This post originally appeared at https://reforminggovernment.org/explain-it-to-me-joint-finance-committee-removal-of-545-budget-proposals/

From IRG Policy Analyst Patrick Hughes

What happened? This week the Joint Committee on Finance approved a motion to remove 545 items from Governor Evers’ 2023-2025 budget. The motion passed 12-4 along partisan lines. Here’s the full list.

Why is it important? The motion removed most of Governor Evers’ major budget initiatives, including tax hikes and proposals to repeal reforms like Right to Work. The committee has indicated that they will now build a new budget bill using the current spending as a starting point. The committee has taken a similar approach to Governor Evers’ previous budgets.

What’s next? While most of the removed items will not be the subject of new legislation, the legislature is working on alternatives to some of the removed proposals, like modifications to shared revenue and income tax cuts.