• Invests in education by ensuring all elementary school students can read at grade level by providing $1.2 million over the biennium in support of the Governor's Read to Lead Task Force.
Higher Education
• Provides greater financial and management flexibility to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin System campuses, including the ability to establish separate personnel management and compensation systems.
• Requires the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Wisconsin System campuses to provide annual accountability reports, including time to receive a degree, availability of key courses, economic development activities and other important measures.
• Maintains current funding levels for financial aid programs and phases out the unsustainable Wisconsin Covenant program.
• Seeks to prevent unfair competition in telecommunications and broadband services between the University of Wisconsin and the private sector by increasing legislative oversight in order to focus university supported programs on education and research activities.
Health Care, Children and Families
• Protects the state's most vulnerable citizens by preserving the health care safety net provided by Medicaid, BadgerCare Plus and SeniorCare while implementing significant program reforms to bring an end to the unsustainable rate of program growth.
• Requires a comprehensive review of the Family Care long-term care program to ensure that public dollars are used in the most effective way to support the needs of the elderly and people with disabilities. Over the past five years, the Family Care program has grown from five pilot counties to 56 counties covering 80 percent of the state's population. During that expansion, there has not been an adequate review of the effectiveness of the program in meeting the care needs of participants and providing services in a cost-effective and accountable manner.
• Redesigns the income maintenance eligibility determination system for public benefits to improve the accuracy and timeliness of eligibility determinations, while reducing total program costs by $40 million per year once fully implemented.
• Provides funding for building projects to help address the shortage of nurses and support public health education in Wisconsin. New facilities include the Madison School of Nursing, the River Falls Health and Human Performance Building, and the Milwaukee School of Public Health.
• Reforms the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program to emphasize work and the Wisconsin Shares child care program to provide information on the quality of child care services, to contain costs and to combat fraud.
Transportation
• Strengthens the finances for Wisconsin's transportation infrastructure system by transferring $160.1 million in general fund revenue to the transportation fund, including an ongoing transfer of 0.25 percent of general fund taxes annually, with an annual minimum of $35.1 million.
• Makes progress toward addressing the state's critical highway infrastructure needs by providing $3.2 billion for highway construction and maintenance, an increase of $429.3 million over the biennium.
• Creates a new Southeast Wisconsin freeways megaprojects program to fund construction on the I-94 North-South corridor project and the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee County. The budget provides a total of $420.0 million for those two projects, an increase of $229.9 million above current funding levels.
• Ensures local highway projects are completed efficiently by increasing competition and allowing greater private sector participation through new requirements that local governments award projects to the lowest bidder, not perform construction for private development projects, and limit the use of their workforce to projects occurring in all towns, and cities and villages with populations under 5,000.
Justice
• Invests in programs to assist law enforcement, including additional resources to fight Internet crimes against children, funding for an interoperable communications system and staff resources at the state crime labs to ensure DNA samples are processed in a timely fashion.
• Consolidates juvenile correctional facilities to manage decreasing populations while saving resources and minimizing county placement costs.
A416
• Provides funding for Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) and VINE Protective Order services to protect public safety and provide information to victims and affected parties.
• Provides funding to the State Public Defender for the revised indigency standard which became effective June 19, 2011.
Natural Resources and Environment
• Maintains hunting and fishing license fees and parks admission fees at current levels to ensure that even in times of economic challenges access to Wisconsin's abundant natural resources are kept affordable.
• Requires the Stewardship program to focus only on the best value purchases by reducing bonding authority by $234 million through fiscal year 2019-20, saving Wisconsin as much as $80 million in total debt service costs.
• Modifies the formula for aids provided in lieu of property tax payments for lands purchased through the Stewardship program, saving the state $190,000 in fiscal year 2012-13, but reducing future payments by half or more. Total payments for aids in lieu of property taxes are estimated to be $13.2 million in fiscal year 2012-13.
• Ensures a balance between environmental protection and local costs by specifying that the Department of Natural Resources may not enforce an administrative rule for nonagricultural performance standards for runoff from urban areas if the provision has a reduction in total suspended solids exceeding 20 percent.
• Reduces bonding authority under the Working Lands program by $12 million and repeals the conversion fee for rezoning from a farmland preservation district. This will allow landowners to decide for themselves the best use of their property without paying a penalty if the use of the land will change.
General Government and Veterans
• Limits growth in spending from all funds to 1.8 percent over the biennium, despite a $1.8 billion, 11 percent increase in funding for health care programs and eliminates over 1,000 FTE positions compared to the base year. This small rate of growth, over 70 percent lower than the previous budget, is achieved through increased state and local government employee contributions to pensions and health insurance, elimination of long-term vacancies, closure of state facilities, and across-the-board cuts to many programs.
• Requires more transparency in state government through on-line reporting of state expenditures, grants and contracts on a searchable Internet Web site available to the public.
• Ensures the solvency of the veterans trust fund over the next biennium by providing $5 million GPR in additional funding to support benefits to veterans.
• Strengthens the veterans tuition remission program by expanding it to include the University of Wisconsin-Madison Executive Masters in Business Administration program, distance education, on-line and 100 percent fee funded programs, and by increasing the number of credits or semesters eligible for state tuition remissions.
