The June 20 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had a very good article by Guy Boulton about the potential consequences of the Medicaid budget cuts and policymaking changes in the biennial budget bill. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t tell us anything concrete about what those consequences will be because that was not resolved by the bill;...
For the next week or so, the Department of Health Services (DHS) will have the power to make changes in Medicaid and BadgerCare policy that conflict with state statutes, by adopting rules that may supersede the statutes. That power took effect after the State Supreme Court overturned the ruling that had blocked implementation of the...
Changes in the state budget and budget repair legislation will make it harder for low-income workers in the public sector to make ends meet, according to a new analysis by the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. A two-page brief released today examines these changes and their impact on the families of people employed in public...
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau issued a memo last week that has generated some confusion about the state’s fiscal situation, because some people incorrectly interpreted it to mean that the state would have a sizeable balance at the end of the 2011-13 biennium. Instead, the LFB analysis shows that the recently approved 2011-13 budget bill...
Now that the Legislature has completed its work on the 2011-13 budget, the Wisconsin Budget Project has updated its comprehensive (44 page) summary of the budget bill. It primarily focuses on the issues relating to children and families, and it shows how each policy item evolved over the course of the budget process. Each section also...
In a US Supreme Court decision (J.D.B. v. North Carolina) released today, the Court ruled (5-4) that a youth’s age does need to be considered as a factor when giving Miranda warnings – particularly as it relates to a youth’s ability to understand whether or not they are “in custody” and can adequately exercise consent to be questioned. ...
Medicaid Provisions in JFC Budget Raise Constitutional Issues and Open Meetings Concern The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) version of the budget bill incorporates provisions from the budget repair bill (Act 10) that shift the power over Medicaid and BadgerCare policymaking from the legislature to the Department of Health Services....
How will the state budget impact low-income families? WCCF has updated two analyses to show how the budget -- as amended by the Joint Finance Committee -- will affect low-income families:Effects of the Biennial Budget and Budget Repair Bills for Working Families: This is a summary of the ways the proposed 2011-13 budget bill and the...
According to a June 9th Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo prepared for Senator Mark Miller, the combined cost of the tax cuts in the biennial budget bill and in other bills already enacted this year will be $212 million in the 2011-13 budget period. The annual cost of many of those credits will grow significantly in future years, and the...
Late last week, the Joint Finance Committee approved a $129-million tax break for corporations that produce goods in the state. The Wisconsin Budget Project has a new post explaining the top ten reasons why this tax break is a bad idea. Here's an excerpt: Governor Walker’s budget bill was already very generous for corporations. While...
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