So Much For Being A Goalie

This note went out from Rep. Nass to his fellow Republicans.

Dear Colleague:

In February, Governor Doyle proposed a 2007-2009 Biennial Budget with nearly $27.5 billion in General Fund (tax dollar supported) expenditures.  Of course, he also stuck the taxpayers with the bill by proposing the largest tax/fee increases in state history, at $1.7 billion.

Fast forward to today (May 18th), the Joint Finance Committee now only two weeks away from completing action on the Governor’s 2007-2009 budget plan.  One would assume with the outpouring of opposition to the massive tax/fee increases that the Joint Finance Committee would be reducing spending and eliminating the tax/fee increases.  Bad assumption.

As of today (May 18, 2007), the Joint Finance Committee (made up of 8 Republicans and 8 Democrats) has increased General Fund expenditures by about $17.4 million over the levels proposed by Governor Doyle.   Never mind the fact Governor Doyle proposed the highest levels of spending in state history or that the State of Wisconsin currently operates with a $1.6 billion structural deficit.

Despite the GOP leadership’s promise to act as a goalie and limit the tax increases, they are actually adding to it!  Here’s how Joint Finance works… There are 8 Democrats and 8 Republicans.  They start with the governor’s proposed budget and go through it (actually a slightly modified version of it).  To change anything in that budget, a majority of the JFC have to vote for it.  So if Doyle’s budget proposes a tax hike, it takes a majority vote to remove the tax hike.  To date, each vote to remove a tax hike has been a tie vote with all of the Republicans voting to remove the tax hikes and all of the Democrats voting to keep it in the budget.  A tie vote results in the tax hike staying in the budget. 

Like I said, it takes a majority vote of the JFC to change anything in the proposed budget.  This also applies to adding things to it.  That means that the additional $17.4 million in general fund spending that has been added to the budget required a majority vote.  In other words, at least one Republican had to vote with the Democrats to add the spending. 

The procedural rules of JFC make it all but impossible for the Republicans to stop the tax hikes as long as the Dems remain united in their desire to increase our taxes.  The same rules, however, make it all but impossible for the Dems to add to those tax hikes as long as the Republicans remain united in their desire to protect the taxpayers.  Unfortunately for the taxpayers, Democrat solidarity on this issue is stronger than the Republicans’. 

I am digging into the record to see which Republicans on the JFC are supporting the new spending. 

The bright side is that when JFC completes the budget, it gets sent to the Assembly and the Senate for passage.  With all likelihood, the Senate will amend it to make it more liberal and the Assembly will amend it to make it more conservative.  There are about a dozen Republicans in he Assembly who have vowed to not vote for any budget that increases our tax burden.  As I said in my column last week, limiting the tax increases is not enough.  Republicans need to be the party of actually cutting spending and taxes.