Third, we can pass an oil assessment so that big oil companies, which are still making record profits, pay their share for our roads. These companies make money when people drive on our roads, so it is appropriate that they help maintain them - and we will go after companies that break the law by passing that assessment on to consumers.
By making these decisions, we will not just protect the basic expectations people have of state government, we will put our state in a position to move forward and be able to make some valuable investments today. We can help grow our businesses, get people back to work and strengthen the engines that drive Wisconsin's economy.
A Budget That Moves the State Forward
The fifth principle I followed in preparing this budget was to make decisions that would leave Wisconsin on better financial ground and lead to future growth.
We're starting with a $5.7 billion dollar deficit, but under this plan, we will finish the biennium with a positive balance of about $270 million. We will put our tax collections in line with our future spending commitments and cut what is called the "structural deficit" to its lowest level in 10 years. And while we strengthen our financial position, we will make key investments in our state.
This budget continues my commitment to build strong Wisconsin businesses that create jobs. It strengthens high-tech companies and medical research. It invests in our farms and our shop floors. It streamlines economic development programs, and it focuses on manufacturing. It awards a tax credit equal to 10 percent of payroll after new jobs are created.
In the bill approved by the Joint Finance Committee today, we will triple the amount of support for angel and early-seed stage investors who help launch Wisconsin businesses and allow them to grow. We will also increase our commitment to worker training.
Our state has always been home to innovation, and we can make Wisconsin a center for research and development. We are proposing tax credits for companies that significantly increase their commitment to research and development. Their equipment would also be exempt from property and sales tax, just as it is for manufacturers. Our public institutions have gotten a lot of attention for their research. And our private businesses should, too. Wisconsin is where the supercomputer came from. It's the home of the outboard motor and stem cell science. We can be the state where companies want to put their new labs. Let's act now, so that Wisconsin will be home to the next generation of technological advances.
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As we prepare our businesses to succeed, we can give cities and counties the ability to plan better transportation systems - better ways to get people to work. If a region agrees to cooperate on building rail lines or coordinating bus service, we can help make that happen. This budget allows Wisconsin communities to form Regional Transportation Authorities, which will be important tools in driving economic development and adding jobs.
Wisconsin's farms are an essential part of our economy. Under the Working Lands Program, this budget will slow the loss of good farm land. We are also going to work to upgrade and modernize our dairy and meat processing industries.
Through the federal stimulus package, we will also be able to make major investments that will help Wisconsin lead the country in clean energy. We will go farther with our efforts to develop renewable fuels, harness alternative sources of energy and create better ways to conserve.
These are some of the steps that give us confidence. It is never time to curl up and hide under the covers - especially not now. Our economy is tough - and it's likely to stay tough for a while. But any state that doesn't prepare itself to come out of this recession stronger than it went in is making a serious mistake. Now is our chance to get stronger and get ready for better days to come.
If we want our economy to flourish - if we want to help attract and retain talented workers - it is also time to make sure our state takes some basic steps toward fairness and decency. First, we can make sure that domestic partners who work for the state have access to benefits. We can also make sure that a committed couple has visitation rights at a hospital, and the right to take the appropriate leave if one has a serious illness. This isn't an issue of being gay or straight - we are not judging people's lives here. But I don't want the state to stand in the way of someone being able to care for their long-term partner. And I don't want the state to be less competitive at our university and other institutions because we don't treat people fairly.
We can keep working on breaking the addiction to tobacco. This budget finally puts in place a statewide smoking ban. Our neighbors have done it; half of the country has done it. We can do this now, and make Wisconsin's workplaces smoke-free.
As we confront tobacco, this budget recognizes that when the cost of cigarettes goes up, fewer teenagers start smoking. The research there is clear. And we also know that more people decide to quit. When we raised the tax on cigarettes last year, more people called the state quit line during the first week of 2008 than normally call during an entire year. I am proposing an additional 75 cent tax on a pack of cigarettes. I hope that's a tax we don't collect for long. All of my career, I have been fighting big tobacco, and the purpose here is to stop kids from smoking, to help people quit, to improve public health and to drive down our state's health care costs.
Not only can we make our state healthier, we can make it safer by providing more help to our most vulnerable children. This budget increases the quality of childcare and makes it more accountable.
And, last, yet most important, we can show our commitment to education. Our universities and our schools have always been the engines that drive Wisconsin. My budget sees education as our most important function - education, again, is the one primary area that is receiving any increases.
I am making that choice because our schools have to remain accessible and they have to be able to prepare our students to compete with the world. More students will be able to attend our universities under the UW Growth Agenda. One of the few areas this budget increases is financial aid. Under my plan, families with incomes less than $60,000 will not face tuition increases. For those earning more, tuition increases will be modest and in line with what we have seen in recent years. Best of all, this budget makes sure that students will be going to cutting-edge institutions that continue to lead the world in medical technology and biotechnology research. We will move forward with major advancements.
The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery at UW-Madison will help our state stay on the forefront of life-saving research and help scientists bring their discoveries to the market. The Great Lakes Bio-energy Research Center is one of only three nationally recognized centers in bio-fuels. With our help, and major funding from the federal government, researchers there can unlock new frontiers in renewable sources of energy. The Wisconsin Genomics Initiative draws upon four of our leading institutions to provide individualized treatment based on a patient's DNA. It is a groundbreaking collaboration that promises to save lives and treat diseases more effectively than ever. And, at UW-Milwaukee, we are moving ahead with the School of Freshwater Science and School of Public Health.
The plan I am proposing also strengthens our pledge to Wisconsin eighth graders. Under the Wisconsin Covenant, we promised them that if they maintain good grades, take the right classes and be good citizens, they will have a place at one of our campuses. The budget I am presenting you prepares for the first class of Wisconsin Covenant scholars, who will be graduating high school in 2011. It identifies $25 million that can augment standard financial aid and the private funding that will ensure they have the resources they need to get a college degree.
Good schools mean kids can get off to a good start and go as far in life as their talent and hard work will take them. Good schools build strong neighborhoods and give families strength and hope. In the coming months, I am going to present separate legislation that will allow schools more flexibility in funding if they agree to collaborate, if they find and retain the best teachers and if they commit to becoming more efficient. I believe that together we can take real action to make our schools even better for our kids, our teachers and our taxpayers.
Closing
At its most basic, this is a budget about what we believe is important for our future.
The people of Wisconsin elected us to lead. They expect us to confront our problems, make hard choices and put our state on a path that makes us stronger.
We can do that with a budget that keeps what's important; cuts what isn't needed; protects middle class taxpayers; and builds towards a better future.
Thank you everyone and On, Wisconsin."
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7:38 P.M.
Adjourned.