• Provides $1.8 million GPR and 5.0 FTE GPR positions to the Government Accountability Board and $10 million SEG and 55.0 FTE SEG positions to the Department of Transportation for the implementation of the voter identification legislation.
• Separates the core functions of promoting job growth from regulating job creators by funding the new public/private Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation focused solely on job creation and a new Department of Safety and Professional Services that can provide a one-stop shop for commercial regulation.
• Improves customer service by consolidating responsibilities for trademark and trade name registrations and notary public commissions with the corporate filing activities at the Department of Financial Institutions.
Building Program
• Helps ensure an adequate number of dentists in Wisconsin by providing $16 million in general fund supported borrowing and private funds for expansion of the Marquette Dental School.
• Helps improve homeland security and coordination of law enforcement and intelligence data by providing $6.8 million for a Fusion Center at the Department of Military Affairs.
• Provides funding for educational facilities including the Horicon Marsh International Education Center. The Horicon Marsh is recognized as a Wetland of International Importance. The center provides educational experiences for scientists and visitors who come from around the world.
• Encourages fiscal responsibility by reducing previously authorized bonding for projects that have not moved forward or were constructed under budget.
• Directs the Department of Administration to use the proceeds from the sale of buildings to reduce outstanding debt whenever possible.
I have made 50 vetoes to the budget. These vetoes remove unnecessary reports and requirements, clarify program implementation timelines, and improve the intended focus of certain programs. These vetoes reduce spending by $10,000 SEG.
There were three items in the budget that I did not veto but that require additional clarification:
• The budget authorizes the Attorney General to allocate penalty surcharge revenues in support of prosecutor positions. I respectfully request that the Attorney General allocate a portion of these revenues in support of an existing drug crimes prosecutor position in St. Croix County. St. Croix County is one of the fastest growing areas of the state and continues to combat methamphetamine abuse.
A417
• The budget expands the current law prohibition on the use of government funds to pay for the performance of abortions to specifically include the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Authority. I feel strongly that taxpayer dollars should not support the performance of elective abortions. However, concerns have been raised about the potential for this provision to have the significant and unintended consequence of compromising the accreditation of the obstetrics and gynecology residency program operated by the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. In-state training programs are a critical component of averting a physician shortage, particularly in the urban and rural areas of the state, and it is essential that we retain and grow physician residency opportunities in Wisconsin.
I have thoroughly reviewed this provision and do not believe it would prohibit the hospital from meeting the accreditation standards. I encourage the hospital to take the steps necessary to meet the intent of this provision by ensuring tax dollars are not directly funding the performance of abortions, while maintaining the accreditation of this very important physician training program.
• Several months ago, I provided the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council with a proposal that would have increased the waiting period to receive benefits to one week and also would have revised Wisconsin law to allow the state to take advantage of extended unemployment benefits provided by the federal government. Unfortunately, the council did not act on either measure at that time. The Legislature acted on the first provision - requiring recipients of unemployment to wait one week before receiving their benefits. I applaud the Legislature for their decisive action on this issue. Recently, the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council voted unanimously in support of utilizing additional federal unemployment funds, a measure I fully support. I am now calling on lawmakers to act on the council's recommendation and modify Wisconsin laws to allow the state to take advantage of these additional federal funds.
I commend the leadership of the Legislature in maintaining its focus through some of the most difficult political discussions this state has ever faced. They improved on my budget and accomplished something few ever thought attainable - a structural surplus. Together, we are paying our bills and staying focused on job creation.
The budget I sign today reflects a return to Wisconsin's values. From Superior to Kenosha and from Green Bay to Platteville, we are independent-minded, moderate, pragmatic and frugal. This budget embraces those values by giving our local officials the tools to truly focus spending on delivering efficient and effective government services. Together we move forward with a stable government that has put its fiscal house in order so that its people can engage in private enterprise and create jobs that fuel our economy.
Sincerely,
Scott Walker
Governor
__________________
Veto Message
Table of Contents
A.
AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND JUSTICE
AGRICULTURE, TRADE AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
1.
Agricultural Chemical Funds Report
2.
Grain Inspection Program Report
CORRECTIONS
3.
Inmate Litigation Loans
4.
Nursing Services Report
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS AND OFFICE OF STATE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
5.
Pay Progression for Certain Attorneys
NATURAL RESOURCES
6.
Brownfield Site Assessment Grants
7.
Economic Impact Analysis
OFFICE OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE
8.
Report on Drug Offender Diversion Surcharge Fund
9.
Repeal of Traffic Stop Data Collection Requirements
SUPREME COURT
10.
Judicial Compensation Commission
B.
EDUCATION, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Children and Families
11.
Transitional Jobs Demonstration Project
12.
Local Child Support Enforcement
13.
Fingerprinting for Child Care Providers
14.
Rules Related to Child Care Subsidies for Children of Child Care Providers
15.
Child Care State Administration and Licensing
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
16.
Submission of Data for Choice Program Eligibility Determinations
University of Wisconsin System
17.
Approval for University of Wisconsin-Madison Employment Plans
18.
Annual Reporting of Contractual Service Procurements
19.
Joint Committee on Finance Authority to Postpone Telecommunications Services Prohibition
A418
20.
Review of Position Titles and Classifications
21.
Technical Correction to "Academic Faculty"
C.
GENERAL GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT