Joint Finance Committee and Gov. Evers Schedule Public Hearings on the State Budget

Both the Joint Finance Committee and Governor Evers announced this week that they are holding public hearings on the proposed 2019-21 state budget (full schedules listed below). These are the only public hearings that will be held on the proposed state budget. The Joint Finance Committee uses feedback received at the public hearings to help them decide which items to keep, modify or remove from the budget. 

If you have never testified at a budget hearing before, you can use this tool kit to help you prepare your testimony and to let you know what to expect on the day of the hearing. 

You can also check out this list of in-district listening sessions to see if there are opportunities to meet with your own state senator and state representative. 

The following educational technology items are included in Governor Evers' proposed 2019-21 state budget:   

• Eliminates the TEACH Educational Technology Training Grants. These grants provide $1.5 million in yearly funding to eligible rural school districts and libraries to provide training to teachers and librarians on the use of educational technology.

• Eliminates the Personal Electronic Computing Device (1:1) Grant program after the 2019-20 school year. This grant program provides $9.2 million in yearly funding for the purchase of student one-to-one devices (laptops, Chromebooks, tablets, etc.) and supporting software, curriculum, and training.

• Restores state funding for the Media Lab run by the Educational Communications Board. Media Lab funds support Wisconsin-based K-12 educational media production. State funding was eliminated for this programming in the 2015-17 state budget. 

• Extends the TEACH Information Technology Infrastructure Block Grant program until June 31, 2021 but reduces funding from $7.5 million per year to $3 million per year.These grants provide technology infrastructure to improve the capacity of rural school districts to utilize technology for students. Eligible purchases include: portable devices/hotspots, routers, access points, cabling, firewall services and other items. 

2019-21 State Budget Public Hearing Schedule  

Friday, April 5, 2019 (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

Pontiac Convention Center

2809 North Pontiac Drive

Janesville, WI 53545

Wednesday, April 10, 2019 (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

Oak Creek Community Center

8580 South Howell Avenue

Oak Creek, WI 53154

Monday, April 15, 2019 (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

University of Wisconsin – River Falls

University Center – Riverview Ballroom #260

500 Wild Rose Avenue

River Falls, WI 54022

Free Public Parking Accessible at: PAY 1 LOT, North Second Street, River Falls, WI 54022

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

University Union - Phoenix Rooms

2430 Campus Court

Green Bay, WI 54311

Governor Evers’ Public Hearing on the State Budget

Wednesday, April 3  (6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., doors open at 5:15 p.m.)

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point,

Laird Room, Dreyfus Center,

1015 Reserve Street, Stevens Point, WI 54481

Register online at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHpLSCbK2uLDOpytPQQKeXPe3xgiN0dgG6r0eG97PoJnY2WA/viewform

Don't Forget to Vote April 2!

Wisconsin's Spring Election is April 2, 2019! Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. 

What's on the ballot: the only statewide race is for the Wisconsin Supreme Court between Judge Brian Hagedorn and Judge Lisa Neubauer. There are many local races across the state, including mayoral, school board and city council races. Find out what's on your ballot here: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-US/PreviewMyBallot

How to Find Your Polling Place:You can find your polling place here: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/FindMyPollingPlace


Absentee Ballot Deadlines: The deadline to request an absentee ballot be mailed to you is March 28. Your completed ballot must be received by your municipal clerk no later than April 2 at 8 p.m. 

In-Person Early Voting: In-person absentee voting (early voting) opportunities vary between municipalities. Some cities allow in-person absentee voting through March 31. Check with your local clerk for details: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/MyMunicipalClerk 

ALA Asking Stakeholders to Contact Congress About Net Neutrality

The American Library Association (ALA) is asking stakeholders to contact their members of Congress in favor of the Save the Internet Act of 2019, legislation introduced earlier this month that would re-instate Net Neutrality provisions. 

 ALA President Loida Garcia-Febo issued the following statement on the proposed legislation:

“A free and open internet is critical for equitable access to online information and resources for the nearly 120,000 libraries ALA represents and the communities we serve across America. And, according to a recent Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland poll, an overwhelming majority of people in this country — 86 percent — support strong, enforceable net neutrality rules that protect our lawful internet traffic against blocking, throttling and other interference. That’s why we continue to work on this important issue and appreciate the efforts of lawmakers today to restore net neutrality protections."

This is how you can find contact information for your members of Congress:

U.S. House of Representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

U.S. Senate: https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact 

Highlights from Governor Evers Proposed State Budget

Governor Evers introduced his 2019-21 state budget on Thursday. We are still analyzing the nearly 600-page executive budget document , but highlights so far include:

General Education

General School Aids and Fair Funding Proposal: Provides an additional $618,822,000 in general schools aids for the biennium. The Governor also proposes changes to the way state aid calculations are made and restores two-thirds state funding for schools. The Governor also increases the revenue limit and proposes indexing it to inflation.

