Schimming, Brian Forest County Potawatomi Community
Schmidt, Claire Wisconsin's Environmental Decade Inc
Schreier, David Aventis Pharmaceuticals
Schulz, Lee Independence First Inc
Springer, Thomas J University of Phoenix
Springer, Thomas J Wisconsin School Food Service Association
Winters, Amy Gold'n Plump
Wood, Stephen Salomon Smith Barney Inc.
Also available from the Wisconsin Ethics Board are reports identifying the amount and value of time state agencies have spent to affect legislative action and reports of expenditures for lobbying activities filed by organizations that employ lobbyists.
Sincerely,
R. Roth Judd
Director
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The committee on Agriculture, Financial Institutions and Insurance reports and recommends:
Relating to animal diseases, animal imports and livestock markets.
No action taken.
Relating to the agriculture development zone program.
No action taken.
Dale Schultz
Chairperson
The committee on Higher Education and Tourism reports and recommends:
Relating to the regulation of for-profit postsecondary schools; out-of-state, nonprofit colleges and universities; and in-state, nonprofit institutions incorporated after 1991.
No action taken.
Sheila Harsdorf
Chairperson
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Senator A. Lasee, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate recess until 6:45 P.M..
10:19 A.M.
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6:45 P.M.
The Senate reconvened.
Senator A. Lasee in the chair.
Senator Lasee, with unanimous consent, appointed Senators Darling and Decker to act as escorts to his Excellency the Governor.
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Senator Panzer, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate recess for the purpose of convening in a joint convention to receive the Governor's budget message and adjourn until 9:00 A.M. Thursday, February 20 upon the rising of the joint convention.
6:56 P.M.
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The President of the Senate in the Chair.
The committee to await upon the Governor appeared with his excellency the Governor, who delivered his budget message as follows:
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Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Mr. Speaker Pro-Tempore, Lieutenant Governor Lawton, Constitutional officers, members of the Cabinet, distinguished members of the Legislature and fellow citizens of Wisconsin:
Tonight we embark on a difficult journey together. The course will be demanding. The hardship will be real. But the destination is unmistakable: a brighter tomorrow for Wisconsin. Our state will be a better place for the choices we make. Fiscal responsibility will be restored. Our economy will be revived. And faith in government will be renewed.
Let me state this clearly … For too long, state government has spent too much and led too little. And it stops tonight. For the first time in 22 years, Wisconsin will live within its means. Our budget will be balanced -- not just on paper, but in practice. And I am proud to announce that despite a fiscal crisis of historic proportions, we have balanced this budget without raising taxes.
Just as important, we have done it without destroying what's most precious to us.
We all know how we arrived at this point. For years, state government has spent more than it could afford. The state bureaucracy has ballooned. At the height of the economic boom of the 1990s, Madison went on a spending binge but barely put a dime aside for a rainy day.
When the economy faltered, state government had a choice -- to look our problems in the eye or look the other way -- and it chose the easy road of the temporary fix. Tragic mistakes like selling the tobacco settlement made the problem worse while merely pushing the tough decisions off to another day.
Now that day has arrived. We are $454 million in the hole this year and we face a $3.2 billion shortfall over the next two.
And make no mistake: The choices are tough indeed -- among the toughest any of us will ever have to make. This budget eliminates 2,900 state jobs. It reduces funding for the University system by $250 million. It slashes one in every 10 dollars in state operating costs.
As we proceed, let's never forget this: On the other end of these cuts are real people who will feel real pain. We'll do what we have to do. But we should do it with respect and understanding towards those who bear the burden.
And let's remember this too: Budgets are about choices.
We have to choose between less spending and more taxes -- and my budget chooses less spending.
We have to choose between unfairly burdening a few or all sharing a measure of pain -- and my budget says we're all in this together.
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We have to choose between slashing thoughtlessly and setting priorities, -- and my budget protects what matters most.
No matter how you believe we should balance the budget, you must choose. If you disagree with a cut I've proposed, suggest an alternative -- not an abstract idea or a political one liner, but equal dollars in a particular program you believe is less important. It's my job to present a balanced budget, and it's your job to pass one.
