Governor Evers Signs Budget Investing Billions in Infrastructure, Housing, and Education

 

     Governor Tony Evers of Wisconsin is one of the most underrated elected officials in the United States. In spite of being constrained legislatively with a GOP majority in both the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate, he has used executive authorities like pardons, vetoes, and executive orders to make historic changes in Wisconsin. Perhaps the best example of this is what he achieved with the 2023-2025 Wisconsin state budget. 

     Governor Evers signed the budget with 50 line-item vetoes, a power given to most governors but one that is uniquely strong in Wisconsin. In education, Evers actually changed language stating that there will be annual increases in education funding from 2023 to 2025 to state that there will be increases from 2023 to 2425, increasing funding for education for the next 400 years. This budget increases funding for education by $1.2 billion, increasing the per-pupil spending maximum by $325 and the minimum from $10,000 to $11,000, the largest increase in education funding in the state of Wisconsin in 30 years. Combined with the prior two budgets, this also brings the total increase in education funding Governor Evers has secured to more than $2 billion over the course of six years. This will ensure that Wisconsin is providing nearly 70 percent of funding for its schools, the highest level in modern history.

     In infrastructure, Evers secured an additional $800 million to fix Wisconsin's roads, highways, and bridges and an additional $140 million to clean the state's drinking water, bringing the total state funding for infrastructure Evers has secured to more than $1.7 billion, and that's on top of the more than $10 billion Wisconsin will receive from 2022 through 2026 thanks to President Biden's infrastructure law.

     Just weeks after signing the largest and most comprehensive slate of affordable housing bills in state history, Evers signed a budget that will secure $725 million to expand affordable housing and reduce homelessness across the state of Wisconsin. The budget also provides $275 million to help county and municipal governments address their budget shortfalls, building on the historic revenue sharing law that Evers signed earlier this year. The budget reduces taxes by $175 million on middle-class families, bringing the total to over $1.5 billion since Evers took office. At the same time, Evers vetoed a Republican proposal that would have cut $1.5 billion in taxes largely on the wealthiest individuals across the state. The budget increased funding to support Wisconsin's signature industry, agriculture, by $3.5 million.

     The budget wasn't everything everybody wanted, with Republicans rejecting $1 billion in middle-class tax relief as well as historic funding for mental health and childcare. However, it provides $3.5 billion for critical priorities for working families across the state. In the words of one former VP, it's a big fucking deal.