The Madison-Monday Morning Report–
6-9-2025
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The Budget is Due in 22 Days
We ‘ve already reported that the liberal Supreme Court has given Gov. Evers the ability to modify the budget, carve out any funding he would like, for any amount, for any purpose, for as long as he wishes. We discussed not sending Evers any budget at all. The budget would stay the same, holding at $100 billion and Evers would be denied the opportunity to give the duly elected legislature (and hence the people) the shaft.
My Substack - Savagespeaks offers a recent history of the budget in Wisconsin. See it here. You should also read my Substack on researching budgets, past and current. See it here.
Republican leaders Robin Vos and Devin LeMahieu were expected to hold a third meeting with Evers in early June. Doesn’t that make us feel better? Not! The budget has practically doubled since Vos became speaker and all of his lobbyist friends are extremely happy with him, just look at the donations to the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee (RACC) and to Vos’s campaign. Talks appear to be stalled at this point.
NOTE: THE WCD SUGGESTS - GET THE TAX CUTS SIGNED INTO LAW FIRST!!! THEN TALK!!!
To Review the Budget Papers click here. As you can see, there’s not much talk of “cutting” anything. And as long as most of you are ok with that, don’t expect anything to change. Ever. Reagan said “ “The closest thing to eternal life on earth is a government program” and that is just as true in Madison, Wisconsin as it is in Washington, DC.
Follow the Joint Finance Committee - Click here.
NOTE: Of interest is the paper on the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Read it here.
See the notice for tomorrows (Tuesday, June 10) Executive Session below.
Budget Timeline Recap - Revisited (From January)
The Budget is first up – As many have has been pointing out, the budget has exploded in the past three budgets, and we can’t help but to report that the Republicans are responsible for the increased spending.
The Capitol Report has already heard from some legislators that they are aware of the spending issues and are gearing up for a fight. It will be one of the main purposes of the Capitol Report to keep our citizens informed of any developments. For now, let’s go over the approximate timeline.
December 2024, the various agencies in Wisconsin, like the DNR and DOT have put together their budget requests and sent them to the governor for consideration. Those agency requests are generally available in December of this year. Altogether the agencies are asking for a 10.9% increase in funding. That would put the budget at $111 billion.
Mid-February – The Governor will release his budget minutes before his “Budget Address” to the Legislature in mid-February and will be available online shortly thereafter.
Late March – The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) will begin holding hearings and passing bits and pieces of the budget, agency by agency.
May – June – The budget, after JFC completes its overhaul of the governor’s budget, must pass both houses of the legislature.
June – July - The budget, last cycle, was enacted in early July of 2023.
HEARINGS –
Note: If there is something that we feel is a must-know item that is receiving a hearing we will point that out. Otherwise, simply follow the links provided.
There are three kinds of hearings.
1. A public hearing where the public is allowed to address bills that are being heard. The bill authors generally go first to answer questions from the committee. Lobbyists and “experts” give their thoughts as well.
2. Executive sessions are where the members of the committee vote on passage. Generally, no testimony is given during an executive session, but last-minute amendments might require explanation and clarification from the Legislative Council (lawyers who provide legal interpretations of the bill’s language).
3. Informational hearings are hearings where invited speakers give their thoughts on topics that they are familiar with. Generally, testimony is limited to invited speakers.
Monday – No hearings scheduled.
Tuesday – The Senate Committee on Committee on Education is holding a public hearing on two education bills. See the notice here. Once again, the legislature is spending a lot of time on worthless efforts to improve a very broken education system. The Assembly Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention is holding a joint public hearing with the Senate Committee on Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, Children and Families on a variety of bills. Again, it looks to the WCD that all these legislators know how to do is spend money. We’ll let you decide. See the notice here. The Assembly Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention is also holding an executive session. See the notice here. The Assembly Committee on Jobs and Economy is holding a hearing on two bills. One spends more money, and the other requires retailers to accept cash. So much for less regulation. See the notice here. The Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government is holding a public hearing on a bill that gives incentives to attract other families to Wisconsin. Yeah, let’s drive up those home prices a bit more shall we? See the notice here. The Joint Committee on Finance is holding an executive session on a plethora of items. See the notice here. See more at the beginning of this report.
Wednesday – No hearings scheduled.
Thursday – The Assembly Committee on Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment is holding an executive session on three bills. Of course, it appears that no hearing is complete without a grant (taxpayer funded giveaway) on the list. See the notice here. The Assembly Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs is holding an executive session on two bills. One that expands benefits to those who served in Laos during the Vietnam war (no one in their right mind opposes this) and the other is the obligatory spending bill, this one is for the war memorial. See the notice here.
Friday – No hearings scheduled.
NOTE: It would not be feasible to discuss every bill being heard every week. If you have a particular bill you’re following, please look at the committee schedule - View the entire committee hearing schedule here - You will need to enter the current date.
Links to Savagespeaks Tutorials and other Information.
Know how to do your research – The links below contain valuable information.
Notification Service – Viewing a Bill history - Researching Budgets
As a reminder of why we must follow our government closely, read the following Substacks.
Monday Count Bill/Kevin Peterson -14 Week Abortion Bill - Wedding Barn Fiasco - Monday Count Bill Revisited - The 2020 election Revisited - Meagan Wolfe Has to Go
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Bill Savage, Editor – Wisconsin Conservative Digest
Bill Savage is a former Chief of Staff at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Current editor of the Wisconsin Conservative Digest and author of Savagespeaks.Substack.com.