Door County Style

Notes from the West Wing: on Wisconsin’s State Budget as Passed by Senate

Posted on 18. Jun, 2009 by Garey Bies in News

Wisconsin’s State Budget as Passed by Senate

It is Thursday afternoon here in the State Capitol and the budget process continues with the latest version of the spending plan being passed by the State Senate last night.  Thanks to the many contacts from people around the state and the efforts of my colleagues and me to affect change, the Senate actually made some improvements to the bill.  Nonetheless, this budget process has provided solid evidence to the adage “two things you should never see being made are sausage and law.”

For my friends who took the last Notes from the West Wing as whining, perhaps they grouse such because they cannot handle the truth of the Democrats’ action concerning this budget.  If you like the 6.3% state spending increase (despite a major state deficit) and the $3.68 billion in tax increases and believe you have not been paying enough of your income in taxes to the government, your dream has come true.  Last session the Republican Assembly led Wisconsin out of the Top-10 most taxed states for the first time in decades and with this new budget, Wisconsin is on its way to being the #1 taxed state in the country.

I accept my roll in the minority party but I do not have to accept bad policy and the taxing and spending of my friends in the other party.  From the number of contacts I have received, practically all of you don’t like it either.  In the next year we are all going to see just how much deeper into all our pockets government will be sticking its hands and how it has re-defined the rules of how we all live our lives.

Of the changes the Senate made to the budget bill, a few are notable.  Improvements made to the bill include the removal of the provisions to provide in-state tuition for illegal aliens as well as driver’s licenses for illegal aliens.  Also, the Senate eliminated the gas tax.

Unfortunately the State Senate made some unfortunate changes as well.  The most notable is the change to the capital gains tax by eliminating the capital gains exclusion.  What this means is now, for an asset held more than a year like your house, when you go to sell that asset, 100% of the increase in value of that asset will be taxed instead of 40%.  For all the families for which their home is their greatest investment, this change will be incredibly costly.

Next in line for the State Budget is the conference committee where the Democrats will get together to hammer out a compromise between the Senate and Assembly version of the spending plan.  After that the budget will face the swat of the Governor’s veto pen.

As always, I can be reached by e-mail at Rep.Bies@legis.wisconsin.gov or by telephone, toll-free at 1-888-482-0001.  You can also visit my website at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/assembly/asm01/news/.

Tags: State Representative Garey Bies