Aplogies for the delay on this post; we had some recent personnel changes and out of office vacations that impacted our ability to post this information.
The Legislature has officially sent the 2025-27 state budget to the Governor’s desk, and Governor Evers signed the bill into law shortly before 2 a.m. on July 3rd. He made minimal partial vetoes. The State Senate adopted a largely technical amendment (though there were some substantive changes) to the version of the bill passed by the Joint Finance Committee.
The Senate passed the budget as amended on a bipartisan 19-14 vote. Democratic Senators Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton), Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska), Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick), Jamie Wall (D-Green Bay) and Kristin Dassler-Alfheim (D-Appleton) joined 14 Republican lawmakers in voting for the budget. The following Republican lawmakers joined the remaining Democrats in voting “no” on the budget: Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk), Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield), Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield), and Steve Nass (R-Whitewater).
The Assembly passed the budget as amended on a bipartisan vote of 59-39. Democratic Representatives Jill Billings (D-La Crosse), Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska), Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire), Tara Johnson (D-Town of Shelby), Maureen McCarville (D-De Forest), Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee) and Lori Palmeri (D-Oshkosh) joined 52 Republicans in voting for the budget. Republican Representative Scott Allen (R-Waukesha) joined the remaining Democrats in voting “no.”
High-level highlights of interest in the state budget as passed by the Legislature include:
BCPL
Financial Asset Management: The Governor vetoed a $100,000 per year increase for financial asset management approved by the Legislature. He said he vetoed the increase “because I object to including funding that does not sufficiently cover the cost of a new portfolio management system, and I object to sourcing the financial management costs from funds attributable to forestry activities.”
Delete Deputy Position: The Governor vetoed a provision in the budget that would have deleted the Deputy Commissioner of Public Lands position. As a result of this veto, the board retains the position authority for this 1.0 FTE GPR position for appointment as a deputy director.
Traffic Law Fine and Forfeiture Revenues in Milwaukee County (divert from CSF): Allows Milwaukee County to retain 100% of fine and forfeiture revenues from violations of state traffic laws and require the funds to be used for the district attorney’s office. Currently, 50% of these funds are deposited into the Common School Fund. It is estimated that this provision will decrease revenues to the Common School fund by -$2.2 million per year.
DPI
Literacy Grants: Provides $37.1 million GPR in 2025-26 in the biennial appropriation for early literacy initiatives for grants to reimburse school districts, independent charter schools, and private choice schools that adopt a literacy curriculum from the recommendations made by the Early Literacy Curriculum Council, and to reimburse school boards and independent charter schools for the cost of professional development training in literacy.
Public Library System Aid: Increases funding by $1 million in 2025-26 and by $2 million in 2026-27.
Library Service Contracts: Increases funding by $619,200 SEG in 2025-26 and by $666,600 SEG in 2025-27 to fully fund the estimated costs of the library service contracts maintained by the department. DPI contracts with five service providers: the Milwaukee Public Library, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library, the Cooperative Children’sBook Center, and AutoGraphics.
BadgerLink and Newsline for the Blind: Increases funding by $96,600 SEG in 2026-27 to maintain BadgerLink and Newsline for the Blind levels of service.
