This transition won't happen overnight. While it ultimately will save us hundreds of millions of dollars, those savings won't come until future years.
In the meantime, to maintain nursing home services while we make this transition -- and to make the up front investments we need -- my budget calls for additional bonding authority – up to $130 million depending on how the economy does. That's less than 1 percent of our budget for next year, but it also represents nursing home care for 3,500 seniors.
If revenues improve over the next several months, as we hope and expect, we should set it aside for Medicaid. Depending on how well the economy does, some of the measures I've just outlined might not be necessary. But what's most important is that we have a Medicaid budget that is balanced, that doesn't rob education, and that protects health care for those who need it most.
I've spent much of my life in law enforcement. Keeping our communities strong and our families safe is one of the most important jobs we have. I've put bad people behind bars, some of them for life. I've been with families torn apart by senseless acts of violence. This is important to me. And it's personal.
The things we've done over the past few years are starting to pay off. Wisconsin is one of the safest states in the nation – and crime is at a 30-year low.
As Governor, I have the opportunity to do things I couldn't as Attorney General. We're setting a new direction for the Department of Corrections.
First, there's no question we need to lock up the most violent and hardened criminals. But when a nonviolent offender is ready to come forward to improve his or her life, we need to provide the help they need. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it's the wisest investment we can make.
My budget will create new alcohol and drug treatment programs at Taycheedah and Racine Correctional Institutions. Combined with the last budget, we will have increased our drug treatment capacity by more than 2,200 inmates a year.
My administration has also created an earned release program that allows judges to sentence offenders to shorter terms if they complete treatment. This budget expands the program with 200 beds at correctional centers in southern Wisconsin.
Next, when young people come into the Corrections system, we've must get to them early before they become hardened, career criminals.
My administration has instituted boot camps for young offenders to teach discipline and respect for authority … and give them a chance to change their lives.
Third, we need to improve our probation system. Right now, it's simply overburdened. We spend a lot of time supervising the least dangerous people … and we don't have the resources to properly supervise the most dangerous. We need to put the emphasis on protecting public safety. My budget cuts probation time for misdemeanors by half, so that agents can spend more time with serious offenders. The money we save will help us make a major investment in drug and alcohol treatment so we'll have less crime and fewer parolees in the first place.
Fourth, we need to take a hard look at how we sentence people who are non-violent and who are drug or alcohol dependent. That's why I am directing the Wisconsin Sentencing Commission to report back to us by the end of the year so we can reform the system to work better for everyone – including Wisconsin taxpayers.
Finally, the single best thing we can do to reform corrections is to support quality day care, education, foster care, and the fight against child abuse. It's estimated that for every dollar we spend on early education, we can save up to 17 dollars in social welfare costs, including the prison system. Quite simply, the best way to fight crime is to invest in kids.
They say your budget is the clearest reflection of your values.
This budget reflects not only my values, but the values I believe we share as citizens of this great state.
It is balanced and fiscally responsible. It makes an historic commitment to education. It reforms health care, protects our environment, invests in our great University System … and it does not raise a single tax.
Most of all, this budget protects our schools and the quality of local services, while freezing property taxes.
I've talked a lot about numbers tonight, but that's not what this budget is about.
It's about the people of Wisconsin, and I'd like you to meet some of them.
Stand up folks.
This budget is about Jeanne Gorman, who depends on Senior Care to afford her medicines. It's about Monica Williamson, who's studying marketing at Moraine Park Technical College. It's about Gary Welch, whose job is safe because we're investing $6 million to improve the harbor in Sturgeon Bay. It's about Barb and Ray Jones, who have been foster parents for 25 years and have cared for more than 60 kids. It's about Alex Wagner, a student at UW-Milwaukee, who attends with the help of financial aid. It's about Joan Davis, a four-year-old kindergarten teacher. It's about Mark Riechers, who raises livestock and hopes to upgrade his operation. And it's about Keith and Mary Louise Symon. They're senior citizens who struggle each December to pay that property tax bill. But they are also grandparents, and more than anything else, they want their grandchildren to have the very best education Wisconsin can provide.
These are the faces of Wisconsin. They are looking to us for leadership … and we cannot let them down.
Our success or failure won't be measured in charts or graphs or budget tables, but in the fulfillment of their dreams.
Let's be worthy of their trust, and now, let's get to work.
On Wisconsin.
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Adjourned.
7:55 P.M.
