Legislative UpdateLegislative Update

A Busy Six Months:

The GOP-led Legislature Has Accomplished a Great Deal Since January

Among other things,the Legislature and Governor Walker have:

Passed a state budget (2011 Act 32) on time,without tax increases,that leaves Wisconsin in the black for the first time in over a decade:

• Turned a $3 billion deficit into a $300 million surplus
• Instituted the first permanent property tax cap in our state’s history
• Cut bonding (state borrowing) by nearly 20 percent
• Cut more than 1,000 government jobs,including 735 long-term vacancies
• Enacted sweeping business tax reforms that will save Wisconsin’s job creators over   $130 million a year when fully implemented.

Results:

• In the first 6 months of 2011,Wisconsin showed job growth more than twice the national rate
• 88% of Wisconsin businesses say the state is on the right track,up from 10% a year ago
• 53% of businesses of all sizes predict they will add jobs and increase wages in the next 12 months 1

The Budget Repair Bill (2011 Act 10) gave schools and other local governments the tools to control their budgets without sacrificing services:

• MacIver Institute:Wisconsin Schools Already In Line to Save Hundreds of Millions of Dollars 2
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Most state school districts dodge layoffs,cuts – some districts hiring new teachers for the upcoming academic year 3

Other Legislative Successes So Far:

• Protected our votes by requiring a picture I.D. at the polls (2011 Act 23)
• Became the 49th U.S. state to recognize its citizens’ Second Amendment rights to carry concealed weapons (2011 Act 35)
• Created a commission on Waste,Fraud,and Abuse that has already reported a potential $260 million in savings (Executive Order)
• Limited manufacturer liability only to those products they actually produced (2011 Act 2)
• Created a state tax credit for Health Savings Accounts (2011 Act 1)
• Passed legislation requiring a 2/3 supermajority vote to raise income or sales tax rates unless a statewide referendum supports the increases (2011 Act 9)
• Repealed higher auto insurance requirements enacted in the 2009 budget (2011 Act 14)
• Expanded the prohibition against tax money being used to subsidize abortion (2011 Act 32)
• Repealed in-state tuition for illegal immigrants (2011 Act 32)
• Repealed a mandate on local law enforcement to collect racial data during traffic stops (2011 Act 29)
• Expanded School Choice to Racine and potentially Green Bay (2011 Act 32)
• Required a successful drug test in order to receive unemployment benefits 2011 (2011 Act 32)
• Wisconsin paid off its $60 million debt owed to Minnesota under the former tax reciprocity agreement between the states (2011 Act 32)
• Wisconsin paid back the $200 million from Gov. Doyle’s unconstitutional raid of the Patients Compensation Fund (2011 Act 32)
• Footnotes:
• 1 http://www.jsonline.com/business/123511849.html
• 2 http://maciverinstitute.com/2011/07/wisconsin-schools-already-in-line-to-save-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-through-newly-negotiated-teacher-contracts/
• 3 http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/125696138.html

Compliments of Senator Glenn Grothman