Evers calls particular session to spend money on schooling, GOP lawmakers to aim veto override
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Democrats and Republicans scheduled duel agendas in the state Capitol on Tuesday.
Republican lawmakers will seek to overturn Governor Tony Evers’ veto of a bill that would abolish $ 300 weekly unemployment benefits. Meanwhile, Governor Tony Evers is trying to undermine their plans by convening a special session to invest $ 550 million in K-12 schools and the UW system.
GOP leaders have argued for months that the weekly unemployment bonus is worsening Wisconsin’s labor shortage. The additional funds are due to expire in September, but Republicans will try again to get rid of them. To successfully override the governor, Republicans must get two-thirds of the vote in both houses, which requires the support of the Democrats.
In a video message, Governor Evers confirmed that he was aware of the Republicans’ plans.
“If Republicans have time to come to the session just to try to override my veto, they have fucking time to come to the session to do what is best for our children,” Evers said. “So I’m calling a special session of the legislature for tomorrow while you are here in the Capitol, so that you can use this time to make the meaningful investments in our children and our schools that you have in the budget.”
Evers’ plan would invest $ 550 million – $ 440 million would go to the K-12 school and $ 110 million would go to UW System and Wisconsin technical colleges.
Education groups celebrated the announcement after many expressed disappointment with how much schools were taking up in the state budget.
Schools will receive an additional $ 128 million in the next spending plan, but there is no limit to how much revenue the districts can raise – resulting in a flat increase.
Republican budget committee co-chairs who drafted the state budget shot back at Evers’ special session, saying school districts were receiving “massive” federal funding.
“The budget of the legislature who [Evers] signed, considered massive federal funding for schools, made significant investments in the education of our students and respected taxpayers, “said Rep. Mark Born and Senator Howard Marklien.” It was a good budget and we continue to stand by our decisions. ”
While both sides have their own agendas on Tuesday, both are unlikely to become a reality. Republicans alone do not have enough votes to overturn the governor’s veto, and at the same time, Republicans have largely ignored Evers’ demands for a special session.
Even so, some Democrats remain hopeful.
“Schools are not financed the way they need to be,” said MP Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa). “Can we come back tomorrow and calm the schools, calm the families because they didn’t get what they expected in the state budget and they are trying to function without that money.”
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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Governor Tony Evers announced on Monday, July 26th that he had signed Executive Order No. 127 and is calling a special meeting of the tomorrow, Tuesday, July 27th, 2021 at 9:01 am Legislature to do what is best for our children and our schools.
Earlier this month, Governor Evers signed the 2021-23 biennium. While the bipartisan bill fulfilled the governor’s promise to cut taxes for middle-income families by 10 percent, with one of the largest tax cuts in Wisconsin’s history, the governor also noted in his vetoed message that there were areas where the budget did not meet, including sensible investments in our children and our schools.
BREAKING: I’m calling the legislature for a special session tomorrow to do the right thing and invest in our children and our schools. If they have time to come to the session to play politics, then they have time to come in and do what is best for our children. Check out my announcement here ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/fKtImZHa4h
– Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) July 26, 2021
According to a press release, given the budget deficit, Governor Evers announced more than $ 100 million in new funding for public schools outside of the biennial budget in recognition of the fact that the districts had spent funds from their base budgets on pandemic-related costs. At the time, the governor urged lawmakers to do more than bare minimum for our children and schools, and reiterated his intention to engage the legislature in the weeks and months to come to use these available resources to meet those remaining from the budget address unfinished business. including meaningful investments in our children and schools.
In addition to the more than $ 100 million for public schools announced when the budget was signed, the governor used his broad veto to issue 50 partial vetoes to improve the budget document, creating additional government funding to invest in areas Available where Republicans have failed to make meaningful investments on budget, including K-12 training. Governor Evers used his veto to stop a $ 550 million transfer to the Budget Stabilization Fund, which is already in a record high, to ensure government funds are readily available to invest in our children and schools.
Using the state funds already available through the governor’s vetoes, Governor Evers is calling the legislature for a special session to include his proposal for LRB-4297, available here, which is worth more than $ 500 million in Wisconsin’s children, schools, and students.
- $ 440 million for K-12 schools
- $ 240 million for increasing $ 146 per student in grant per student
- $ 200 million in special education funding
- $ 110 million for higher education
- $ 90 million for the University of Wisconsin system
- $ 20 million for the Wisconsin Technical College System
Governor Evers made the announcement late last Friday. Republicans in the legislature quietly stated that the assembly would likely meet for a surprise extraordinary session – a convocation called by the legislature to meet outside of the regular schedule – tomorrow, July 27, 2021. at 9:01 am The legislature will otherwise not meet for a regular session before the end of September. Instead of tackling the unfinished business of the household and making sure our children and schools get the support they need for a new school year during a global pandemic, the Wisconsin State Assembly intends to attend an extraordinary meeting tomorrow, according to a report from WisPolitics.com , possibly to override some of the governor’s vetoes, but Republicans have also signaled that they could also adopt additional bills at the extraordinary session. At the time of this writing, Republican lawmakers are yet to provide details of what veto waivers or other laws will be on the Congregation’s extraordinary session tomorrow.
