Legislature takes up Evers/GOP school funding and tax cut deal

“The bill gives money to special education, right? The bill gives lasting property tax relief to taxpayers of Wisconsin. The bill gives lasting income tax relief to the taxpayers of Wisconsin. And yes, the bill also gives a one-time immediate rebate check to taxpayers in Wisconsin. The bill actually helps people now.”

– Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam), responding to Democratic opposition to a deal between Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Tony Evers that passed the Joint Finance Committee Tuesday

With Republicans touting it as a bipartisan deal, the $1.8 billion special education funding and tax cut bill negotiated by a pair of GOP leaders and outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers passed the Legislature’s budget committee on a 12-4 vote Tuesday, with no Democratic support. Erik Gunn has the story.

Evers is promoting a big bump in school funding in the “blockbuster” deal he reached with Republican leaders and urging Democrats to vote for it. But the most joyful celebrants of this sudden windfall are Republicans, who have taken to calling it the “big, beautiful, bipartisan bill.” In a commentary, Editor Ruth Conniff analyzes the short-term politics and long-term effects of the proposal.

Outstanding staff in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections were recognized during an awards ceremony last week that honored the late Lincoln Hills youth counselor Corey Proulx. Criminal Justice Fellow Andrew Kennard reports on the event and honorees.

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