Governor Tony Evers unveils first state budget

Governor Tony Evers unveiled his first state budget last Thursday.  The Alliance’s policy committees and staff are examining the $83-billion state budget to identify issues significantly impacting our member businesses and outlined in the Alliance’s 2019 Policy Agenda. These include policy solutions that address the workforce shortage, foster strong business-education partnerships, help modernize our state’s critical infrastructure, drive economic development and promote government efficiencies.

Here are some key areas in the state budget where we expect to advocate on behalf of our members:

Transportation funding – The proposed budget would increase Wisconsin’s gas tax by 8 cents a gallon, but Gov. Evers said drivers may end up paying less due to proposed elimination of Wisconsin’s minimum markup on fuel. Read more

Manufacturing & Agriculture Tax Credit – Governor Evers would scale back tax credit for manufacturers that earn more than $300,000, generating $516 million for the state. Read more

Wisconsin Technical College System funding – Gov. Evers is proposing $18 million more for the technical college system.

Wisconsin’s talent attraction program – The proposed budget did not include $10 million requested by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) for talent attraction. Last year, WEDC received $6.8 million with a one-time appropriation. In this year’s budget, WEDC requested a $5 million annual spending plan. The budget proposed by Evers did not include any funding for talent attraction. Read more

The Alliance is a non-partisan organization that does not endorse candidates or make political contributions. We advocate on your behalf to ensure a growing, vibrant business community and keep members informed about important issues that impact your organization and the region’s business climate.

Download the full budget here.