Tell Wisconsin Legislators: Use Gov. Evers' 2021-23 Budget Bill as Blueprint for Future, Keep Pro-Worker Items in Wisconsin's Budget
Governor Evers has unveiled a comprehensive Biennial Budget grounded in Wisconsin values that supports working people through the continued crisis of the pandemic and lays the foundation for a more prosperous Wisconsin for all. Recognizing the hardship and economic uncertainty that Wisconsin families are facing, Governor Evers’ Budget addresses the needs of our schools, communities, and healthcare providers while making key investments in infrastructure improvements and workforce training so that we can beat the pandemic while providing real support and relief for working families.
Highlights for Workers: Governor Evers’ Budget correctly restores basic protections that are the right of anyone who works for a living. We applaud the Governor for including the repeal of Wisconsin’s so-called Right to Work law, restoring collective bargaining rights for public employee frontline workers, restoring prevailing wage laws, and eliminating the prohibition on Project Labor Agreements. The budget also calls for expanding BadgerCare, bolstering Wisconsin’s Family and Medical Leave Act, building retirement security for workers, and modernizing Wisconsin’s unemployment system. These are pro-worker policies that grow our economy with family-supporting jobs and increase economic opportunity for all.
About the Budget Process: Gov. Evers’ Budget was introduced into the Legislature as AB 68 and SB 111 and assigned to the Joint Finance Committee. The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) is a committee of 8 Senators and 8 Representatives. Of the JFC’s 16 members, 12 are Republicans and four are Democrats.
The JFC will set a tentative schedule for public hearings for Wisconsinites to voice our input on the Budget. Once the public hearings conclude, the Joint Finance Committee will take individual votes on the Budget and insert its own budget proposals. When the JFC has concluded its work, it will send the amended Budget bill to the Legislature for final changes and votes. Once the Assembly and Senate pass identical versions of the Budget bill, the Budget bill is sent to Governor Evers’ desk. The Governor then has the ability to sign the Budget bill into law, sign and issue partial vetoes to the Budget bill, or veto the Budget bill altogether and send it back to the Legislature for changes.
We’ve just begun to spotlight some of the budget proposals that impact working families and will provide further analysis and action items in order to ensure Wisconsin workers raise our voice together for the best possible budget for working families.