6:30 P.M. TUESDAY, February 18, 2025
The Senate met.
The Senate was called to order by Senate President Felzkowski.
Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (6), the Chief Clerk made the following entries under the above date. _____________
Chief Clerk's Entries
Amendments Offered
hist199267Senate Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 39 offered by Senator James. _____________
Deposited with the Secretary of State
The Chief Clerk records:
Deposited in the office of the Secretary of State on 2-18-2025.
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Introduction, First Reading, and Reference of Proposals
Read first time and referred:
Relating to: state finances and appropriations, constituting the executive budget act of the 2025 legislature.
By the joint committee on Finance.
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Report of Committees
The committee on Judiciary and Public Safety reported and recommended:
Senate Bill 6
Relating to: impoundment of vehicles used in certain traffic offenses.
Ayes: 5 - Senators Wanggaard, James, Wimberger, Jacque and Hutton.
Noes: 3 - Senators Drake, L. Johnson and Roys.
Ayes: 5 - Senators Wanggaard, James, Wimberger, Jacque and Hutton.
Noes: 3 - Senators Drake, L. Johnson and Roys.
Ayes: 5 - Senators Wanggaard, James, Wimberger, Jacque and Hutton.
Noes: 3 - Senators Drake, L. Johnson and Roys.
The committee on Judiciary and Public Safety reported:
Senate Bill 25
Relating to: court-issued criminal complaints in officer-involved deaths.
Ayes: 4 - Senators Wanggaard, James, Jacque and Hutton.
Noes: 4 - Senators Wimberger, Drake, L. Johnson and Roys.
VAN WANGGAARD
Chairperson
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Petitions and Communications
hist199239Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative Tenorio withdrawn as a cosponsor of Senate Bill 15. hist199259Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative Gustafson added as a cosponsor of Senate Bill 22. hist199295Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative O'Connor added as a cosponsor of Senate Bill 27. hist199261Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative Gustafson added as a cosponsor of Senate Bill 32. hist199260Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative Gustafson added as a cosponsor of Senate Bill 36. hist199297Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative Fitzgerald added as a cosponsor of Senate Bill 39. hist199240Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Senators Spreitzer and Habush Sinykin added as coauthors of Senate Bill 42. hist199296Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative Fitzgerald added as a cosponsor of Senate Bill 42. hist199258Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative Gustafson added as a cosponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 6. _____________
President Felzkowski appointed Senator Hutton and Senator Dassler-Alfheim to escort his Excellency, the Governor, to the Joint Convention.
Senator LeMahieu, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate recess until 6:45 P.M. for the purpose of awaiting the Governor’s Budget Address in Joint Convention in the Assembly Chambers at 7:00 P.M., and further, that the Senate stand adjourned, until Thursday, February 20, upon the rising of the Joint Convention.
6:35 P.M.
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Recess
The Senate proceeded in a body to the Assembly Chamber to meet in Joint Convention to receive the Budget Address.
6:45 P.M.
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In Assembly Chamber In
Joint Convention
Senate President Felzkowski in the chair.
The Committee to wait upon the Governor appeared with his Excellency the Honorable Governor Tony Evers, who delivered his message as follows:
7:00 P.M.
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“Good evening, Wisconsinites!
Honorable Supreme Court Justices, Tribal Nation leaders, constitutional officers, members of the Wisconsin National Guard and active and retired members of our armed forces, cabinet members, legislators, distinguished guests, and Wisconsinites joining us from wherever you are, thank you for being with us tonight.
My wife, Kathy is up in the gallery tonight. Kathleen Frances—you are my best friend and sounding board. There’s no one else I’d rather shovel heaps of snow with or lose a game of pickleball to. I love you so much.
Folks, I’m Tony Evers, and I’m excited to be here tonight to introduce my fourth biennial budget as the 46th governor of the great state of Wisconsin.
Wisconsinites, we’re not even 50 days into 2025, but my administration and I have been hard at work doing the right thing for Wisconsin. I’m excited tonight to be able to share some of the good work we’ve been doing, including laying out our state’s policy priorities for the next two years.
Our budget includes my comprehensive plan to lower costs from child care to medication to help working families, seniors, and students. I’m providing nearly $2 billion in tax relief, including eliminating income tax on tips. And my plan invests in public education at every level while holding the line on property taxes to make sure the average homeowner will not see a property tax increase.
I’m announcing plans to stop price gouging on prescriptions and crack down on insurance companies for denying Wisconsinites’ medical bill claims. I also want to invest in fighting PFAS and lead and getting contaminants out of our lands, service lines, bubblers, schools, homes, and child care centers for good. And we’re going to keep fixing the darn roads and infrastructure, building more affordable housing, keeping our kids, families, and communities safe, and expanding high-speed internet.
The budget I’m proposing balances our priorities of investing in our kids and needs that have been long neglected while providing real and sustainable tax relief and saving where we can. So, let’s get to work.
Here in America’s Dairyland, agriculture is a $116 billion industry. Everyone knows farmers, farm families, and producers have been the backbone of our state for generations. So when we heard about President Trump’s 25 percent tariff tax—which could spark trade wars with Wisconsin’s largest export partners, hurt our economy and farmers, and drive up costs for gas and groceries—we got right to work.
Just as that 25 percent tax was set to go into effect, I announced a new plan to help protect Wisconsin’s farmers and our ag industry and bolster our supply chain. Under my administration, Wisconsin is on its way to becoming a top 10 state for ag exports—we can’t afford to lose our momentum because of tariff wars in Washington.
So, my plan creates a new ag economist position in state government that can help farmers navigate market disruptions and volatility caused by tariffs. I’m also proposing to double our investments in the Wisconsin Initiative for Ag Exports to help increase exports for our dairy, meat, and crops, and help farmers and producers expand into new markets. And we’re going to build upon our support for meat and dairy processors to help keep our supply chains strong.
We also have to help make sure farmers and producers can get product to market. We just announced 55 new projects across 36 counties to improve rural roads and infrastructure through our Agricultural Roads Improvement Program that we created last session. Tonight, I’m announcing we’re going to invest $50 million to continue that successful program to help ensure our farmers, producers, and ag and forestry industries have reliable roads they can depend on.
I also kicked off the new year declaring 2025 the Year of the Kid across our state. I want everything we do together this year to be focused on doing what’s best for our kids and the families who raise them.
So, I’m asking the Legislature to approve a budget that does what’s best for our kids at every stage, in every way, and no matter where they live in our state. In 2025 the Year of the Kid, I’m excited to be introducing the most pro-kid budget in state history.
An important part of doing what’s best for our kids is reducing exposure to dangerous chemicals and getting harmful contaminants out of our water. Every Wisconsinite should have access to clean and safe drinking water no matter where they live. Tonight, I’m introducing my plan to combat water pollution and improve water quality across Wisconsin. Lead exposure and poisoning is especially dangerous.
There is no safe level of lead exposure for kids—even a small exposure can affect a kid for life, reducing learning capacity and attention span, and affecting academic achievement. So, I approved an emergency rule strengthening our lead standards statewide and announced new investments to support kids and families when they are exposed to lead.
But we should be working to prevent our kids from ever being exposed to lead in the first place. In the last few weeks, Wisconsin has seen cases of lead poisoning in kids who were exposed to dangerous levels of lead at school. At school, folks. That should never happen anywhere in Wisconsin. Period. We have to work together to fix this. Tonight, I’m asking for bipartisan support to invest over $300 million to help get lead out of our service lines, bubblers, schools, homes, and child care centers for good.
And lead is just one contaminant that’s affecting kids, families, and water across our state. Let’s talk about PFAS. ‘Forever chemicals’ like PFAS are chemicals that have been used for decades in things like non- stick cookware, firefighting foam, and even food packaging. PFAS exposure at certain levels can mean developmental delays in kids, increased cholesterol levels, reduced immunity response to infections, and even heightened risk of some cancers.
Addressing PFAS and other contaminants grows harder and more expensive with each day of delay. Republicans and Democrats must work together to finally get something done on this issue. As part of my comprehensive plan to improve water quality statewide, we’re working to strengthen Wisconsin’s groundwater standards for PFAS. And I’m asking the Legislature to support my investment of over $145 million to fight PFAS contamination statewide and provide emergency resources like bottled water to families and communities affected by water contamination.
Cleaning up our water is a key part of our work to keep kids and families across Wisconsin healthy and safe. But we should also invest in preserving our natural resources, increasing outdoor recreation opportunities, and expanding access to public lands for hunting, trapping, and fishing. So, let’s reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program for another decade, and let’s do it with bipartisan support. Let’s deliver on our promise to our kids and grandkids of a better state—and world—than what we inherited.
