Tonight, the Joint Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Alberta Darling, fixed its earlier proposal by including cities in the one-time appropriation proposed yesterday (the overall one-time appropriation is at a lower dollar amount than proposed yesterday). They also included money for reconstruction of I-43.
All Republicans other than Sen. Dewey Stroebel voted yes. All Democrats voted no. The difference between the parties was over what kind of tax should be increased to fix roads. Democrats favor higher gas taxes. Republicans, who control the legislature, favor higher registration and similar fees.
Sen. Stroebel voted no presumably because he opposed the spending on roads.
This is a long way from done. The vote among Republicans in the Senate will be close.
Then, even if it gets out of the legislature, it is unclear what Gov. Evers will do. The appropriations are similar to his original proposal, but he presumably opposes the Republicans’ plan for paying for it. Plus, this will be part of a comprehensive budget, There clearly are far bigger differences between the parties over other parts of the budget.
Thsi will be a long summer in Madison.