addressed both the immediate shortfall and long-term structural deficit. In fact, my original proposal, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, still stands apart as doing the most to reduce the state's long-term structural deficit.
I believe in Wisconsin. I believe in our people. And I believe in our future.
I want my kids to have the same kind of opportunities, the same quality of life and the same optimism about the future that I had growing up in Wisconsin.
But if we are going to achieve our full potential, if our economy is going to compete in the 21st century and our political system is to become relevant again to the needs of Wisconsin citizens today, there can be no standing still. We must challenge the status quo like never before.
To this end, I am considering calling the Legislature into special session to address three specific matters:
• Amending our state constitution to stipulate the creation of a Budget Stabilization Fund – more commonly referred to as a rainy day fund. The state already has a rainy day fund in state statute, but that is not enough. We need a constitutionally protected savings account. A clearly delineated and constitutionally required rainy day fund will allow the state to save money when the economy is healthy, and provide a short-term financial cushion during an economic downturn while larger structural reforms can be debated and implemented.
• Amending our constitution so that any tax increase passed by the Legislature must survive a statewide vote before taking effect. We will not raise taxes in Wisconsin until the taxpayers say it will be so. One solution to our long-term financial challenges is the creation of more higher-paying jobs for Wisconsin workers. But we cannot talk about creating the economy of the future without addressing our tax structure. Whether it is a family trying to save for its children's education or an entrepreneur working to put an idea on the assembly line, high taxes continue to keep our economy from sailing at full speed.
• Approving a law requiring legislative budget business be completed in a timely manner. If a date-certain deadline is not met, legislators and the governor will not be paid until a final budget bill is signed into law.
We have so much to be proud of in our great state. We never settle for the status quo. That is who we are. It is what we do as a people. It is the essence of what makes our state so special.
Respectfully submitted,
Scott McCallum
Governor
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Veto Message
Table of Contents
A. EDUCATION AND TRAINING
ARTS BOARD
1. Milwaukee Art Museum Grant
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
2. Program Revenue Lapses
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
3. Sale of Soft Drinks in Schools
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM
4. Undergraduate Coursework Beyond 165 Credits
WISCONSIN TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM
5. Funding for Travel and Advertising
B. ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMERCIAL RESOURCES
AGRICULTURE, TRADE AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
1. Consumer Protection Transfer to the Department of Justice
COMMERCE
2. Technology Development Grants and Loans
3. Wisconsin Development Fund Reduction
4. Branding Grant to Forward Wisconsin, Inc.
5. Horse Boarding and Training Facilities Exemption
6. Division of International and Export Services
NATURAL RESOURCES
7. Wetlands Exemption
8. Recycling Grant Formula
9. Chief Warden
10. Sale of Land by the Department of Natural Resources
11. Stewardship Earmark
12. Property Maintenance and Development Reduction
13. Council on Forestry
14. Definition of Game Animals
15. Fishing Season Closure Date and Fishing Shelter Removal Date
TOURISM
16. Badger State Games Assistance
TRANSPORTATION
17. Emergency Preemption Devices
18. Improvements to the USH 51 and Rieder Road Intersection
HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES
1. Plans for the Centers for the Developmentally Disabled
2. Ambulance Staffing Requirements
3. Public Health Emergencies
4. Study of Federal Primary Health Care Funding
5. Bioterrorism Plan
6. Medical Assistance Provider Fraud and Abuse
7. Medical Assistance Disease Management
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
8. Small Employer Exemption for Point-of-Service Plans
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
9. Expansion of Retroactive Cash Benefits for Wisconsin Works (W-2) Participants
10. Transfer of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Fund
11. Inspection of Contractor Records
D. JUSTICE
CORRECTIONS
1. Interagency and Intra-agency Programs Lapse
2. Visitors Bus
3. Inmate Secure Work Program
4. Declining Probation and Parole Fees
5. Supermax Conversion Study
6. Out-of-State Prison Bed Contracting
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
7. Reduction of Salary and Fringe Benefits Appropriation
