Thread: Highlights Of Changes Sought To Wisconsin Budget

Jun 17, 2009 11:39 am US/Central

Highlights Of Changes Sought To Wisconsin Budget
The Associated Press,
(AP)

Changes proposed by Senate Democrats that were scheduled to be debated Wednesday:

— Do not impose a new tax on oil companies as Gov. Jim Doyle and the state Assembly wanted. Under the Assembly version, taxes on gas could go up by as much as 4.4 cents a gallon.

— Remove all capital gains exclusions. Doyle wanted to lower them from 60 percent to 40 percent.

— Do not create a new special card that would allow illegal immigrants to drive legally in Wisconsin.

— Do not allow illegal immigrants who attend state universities and colleges to pay in-state tuition, as Doyle proposed and the Assembly agreed to do.

— Keep the current threshold required for someone to be found partially liable for damages in a civil lawsuit at 51 percent at fault. Doyle had proposed lowering it to 1 percent, which brought an angry response from the business community warning that the threat of additional lawsuits and higher insurance costs could drive some people out of business. The Assembly rejected Doyle's proposal, and the Senate agreed.

— Mandate that all car owners must have auto insurance.

— Immediately repeal a state law known as the "qualified economic offer" that has effectively held teacher pay raises in check for 16 years. The Assembly voted to repeal it in a year.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

http://wcco.com/wireapnewsfwi/Highlight ... 48282.html

— Mandate that all car owners must have auto insurance.

I LIKE this one. I live near the Illinois/Wisconsin border. Someone convince me it's a coincidence that Hispanic drivers tend to have Wisconsin plates on their cars.