Return to Work for Retired Teachers: Allows  districts to rehire a retired annuitant teacher if: (a) at least 30 days have passed since the teacher left employment with a district; (b) at the time of retirement, the teacher does not have an agreement with any school district to return to employment; and (c) upon returning to work, the teacher elects to not become a participating employee and to continue receiving his or her annuity.

School Libraries, Reading and Ed Tech

Personal Electronic Computing Device Grants: The Governor recommends eliminating grants for personal electronic computing devices in Fiscal Year 2021.  

TEACH Program: The Governor Proposes eliminating the educational technology training and technology curriculum grants. He also proposes several other changes to TEACH, including: extending the information technology infrastructure block grant program to June 30, 2021, at $3 million annually; and modifying current law to ensure that the department has the most accurate data when determining eligibility for the information technology infrastructure block grant awards.

Reinstatement of State Media Lab Funding: Restores State Funding to the media lab run by the Educational Communications Board. The Governor also recommends permitting the board to procure or publish instructional material related to the programs of the state educational radio and television network, and to establish a reasonable handling charge to cover the costs of providing such material.

Library Service Contracts:  Provides an additional $ 133,200 in the first year of the biennium and $ 168,100 in the second year of the biennium to fully fund the library service contracts.

BadgerLink and Newsline for the Blind: Provides an additional $345,800 in the second year of the biennium to fully fund BadgerLink contracts and Newsline for the Blind.

Deposit of Settlement Funds:  Repeals statutory language changes made in 2017 Wisconsin Act 369 requiring the Attorney General to deposit all settlement funds into the general fund. However, the budget creates a new appropriation for the deposit of discretionary settlement funds, which may be used by the Department of Justice at the discretion of the Attorney General.

Wisconsin Reading Corps:  Provides $700,000 in each year of the biennium for the Wisconsin Reading Corps. The program provides one-on-one literacy tutoring for students. Funding for the program is currently set to expire on June 20, 2019. The Governor is requesting that the program continue.

Public Libraries

Public Library System Aid: Provides an additional $2.5 million in funding for public libraries in the first year of the biennium and an additional $4 million in the second year of the biennium.

Recollection Wisconsin: Supports public library digital archiving efforts by expanding WISELearn authority.

Broadband

Broadband Expansion Funding: Increases expenditure authority for the  broadband expansion grant program to $39.3 million in each year of the biennium, including: (a) a minimum of $2 million annually in funding that is already budgeted from the universal service fund; (b) a transfer of $6.9 million in FY20 and $17.3 million in FY21 from the Department of Administration e-rate funds; and (c)an allocation of $30.4 million GPR in FY20 and $20 million GPR in FY21 to the grant program. The Governor also recommends increasing expenditure and position authority to provide an additional position in the State Broadband Office to assist with the expanded broadband expansion grant program.

Initiatives to Expand Broadband: Includes several initiatives to encourage the expansion of adequate broadband access to all Wisconsin residents, including: (a) modifying current law to specify that it is the goal of the State of Wisconsin that by 2025 all homes and businesses within the state have access to high-speed broadband that provides a minimum download speed of at least 25 megabits per second and an upload speed of at least 3 megabits per second; (b) modifying current law to adjust the definition of broadband "underserved" as an area that lacks access to service of download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 3 megabits per second and "unserved" as an area that lacks access to service of download speeds of at least 10 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 1 megabit per second; and (c) modifying several statutory provisions that discourage municipalities from providing broadband service to residents in broadband "unserved" and "underserved" areas.

Transfer of E-Rate Funds to the Broadband Expansion Grant Program: Transfers $6.9 million in FY20 and $17.3 million in FY21 in federal e-rate funds to the Broadband Expansion Grant Program at the Public Service Commission.

Comprehensive Broadband Report:  Directs the Department of Administration and the Public Service Commission to submit a joint report to the Governor and the Legislature, no later than June 30, 2020, that provides updates on emerging broadband technologies, recommendations on how to provide incentives to telecommunications providers to serve unserved or underserved areas of Wisconsin and proposals on how existing state resources can be leveraged to serve those areas.

Secretary of State and State Treasurer

New Resources for the Secretary of State: Provides funding for the Secretary of State to hire a new records management specialist position for the office.

New Resources and Roles for the State Treasurer: Provides an additional $662,100 to allow the Treasurer to hire three new staff: a chief of staff, financial specialist and constituent services and scheduling specialist. The Governor also recommends naming the State Treasurer to the private sector retirement security plan committee and the student loan refinancing study committee.

Moves Secretary of State and State Treasurer Offices: Provides funding to move the offices of the Secretary of State and State Treasurer to a new location. They are currently located in the basement of the Capitol.