After Republicans pass sweeping income tax cut and axe UW diversity funding, Gov. Evers has a decision to make

 

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Gov. Tony Evers said it was a line he didn't want Republicans to cross, and on Thursday night, they crossed it.

GOP lawmakers on the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee voted Thursday night to cut $32 million from the University of Wisconsin System's budget.

Republicans on the committee said they calculated that figure based on 188 positions throughout the system with titles related to diversity, equity or inclusion, commonly referred to as 'DEI.'

The cuts are part of a nationwide conservative push to defund DEI positions in education and government.

Republicans maintained the concept fosters divisiveness, with students split into camps of 'oppressed' and 'oppressors.'

"Instead of forcing these students to view the world through a lens of race, gender, or economic class just to obtain one of these degrees, UW System ought to be teaching them different things," State Rep. Alex Dallman (R-Green Lake) said. "Such as critical thinking and problem solving."

Democrats blasted the cuts as a needless attack on efforts to make UW campuses more welcoming to all Wisconsinites.

State Rep. Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee) said, as the father of a biracial child, he took the cuts personally.

"I care about it so much because it's a reflection of the neighborhood and the city I live in," Goyke said. "It's a reflection of my wife. It's a reflection of my son, Miguel, who's Mexican."

Evers told reporters last week while touring a cheese manufacturer in Monroe he wouldn't sign a state budget that slashed UW funding at a time when the state had a projected surplus of $7 billion.

If Evers followed through on those remarks, it would be the first time a Wisconsin governor vetoed an entire state budget since Wisconsin adopted the partial veto in 1931.

The partial veto allows governors to strike out individual items from the budget, although it's unclear how those powers could restore UW funding.

Evers could, however, look into using some of the state's untapped federal pandemic relief to make up for those cuts to the university system.

UW System President Jay Rothman testified before a Senate committee earlier in the week such cuts could lead to campus closures. 

While Republicans have said they want the UW to focus more on preparing the state's future workforce, system officials have maintained lawmakers undermined that effort by declining to fund the UW's top capital priority, a new engineering building on the Madison campus. 

Republicans on the finance committee said they've set up a process where UW System leaders can make a case to restore some of that funding.  

Tussle over tax cuts

Republicans also diverged sharply from Evers on the question of tax cuts.

The GOP-controlled finance committee passed more than $4 billion in tax cuts; the vast majority come in the form of a $3.5 billion income tax cut.

While Republican ditched an earlier proposal to move toward a completely flat income tax, their proposal moves in that direction by merging two of the state's four current tax brackets.

Those current tax rate brackets, for single filers, look like this:

• Earnings up to $13,810: 3.54%
• Earnings up to $27,630: 4.65%
• Earnings up to $304,170: 5.3%
• Earnings beyond $304,170: 7.65%

Under the Republican plan, the two middle brackets would both be taxed at 4.4%. The lower bracket would be slightly reduced to 3.5%. The highest bracket would go down to 6.5%.

Democrats slammed the plan as a giveaway to the rich. They noted the average annual tax savings for those making between $500,000 and $1 million would be $6,163. Those earning between $50,000 and $60,000 would save an average of $165 per year.

"Now, I knocked a lot of doors this last election cycle," State Rep. Tip McGuire (D-Kenosha) said. "And I didn't have a single constituent tell me, 'You know what I'd really like? I'd really like to give nearly $2 million to the 11 richest people in the state.' No one mentioned that to me."

Democrats argued much of the $3.5 billion that went to the state's highest earners could have instead gone toward extending a pandemic-era program that funded child care centers.

Republicans on the committee said the proposal reflected the gap in the parties' priorities; that whereas Democrats wanted to decide what to do with taxpayer dollars, conservatives wanted to return them directly to the public.

State Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) added it was only natural for most of tax savings to go to highest earners because the wealthiest 15% accounted for two-thirds of the state's income tax collections.

"It's hard to cut taxes when you're not touching the people who pay the vast majority of the taxes," Stroebel said. "Otherwise, how do you cut taxes?"

Public workers get a pay bump

The legislature's budget also includes $700 million to boost the wages of state employees.

There was a particular focus on correctional officers, where the state faces a dire labor shortage. The budget calls includes a $344 million plan to increase pay for those positions to $33 per hour.

The Department of Corrections has said its average vacant rate is 34% in state prisons, with some facilities operating at less than half staff.

The nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum recently reported public sector workers in Wisconsin were leaving their jobs at a record-high rate.

The full legislature is expected to vote next week on the two-year state budget.

From there, the Evers administration will review the budget and decide whether to sign the budget, issue an unprecedented outright veto, or take the path most frequently taken by governors: a series of partial vetoes.