In what could be the most important decision of his term, Gov. Jim Doyle is threatening to veto the entire state budget passed by the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee and Assembly.
The budget approved by those bodies, but still pending in the state Senate, contains a major reduction in state funding for public schools that Doyle claims would either trigger a massive property tax increase or result in deep cuts in school budgets across the state.
In an interview, Doyle acknowledged that he’s taken the rare step of considering an across-the-board veto – instead of just using his pen to rewrite the most objectionable parts – because Republicans want to “get me in a box.”