Hundreds of legislative decisions, some big and many small, helped decide how Wisconsin state government will spend $62 billion in the next two years. The process was familiar. More than a half century ago, then Assemblyman Raymond Peabody of Polk ...

Tagged with: budget Legislative Fiscal Bureau

Paul Snyder [email protected] Gov. Jim Doyle spent three days with the state Legislature’s proposed budget before putting away his veto pen and signing the bill into law Monday. Doyle put his signature on a 2009-11 state budget that deletes more ...

Tagged with: budget Jim Doyle Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Link oil franchise fee Regional Transit Authority unions

Shared revenue cutbacks and revenue shortfalls are giving Dane County’s budget a one-two punch that might only be shielded with layoffs, unpaid furloughs, wage freezes and delays in construction projects.

Tagged with: budget Building and Construction Trades Council of South Central Wisconsin Dane County Focus on Dane County recession shared revenue Wisconsin Laborers’ District Council

Paul Snyder [email protected] For the time being, highway departments and private road builders agree counties should not perform any road or construction work that uses private money. Instead of forcing county highway departments to competitively bid on projects with price ...

Tagged with: budget International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 Legislature Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin

Matt Pommer The idea solicited guffaws from older members when it was introduced by a new member in the state Senate in 1963. It seemed to fly against the habits of most citizens. The U.S. Surgeon General’s warning had not ...

Tagged with: budget tax

Paul Snyder [email protected] The state Senate approved a special Legislative committee’s agreement reached on the 2009-11 state budget early Friday morning on a 17-15 vote. Sen. Alan Lasee, R-De Pere, was absent from the vote. Sen. Jim Sullivan, D-Wauwatosa, voted ...

Tagged with: Assembly budget Senate

Paul Snyder [email protected] Two hours. No decisions. “This makes no sense,” Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, told the other members of the special Legislative conference committee Wednesday night. “Pull the plug on it right now. This is insulting. Nothing ...

Tagged with: Assembly budget Senate

Scott Bauer AP Writer Madison — Don’t count on getting a new driver’s license the day after Thanksgiving: The Department of Motor Vehicles, along with other state offices, will likely close that day under the governor’s plan to furlough state ...

Tagged with: budget furlough recession

Paul Snyder [email protected] Construction work on Highway 67 in Kiel will continue through the summer, even though the project has little local support. Whether that lack of support is rooted in an effort to save money or to stop the ...

Tagged with: budget Highway 67 Kiel Senate

Paul Snyder [email protected] The state Senate on Wednesday passed its version of the state budget on a 17-16 vote. Following is a recap of the debate: 4:28 p.m.: Senate set to convene State Senate President Fred Risser, D-Madison, announced the ...

Tagged with: budget