Because this crisis demands immediate action, I have agreed with Speaker Gard and Majority Leader Panzer to base this budget on the revenue estimates of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. In years past, governors have appeared at this podium armed with their own budget numbers, and legislators have replied with theirs, and we have wasted days and weeks and months arguing about whose were more accurate. I want this to be a debate about priorities, not projections. So let's use your numbers.
And I want it to be a debate about the budget, not extraneous side issues. We've done our best to stick to the work at hand and eliminate unrelated matters. I challenge you to do the same.
This budget is comprehensive, but it is not perfect. I've asked you for an open mind, and I promise that your suggestions will get the same hearing. You deserve no less.
As I have developed the budget blueprint, I have established five priorities:
1.
Not to raise taxes -- because Wisconsin taxpayers already pay their fair share.
2.
To distribute budget cuts fairly -- because we're all in this together.
3.
To protect education, health care, key local services and the environment -- because no matter how deep this crisis is, we have to protect what's most important.
4.
To reduce spending and make government more efficient -- because if we're going to ask the people of Wisconsin to accept less, we have to do more with less.
5. To do it once and do it right -- because we need to get on with Wisconsin's future, not return again and again to the problems of the past.
This budget meets all of these goals. But it hasn't been easy.
Under this plan, state government will eliminate the shortfall and run a surplus in both 2004 and 2005. We will do so by cutting deeply into current spending, setting priorities for the money we have, and fighting for every federal dollar that's owed to us. Specifically:
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We have four months left in the budget I inherited from the prior administration. We can't postpone the hard decisions and I have recommended reducing this current year's deficit by $161 million. We need immediate action, and I've proposed it. Now it's time for the Legislature to pass it.
This $161 million represents a beginning, not the end. We're reviewing every state building project -- cutting back on out-of-state travel for state workers -- reducing the bureaucracy -- scrutinizing every open position to see whether it really needs to be filled -- stopping the purchase of new state cars -- and more.
Our effort has been massive:
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We have cut nearly $1.5 billion in state spending -- Wisconsin's first two-year spending cut in 30 years. Let me say that again – Wisconsin's first two-year spending cut in 30 years. Never before has a budget so thoroughly reformed and reduced state government. We have cut as no administration has ever cut before. We have eliminated jobs. We have slashed overhead. We have abolished agencies. And we have done much more. The depth of these cuts matches the depth of this crisis.
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We transferred $500 million from the transportation fund to schools and shared revenue -- protecting education and essential services like police officers and firefighters.
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We transferred $200 million from the Patients Compensation Fund to more urgent health care priorities.
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We'll save a total of $408 million by going after all the federal Medicaid funds that are owed to us.
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We're confident that we'll successfully negotiate historic agreements that will result in a minimum of $237 million in additional Tribal Gaming Revenues. All the people of Wisconsin should join me in acknowledging the important effort the tribes of Wisconsin are making toward helping the state in this difficult time.
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And because I believe in leading by example, I've cut the Governor's office budget by 19 percent – and returned my pay raise. And I've asked my cabinet secretaries to follow my lead and give back any pay increases above what their predecessors received.
Those measures, combined with $275 million in other actions, will eliminate our $3.2 billion shortfall and actually create a surplus of $40 million at the end of 2005.
We'll add to our reserve too -- not as much as I'd like, but a considerable improvement over not having one at all.
Just as important, my budget solves this problem once and solves it right. For more than 20 years, we've started every state budget with spending promises that increase faster than revenue. Accountants call it a "structural deficit." I call it irresponsible … and it stops tonight.
At the end of this budget, we'll be spending less than what we take in, not more. The next time we write a budget, it will be on a clean slate.
Despite these historic reductions, some people will say this budget doesn't cut enough. If they have suggestions for where to cut more, I'm ready to listen. But a year ago, if state government had done a fraction of what I'm proposing tonight, we wouldn't be in nearly the mess we're in. My cuts are steep, they are serious, and let's not kid ourselves: They vastly exceed anything state government has been willing to consider in recent years.
