June 29, 2007
Volume
#29, Issue #21
SENATE BUDGET PACKAGE MOVES ON TO THE STATE ASSEMBLY: see below for an urgent
message to union members.
The State Senate voted on a ground-breaking budget plan Tuesday, and now the
Assembly is preparing
its own countervailing budget proposal, which will likely be voted on July 3.
The Senate package, which has been widely described in the press, contains a comprehensive
health
care plan for all working residents of the state. The "Healthy Wisconsin: Your
Choice, Your Plan" proposal
has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO and countless other advocacy organizations.
For more information about the Healthy Wisconsin Plan, go to www.wisconsinhealthplan.org;
www.wisaflcio.org;or
www.thewheelerreport.com
(look for postings dated 6/25-6/27).
The Senate budget proposal also contains a host of initiatives, many of which are
supported by and
lobbied by AFSCME. For example, it provides more money for transportation, nursing homes,
and
education. It creates a collective bargaining process for UW faculty and staff, domestic
partner health
insurance benefits for state workers, and requires all insurers to cover treatment of
autism and raises the
minimum coverage requirements for mental health insurance plans. On tax matters, the
Senate package
changes unfair property tax breaks that some manufacturers now enjoy because of a court
ruling called
the Newark Decision. The Senate proposal deletes the controversial ATM property tax
exemption and
redefines the use value assessment law to make it more difficult for developers to take
unfair advantage of
a property tax break that was originally intended to benefit farmers. Finally, the Senate
included "combined
reporting" for corporations that pay income tax in Wisconsin. This tax change will
generate some $130
million into the state’s treasury.
ASSEMBLY BUDGET PACKAGE BEING CRAFTED AS OF 6/29/07:
Assembly Republicans have been meeting in closed caucus this week to fashion their own
budget.
They’ve already painted themselves in a corner by pledging not to accept the
Governor’s budget proposal,
which includes a number of fee and specific target tax hikes designed to pay for specific
services. The
only way they’ll reach this goal is by cutting public services.
We have already heard that they’re planning to cut the state employee
Compensation Reserves, which
fund market adjustments as well as pay and benefit hikes for state workers. AFSCME sent
out an alert to
members this week urging union members to call their state Assembly Representative to oppose
any raid
on the Comp Reserves. We’ve also heard rumors of efforts to undermine our
pensions and our municipal
collective bargaining law, but it is unclear whether this will be in the package or not.
Stay tuned! Please call
your Assembly Rep today and tell him or her not to harm public services or public
employees!
LEGISLATIVE WEBSITES. . .For those
"online", here are some good info spots:
Wisconsin State Legislature: www.legis.state.wi.us/
"Who Are My Legislators": www.legis.state.wi.us./waml/
State of Wisconsin: www.wisconsin.gov/state/home
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau: www.legis.state.wi.us/lrb/
Wisconsin Legislative Council: www.legis.state.wi.us/lc/
Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau: www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/
Wisconsin Ethics Board: http://ethics.state.wi.us