Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 82. Sunrise is 5:20 and sunset is 8:37, for 15 hours, 17 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 37.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg begins.
There’s a deal this morning between Gov. Evers and the WISGOP legislature over much of the next biennial state budget. The news comes only this morning, and involves only part of the budget. With those caveats, a review of published accounts of the deal suggests that Evers has managed negotiations with the WISGOP well. There are four principal terms of the deal:
[1] Evers and Republicans agreed to $1.3 billion in income tax cuts largely targeting the middle class. More than 1.6 million people will have their taxes cut an average of $180 annually.
The deal would expand the state’s second lowest income tax bracket and make the first $24,000 of income for people age 67 and over tax-free. It also eliminates the sales tax on electricity, saving taxpayers about $156 million over two years.
….[2] The Universities of Wisconsin would see a $256 million increase over two years, the largest funding increase for the UW system in about two decades. UW Regents had asked for an $855 million overall increase and Republicans in June floated the possibility of an $87 million cut.
The deal also imposes a faculty minimum workload requirement and calls for an independent study on the system’s future sustainability.
….
[3] There will be $200 million in additional tax revenue to pay for transportation projects, but Evers and Republican leaders did not detail where that money would come from.
The agreement increases funding for child care programs by $330 million over two years, a third of which will be direct payments to providers. The money will replace the Child Care Counts program started during the COVID-19 pandemic. That program, which provides funding to child care providers, expired on Monday. Evers, Democrats and child care advocates have been pushing for additional funding to address child care shortages throughout the state.
Funding for K-12 special education programs will increase by $500 million.
State employees, including at the university, would get a 3% raise this year and a 2% raise next year.
….
[4] Once the budget clears the Legislature, Evers will be able to make changes using his expansive partial veto powers. But his office said Evers would not veto any budget provisions that were part of the deal he reached with Republicans.
Evers, who is midway through his second term, has said he will announce his decision on whether to seek a third term after he has signed the budget. He has 10 business days to take action on the spending plan once the Legislature passes it.
See Scott Bauer, Wisconsin’s Democratic governor reaches budget deal with Republicans to cut taxes, fund university, Associated Press, July 1, 2025.
Devil’s in the details, yet this looks like a good deal for Evers. Some in the WISGOP will balk, but Evers will have enough Democratic legislative support to overcome any WISGOP defections.
French wildfire smoke engulfs highway: