Senator Decker, with unanimous consent, asked that all action be immediately messaged to the Assembly:
Senate Joint Resolution 2
Senate Joint Resolution 3
Senate Joint Resolution 4
Senate Joint Resolution 5
Messaged.
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Senate Bill 15
Relating to: payment of Wisconsin supplemental and extended unemployment insurance benefits in this state.
Read a second time.
Senator Decker, with unanimous consent, asked that Assembly Bill 5 be withdrawn from the committee on Senate Organization and taken up at this time.
Assembly Bill 5
Relating to: payment of Wisconsin supplemental and extended unemployment insurance benefits in this state.
Read a second time.
Ordered to a third reading.
Senator Decker, with unanimous consent, asked that the bill be considered for final action at this time.
Assembly Bill 5
Read a third time.
The ayes and noes were required and the vote was: ayes, 33; noes, 0; absent or not voting, 0; as follows:
Ayes - Senators Carpenter, Coggs, Cowles, Darling, Decker, Ellis, Erpenbach, S. Fitzgerald, Grothman, Hansen, Harsdorf, Holperin, Hopper, Jauch, Kanavas, Kapanke, Kedzie, Kreitlow, A. Lasee, Lassa, Lazich, Lehman, Leibham, Miller, Olsen, Plale, Risser, Robson, Schultz, Sullivan, Taylor, Vinehout and Wirch - 33.
Noes - None.
Absent or not voting - None.
Concurred in.
Senator Decker, with unanimous consent, asked that all action be immediately messaged to the Assembly:
Assembly Bill
5
Messaged.
Senate Bill 15
Senator Decker, with unanimous consent, asked that Senate Bill 15 be laid on the table.
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Senator Wirch, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Jim Hawkins of Kenosha, and wished him a speedy recovery.
Senator Leibham,with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Lucy Schneider of Sheboygan who passed away on Sunday, January 4, 2009 after being blessed with 90 years of life.
Senator Leibham,with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of his son, William Joseph Leibham, who was born on November 17, 2008.
Senator Kanavas, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Mr. Henry Nagy, founder of what became the Spancrete Group, Incorporated of Waukesha. Mr. Nagy, a great man, passed away last week at the age of 100.
Senator Darling, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Suzie Bradford, who passed away from colon cancer last week.
Senator Sullivan, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Joanne Benz who passed away on January 17th. Joanne dedicated her life to the service of others. She served on the board of directors of the Allis B. Kadish Foundation and as the National Secretary of the Clipped Wings. As the former president of the Wauwatosa Junior Woman's Club and founder of "Tosafest" she was an accomplished contributor to the community who continually worked to promote of the City of Wauwatosa. Senator Sullivan would like to extend his greatest sympathy to her children and husband, Jim Benz.
Senator Taylor, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Cordelia Michelle Bryant. Michelle, the Senator's former Chief of Staff, is a good friend and an invaluable member of the community. Her service in the Senator's office and for her constituents will forever be appreciated.
Senator Taylor, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Jasmine Holt. Jasmine, a high school student in Milwaukee, has just started her first day as an intern Senator Taylor's office. A bright student, she will utilize all that she learns from this experience to provide more opportunities for her future.
Senator Taylor, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Rev. Peter Narum, pastor at St. James Lutheran Church, in Verona, who delivered the day's opening prayer and did so in a fashion to remind the Senators and those assembled of their true calling of service and leadership to this august body.
Senator Jauch, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of Congressman Obey, who has used every bit of his forty years of leadership and experience as a member of the House Appropriations Committee to spearhead the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which passed out of the House of Representative today. The Act is clearly going to provide billions of dollars to help get America's economy back on track and provide help to families. No one has worked harder than Congressman Obey to provide the badly needed resources to state governments, but even importantly will infuse billions of dollars to help put people back to work. He is walking a thirty-thousand foot tightrope, balancing on one shoulder the needs of the American public and the desire to put four million people to work on one hand and on the other 534 people who have different views on how to do it. Senator Jauch is grateful for his leadership.
Senator Robson, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of our new President, President Barack Obama, who has inspired so many and challenged us all.
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President Risser appointed Senators Sullivan and Hopper to escort his excellency, the Governor, to the Joint Covention.
Senator Decker, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate recess until 6:30 P.M., upon the rising of the Joint Convention.
2:40 P.M.
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6:30 P.M.
The Senate reconvened.
President Risser in the chair.
President Risser, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate recess for the purpose of awaiting the Governor's State of the State Address in Joint Convention in the Assembly Chambers at 7:00 P.M.
The Senate stood recessed.
6:35 P.M.
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The Senate proceeded in a body to the Assembly Chamber to meet in Joint Convention to receive the State of the State Message.
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6:53 P.M.
Senate President Risser in the chair.
The Committee to wait upon the Governor appeared with his excellency the Governor, who delivered his message as follows:
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"Speaker Sheridan, Speaker Pro Tem Staskunas, President Risser, Majority Leader Decker, Minority Leader Fitzgerald, Minority Leader Fitzgerald, Supreme Court Justices, Constitutional Officers, tribal leaders, members of the Cabinet, distinguished guests, members of the Legislature, and fellow citizens of Wisconsin,
We meet tonight at a time of great difficulty in this country, which has been felt deeply in this state. A Wall Street meltdown as a result of eight years of bad economic policy and too many risky schemes has led to a national economic crisis we haven't seen in decades.
Credit has frozen. Markets have plunged. Consumer confidence has hit all-time lows. Retirement accounts have been cut in half.
And most importantly, unemployment has soared. Employers big and small have cut back. Even our flagship companies, companies that were doing well as recently as August, companies like Harley-Davidson, Kohler, Quadgraphics, and GE, have been forced to lay people off. Many more people are living anxiously, uncertain whether they will lose their jobs in the coming weeks and months.
