Category: State budget

As union members proclaim “solidarity,” the state?s new law prohibiting collective bargaining is hitting public employee pocketbooks this week. The state started making payroll deductions for pensions and health insurance for tens of thousands of employees Thursday, and some municipalities and school districts will do so for more employees on Friday. Most state employees, except State Patrol troopers and inspectors, began paying 5.8 percent of their earnings for their pensions. They?re also paying 12.6 percent of health care premiums. Sandy Rindy, a union member who has worked at UW-Madison for 30 years, most of it as a payroll and benefit specialist, said deductions will have a real impact, especially for those living paycheck to paycheck and single parents struggling with day care and health care costs.

The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance broke down the $64.3 billion state budget, which the Republican governor signed into law in late June. Among its findings, the nonprofit research group calculated a 3.8 percent cut in state support for the University of Wisconsin System.

UW System president Kevin Reilly is talking about what $340-million in state budget cuts will mean to the system. UW System president Kevin Reilly says that the cuts for the 2011-2013 biennium will have a big impact on individual campuses.

After months of protest marches, court hearings, and marathon legislative sessions, Governor Scott Walker?s law that rolls back the ability to collectively bargain for many state workers officially takes effect today. It?s been a historic journey for the measure to get to this point, as it has worked its way through the Legislature and the courts in a battle like no other in recent memory. It has left many in the state divided and will likely impact the political landscape of Wisconsin for the next several years.

Gov. Scott Walker said Monday he should have done more to prepare the public for his plan to eliminate most collective bargaining for public employees.

“We had not built enough of the case” for the sweeping plan, Walker said during a wide-ranging session with Journal Sentinel reporters and editors.

The collective bargaining law, which goes into effect Wednesday, will allow future bargaining only on wages with increases capped at the rate of inflation. It also will require annual certification votes on union representation and bar deduction of union dues from public workers? paychecks.

Gov. Scott Walker vowed Monday to keep pushing for his plan to split off UW-Madison from the rest of the University of Wisconsin System, even after the state Legislature axed it from the two-year state budget. The state Legislature commissioned a special 17-member task force to study the structure of UW System. It must submit a report on that issue by Jan. 1. Walker will appoint two of the task force members. He said he will work with the state Legislature to develop reforms for the campuses by the next two-year budget.

Gov. Scott Walker signed a two-year $66 billion budget Sunday that will cut nearly $800 million from public schools, expand taxpayer support for private voucher schools, cut taxes for investors and businesses, clamp down on property taxes and put the state?s finances in better shape than they?ve been in for more than a decade.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker left the state budget largely intact, using his powerful veto pen to issue only 50 changes before signing it into law Sunday. The lack of changes indicate Republicans who control the Legislature handed the governor most of what he wanted as they revised the two-year, $66 billion budget.

Noted: Walker also used his veto pen to eliminate Board of Regents review and approval of University of Wisconsin-Madison compensation, personnel system plans and tentative labor agreements because “these plans will already require approval from the Joint Committee on Employment Relations?? and “removing this level of approval will give the state?s flagship campus the level of autonomy it needs to successfully compete in the global higher education environment.”

ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — Having survived months of protests, injunctions, and appeals, Wisconsin?s budget is now officially law.

ASHWAUBENON (WKOW) — Gov. Scott Walker signed his first budget on Sunday afternoon at a private ceremony near Green Bay.

In signing the two-year $66 billion budget, Governor Scott Walker eliminates the debt saying ?Republicans and Democrats alike have caused this problem.? He says ?Unfortunately for all of us ?honest budgeting? was one of those areas where both political parties tended to look the other way.?

The University of Wisconsin System is bracing for budget cuts that will require it to cut some positions.

The University of Wisconsin System has gotten some of what it wanted from the state budget. The Madison campus will not be spun off, although the issue will be studied. Michael Spector, President of the UW System Board of Regents, said the campuses will have some long sought flexibilities in areas including budgeting and personnel management. ?Not everything we wanted in those areas, but certainly a significant amount. I think, the way legislation works, it?s a good start for the next biennium,? he said.

The University of Wisconsin System has gotten some of what it wanted from the state budget. The Madison campus will not be spun off, although the issue will be studied. Michael Spector, President of the UW System Board of Regents, said the campuses will have some long sought flexibilities in areas including budgeting and personnel management. ?

Although no one is doing back flips because of an impending cut of $250 million in state taxpayer support over the next two years, University of Wisconsin System officials are generally pleased with the budget bill now awaiting Gov. Scott Walker?s signature. System leaders are most excited about the measures in the bill granting campuses across the state some long-sought freedoms from state oversight when it comes to construction, personnel systems, procurement and accountability reporting.

Gov. Scott Walker?s aggressively austere budget is one step from becoming law, but state officials say its effects are already being felt across Wisconsin. The state Senate on Thursday night passed the $66 billion plan, which uses a combination of budget cuts and corporate tax breaks in an attempt to close an estimated $3 billion budget hole while trying to spur the economy and promote business growth. The measure aims to reduce the state?s structural deficit by about 90 percent by 2013, from $2.5 billion to $250 million. To do this, it cuts more than $1 billion from public schools and the University of Wisconsin system. It also holds property taxes practically flat, which severely limits local officials? ability to recoup lost revenues.

The Legislature on Thursday handed Gov. Scott Walker his budget remolding government at every level, even as new details emerged on how it could lead to the expansion of the state?s school voucher program to many districts around the state.

With the Senate?s vote today, the budget bill awaiting Governor Walker?s signature offers significant leadership flexibilities for all University of Wisconsin System institutions. The two-year budget reduces taxpayer support for UW institutions by $250 million, but it includes long-sought statutory changes in budgeting, financial management, personnel, and other areas. Together, these measures should help mitigate the impact of those cuts.

Noted: ?UW Police were called because they have special equipment. We do have lock-cutting devices here but because of the special locks and being around their neck, we had a team from UW Police that came out here  with special equipment. The locks were removed and the two individuals were taken into custody.?

The Wisconsin Senate has passed the state budget, which is now ready for Governor Scott Walker?s signature. Minority Democrats argued the $66 billion two year budget hurts the working poor and elderly while cutting funding for education and local services

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate has passed the $66 billion state budget, sending it to Gov. Scott Walker, who promises swift ac

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate has passed the $66 billion state budget, sending it to Gov. Scott Walker who promises swift action.

The Wisconsin Senate passed its biennial budget bill along party lines late Thursday night, amidst shouts of “I want my democracy back!” from the gallery and repeated commotions from a small group of protesters outside the chambers.

The future is looking somewhat better for Wisconsin?s state educational Internet system and the university division that supports it. By late Wednesday Wisconsin?s state Assembly had come up with revised legislation for WiscNet that will allow it to receive continued funding from the University of Wisconsin?s Division of Information Technology. The Assembly gave the provisions and state budget final approval very early this morning. WiscNet provides Internet for most of Wisconsin?s public schools and libraries.

The Republican-controlled state Assembly has passed the budget on a party line 60-38 vote early Thursday morning.

Lawmakers in the Assembly approved a two-year $66 billion state budget plan on a 60-to-38 party line vote. The final vote came at around three this morning, following a debate on the floor that stretched for nearly 13 hours.