Thread: WI Oil tax, driver’s card for illegals out of budget

Senate & House still has to approve this new version. No mention of in-state tuition for illegal aliens.

Oil tax, driver’s card for illegals out of budget
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MADISON (AP) — Oil companies would not face a new tax and illegal immigrants would not be issued special cards so they could drive legally on Wisconsin roads under a budget deal reached privately by Democratic lawmakers and released today.

Wisconsin drivers also would have to buy car insurance, leaving New Hampshire as the only state without the requirement.

The deal reached behind closed doors attempts to resolve major differences between the two versions of the roughly $62 billion state budget passed by the Senate and Assembly earlier this month. There is urgency to get the budget enacted by the start of the new fiscal year July 1 to solve the state’s projected $6.6 billion shortfall, the highest ever.

A special bipartisan committee of lawmakers was scheduled to approve the agreement Thursday night before the full Senate voted on it. The Assembly was expected to take it up Friday.

Under the deal released today, taxes would be raised on capital gains, though not as much as wanted by Senate Democrats, whose budget would have no exemptions. Under the deal, 30 percent of capital gains would be taxed instead of the current 60 percent.

Gov. Jim Doyle had proposed lowering the exemption to 40 percent.

The oil tax was one of the most contentious parts of the budget, with Doyle wanting to ban companies from passing along the cost of the tax to customers at the pump. The Assembly removed that ban under concerns it was unconstitutional. Their plan would have allowed gas prices to go up 4.4 cents a gallon.

The Senate rejected the tax outright and the agreement also does not include it.

Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner had no immediate comment.

The driver’s card for illegal immigrants also was divisive. Police and immigrant rights groups lobbied for the cards, arguing they would make the roads safer by ensuring even those who aren’t citizens have identification and can buy insurance. But Doyle didn’t propose the idea and the Senate rejected it in its budget. Only Utah has a similar card.

The budget includes more than $2 billion in tax and fee increases, cuts most state agency spending by 6 percent, will result in all state employees being furloughed for 16 days over the next two years, force about 1,400 to be laid off and rescinds 2 percent pay increases for state workers.
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http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles ... budget.txt

Democrats announce details of state budget deal
By Steven Walters and Stacy Forster of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Jun. 25, 2009 10:18 p.m.

Madison — Democratic legislative leaders agreed Thursday to a budget that would cut the exemption for capital gains in half - costing investors about $242 million over two years - and kill a proposed tax on oil companies that threatened to raise gas-pump prices.

After 12 hours of closed-door meetings, Democrats who lead an special Assembly-Senate committee announced details of a deal they said could put the 2009-'11 budget on Gov. Jim Doyle's desk by Wednesday, the start of the next spending cycle.

Democrats on a 4-2 party-line vote Thursday night pushed the compromise through the six-member committee, over the objections of two Republicans. The Senate, which Democrats control by an 18-15 margin, planned to vote on it late Thursday or early Friday.

The package requires an up-or-down vote in both houses; no amendments can be made. Key Democrats spent most of Thursday ensuring they had the votes necessary for passage before announcing the deal.

The package would increase state spending by about 6.6%, partly because it spends more than $2.5 billion in one-time federal stimulus cash.

The Assembly, which Democrats control, 52-46 with one independent, should be ready to debate the budget Friday night, Speaker Mike Sheridan (D-Janesville) said.

The budget includes $2.1 billion in tax and fee increases over the next two years, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Democrats said they had to raise taxes to close a record $6.6 billion budget deficit.

The budget deal also included:

School choice: The package would not include an Assembly-backed plan to limit children in the Milwaukee choice program to 21,500. The program allows children to attend private schools at state expense. The Senate opted to stick with the cap of 22,500 set in 2006, and the committee agreed to that.

QEO: The committee adopted a Senate-backed plan for an immediate repeal of the qualified economic offer system of limiting teachers' pay raises. Doyle and the Assembly proposed a delay of the repeal until July 2010. Teachers have long complained that the QEO has unfairly kept salaries low; others say it keeps property taxes in check.

Immigration: Budget negotiators killed an Assembly plan to issue driver's licenses to those who cannot prove they're in the U.S. legally, but included a provision to allow the children of those immigrants to receive in-state tuition at University of Wisconsin schools. Auto insurance: A Senate proposal to make auto insurance mandatory is part of the compromise. Wisconsin is one of two states that don't require it. Doyle supports the change, but the Assembly did not endorse it. The Senate, Assembly and Doyle agree on increases in minimum liability coverage amounts that drivers must carry.

RTAs: The compromise would create a Milwaukee Transit Authority and let Milwaukee County supervisors levy a 0.5% sales tax. It would also authorize creation of a regional transit authority for a commuter rail line linking Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha that would be paid for by raising the $2 car-rental fee to $18. Other RTAs would be authorized in Dane County, Eau Claire County and Ashland and Bayfield counties.

Seat belts: Law enforcement officers would be able to pull drivers over for not wearing seat belts under the compromise. The state will receive $15 million in federal funds if the change becomes law by July 1.

Milwaukee police: Budget-bill negotiators agreed to change state law to allow the City of Milwaukee to withhold pay and benefits from any fired officer during the appeals process, whether the firing was for a crime or for a rule violation.

Workforce grant: The plan includes $2 million for the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, if the city contributes $1.5 million in matching funds over the next two years.

In February, Doyle began the debate over the capital gains exemption when he recommended that the state exempt 40% of capital gains rather than the current 60%.

At 60%, the exemption is one of the most generous in the nation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Under the compromise, the exemption would be limited to 30% of the capital gains.

Senate Democrats, who say the exemption helps the richest taxpayers, voted earlier this month to eliminate the exemption - a move that would have cost investors $485 million over two years.

One out of every nine taxpayers benefits from the exemption when filing income taxes, qualifying for a break averaging $920, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

At the committee's first meeting Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker (D-Weston) said Republicans, who controlled half or all of the Legislature for the previous 14 years, pushed through tax cuts on corporations and the rich - a trend that Decker said must be reversed.

The wealthy "have got to put more back into the kitty," Decker said. Republicans said cutting the capital gains tax break in half would hang a huge "don't invest here sign" on Wisconsin, and punish small business owners who want to sell to pay for their retirement.

"This does nothing to protect the middle class," said Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon), who noted that the budget would also raise property taxes over the next two years by about $1.5 billion.

The budget deal would kill Doyle's February plan to tax oil companies, which he said would have raised $260 million for highways and other transportation programs. Doyle wanted the tax written in a way that would have told oil companies they could not hike gas-pump prices to offset the tax - a provision oil company lobbyists and lawyers worked hard to kill.

The Assembly approved the oil tax, but changed it so oil companies could have raised gas-pump prices by 3 to 4 cents per gallon - something Senate Democrats wanted to avoid.

A Doyle aide said the governor had no comment on the budget compromise, which was announced at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Capitol leaders also have agreed on an across-the-board 6% cut in spending by state agencies; layoffs of up to 1,400 workers; furloughs for state employees of eight days per year; and cuts in aid to local governments and schools.

The budget would raise taxes and fees by $2.1 billion over the next two years, including:

• $310 million by raising the $1.77-cent tax on a pack of cigarettes by 75 cents.

• $287 million by creating a 7.75% tax bracket for single taxpayers with incomes of $225,000 and more, and married couples with incomes of $300,000 and more.

• $97 million by making consumers pay a 75-cent monthly fee on phone lines.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolit ... 45907.html