Wisconsin, the state of our state, like the state of our union, is tough. But the state of our character and the state of our resolve is even tougher.
As difficult as the realities are before us, I know who we are. I know we can work together, meet any challenge and come through stronger than ever.
Some of you are just taking office. Congratulations on your election and welcome to public service. There were probably easier times you could have come into your new jobs. But tough times are opportunities to show who we are.
When I was first elected governor, I inherited a $3.2 billion budget deficit. My own party did not have control of either house of the Legislature - which meant, among other things, that more people remained seated through speeches like this one. But, in the spirit of Wisconsin cooperation, I was able to work with many of you here to solve our financial challenges.
We showed our commitment to Wisconsin's working families. We took on the deficit without raising taxes. We did it without damaging schools, or giving up on those who needed medical care.It wasn't easy. Everything had to be on the table for cuts. But we were able to move forward in ways that mattered most for middle class families. We went on to cut taxes by making health care insurance premiums tax deductible. We expanded the deductions for tuition and childcare payments. We eliminated the tax on Social Security. We held hard limits on property taxes. And we moved Wisconsin off the list of the top 10 taxing states for the first time in decades.
We showed our commitment to Wisconsin's working families. We took on the deficit without raising taxes. We did it without damaging schools, or giving up on those who needed medical care.It wasn't easy. Everything had to be on the table for cuts. But we were able to move forward in ways that mattered most for middle class families. We went on to cut taxes by making health care insurance premiums tax deductible. We expanded the deductions for tuition and childcare payments. We eliminated the tax on Social Security. We held hard limits on property taxes. And we moved Wisconsin off the list of the top 10 taxing states for the first time in decades.
When I stood before you last year at this time, I warned of an uncertain economy. But through most of 2008, even though our country had officially entered a recession, we were doing all right - not great, but all right. Despite continued bad economic policy from Washington, here in Wisconsin we were seeing job growth. Our exports were growing to nearly double what they were six years ago. Our high-tech economy was really taking off. Agriculture was strong.
And in state government, we effectively dealt with the demands of the sluggish national economy. In a bill I signed last spring, I kept the state's commitment to schools, but cut state spending by an additional $270 million. I refused to raise taxes, but I directed more money into the state's reserve funds.
If our country's economy had continued on that course, those kinds of steps would have seen us through. We were planning conservatively for a slow, sluggish economy to continue.
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Unfortunately, no one saw how hard this country would be hit in the fall. What the national economy dealt us in September was in many ways unprecedented. And the effects continue to be shocking. We saw leading businesses announce 71,000 jobs cut in the United States and around the world on Monday alone. Giants like Caterpillar announced 20,000 jobs cut. 8,000 jobs were lost at Sprint and 7,000 at Home Depot.
I want to share with you some charts that illustrate the problem we are facing. First, you can see the job losses our country and our state have had. In the last year, the United States has lost about 2.8 million jobs and the national unemployment rate has gone to 7.1 percent. Wisconsin's unemployment isn't as bad, but it follows the same pattern. From December 2007 to December 2008, the state lost 62,600 jobs and the unemployment rate went up to 5.8 percent.
The second chart shows what has happened to consumer spending and sales tax revenue. When people lose jobs and lose confidence, spending goes down. In the fall, it happened dramatically, as you can see.
Here's what that means for states across the country: almost all are facing severe budget gaps. The explanation is pretty simple: almost all states have to pass balanced budgets. So when people lose their jobs and stop buying things, and the demand for state services go up, states have deficits. And that's the case almost everywhere.
The final chart shows how the state deficit was created by the economic crisis. The first bar shows our projected revenue over the next two years if the country had continued the pace it had been on for the last five years. The second bar shows the conservative, or even pessimistic, outlook that we had used to budget. In either of those cases, we would not have the budget challenge we face today. The third bar shows our revenue projections after the economic collapse. That revenue projection is actually below our current revenue levels, and many fear it will get worse.
Because of this situation, Wisconsin is facing a budget gap that had been estimated at $5.4 billion, or 17 percent of our biennial budget. That figure, unfortunately, is going to grow with the latest data.States everywhere are looking at similar pictures, and the responses are dramatic. The deficits are threatening the most essential functions of state government. We see major cuts proposed to education, to health care and to local government services. Washington State has already cut 12,000 people from its basic health care program for low income adults and is proposing an additional 42 percent reduction. California is bracing to run out of cash in March, and is considering IOUs to cover its obligations. In Nevada, the governor is asking for a 36 percent cut to higher education funding. In Utah, they are talking about decreasing the number of school days and laying teachers off. In state after state, the stories are the same. Everyone has tough choices to make.
We've taken many steps in Wisconsin so far to address this crisis, including $500 million in spending cuts this year, and many more are to come. As soon as the magnitude of this deficit became clear, I said everything would be on the table for cuts and I ordered state government to find savings wherever it could. I halted employee bonuses, put the brakes on grants and started auctioning 500 vehicles. I am working across state borders and political parties with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to make government more efficient and effective.
But the economic crisis is a problem bigger than any state. Early on, I went to Washington to work with President Obama's team and key members of Congress. It was obvious that without federal help, states would face the choice between massive cuts in education or massive tax increases. Without federal action, states could be left standing in the way of our nation's recovery.
This is a national problem, so I started working closely with a bipartisan group of governors across the country to call attention to the unique situation states are in. We worked to be sure everyone knew what state governments must do. Most of our budgets go toward education, health care and basic needs like police and fire protection. They pay for jobs at nursing homes, schools and police departments.
Washington recognized what states are facing. I want to thank Wisconsin's Congressional delegation. And I especially want to recognize Congressman Dave Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
