The state Senate passed the 2021-23 state budget bill on a bipartisan vote of 23-9 with three Senate Democrats joining all Republicans in voting for the plan. The Senate made no changes to the bill passed by the Assembly and thus there were no changes to the K-12 provisions as approved by the Joint Finance Committee.
Like their counterparts in the Assembly, Senate Democrats proposed amendments to increase funding to schools in line with what the governor had originally proposed but they were also rejected on party-line votes.
According to Wispolitics.com, it is the first time since 2007 that a budget has passed either house of the Legislature with bipartisan support.
The bill now heads to Gov. Evers who will likely try to utilize line-item or partial vetoes before signing the bill into law. With the bipartisan votes in the Legislature, the news that a full veto could jeopardize federal relief funding for schools based on maintenance of effort requirements and no guarantee the GOP Legislature would entertain starting over on a new budget, a veto of the entire budget appears extremely unlikely. As we mentioned in our previous post, the governor has six days to act after receiving the bill.
Read More:
- Wisconsin Public Radio. Legislature Approves State Budget, Sends To Gov. Tony Evers
- Cap Times. Wisconsin Senate sends $87.5 billion budget to Gov. Tony Evers
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wisconsin Senate sends $87.5 billion state budget plan to Gov. Tony Evers
- U.S. News & World Report. Wisconsin Senate Passes $87 Billion Budget on to Evers
