Doyle will introduce budget repair bill next week
Gov. Jim Doyle said today that he hopes to have legislative agreement on a budget repair bill soon, but even if leading lawmakers can't come to an agreement he expects to introduce the bill next week.
Speaking to reporters today after addressing Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce "Business Day in Madison" at the Monona Terrace, Doyle said he thinks the repair bill can be passed by the end of the Legislature's regular floor session on March 13.
"The real key here I think is to not go back and fight all of the budget battles," he said. "The budget is really where you make decisions on where priorities are and so on, and this is an adjustment we have to make based on the sagging national economy, particularly in sales. So if we can stay focused on just correcting the budget, bringing it into balance instead of going back and re-fighting every fight, I think we can get this done very quickly."
Speaking to the "Business Day" gathering, Doyle made a pitch for the hospital assessment as part of the solution to the revenue shortfall.
Doyle said the assessment on hospital profits could be used to leverage $450 million this biennium in federal money. The federal money would increase the medical assistance reimbursement for hospitals, and could provide $125 million for state Medicaid costs, reducing the burden on the state's general fund, he said. He said the tactic is used by many states, but the Legislature rejected his proposal in the state budget.
"To me, I can't understand why we'd turn our backs on $450 million in federal money," he said.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has projected state revenues will fall more than $600 million short this biennium, which Doyle said is mainly due to sluggish sales tax collections since Jan. 1. But he said he's confident the deficit can be solved without raising taxes. The hospital assessment is not a tax despite what some detractors call it, Doyle said.
"I'd like to know why it's a tax when the hospitals get more out of it than they put in," he said.
Doyle said his staff have been working with legislators to craft a palatable repair bill. While he said the hospital assessment is a "major piece" of his plan, there will also be deeper cuts.
Some people are just not going to get everything they thought they were going to get. We have to scale back a little here and a little there, and make up the difference," Doyle said.
Listen to Doyle's Q&A with reporters here.
Listen to Doyle's address at "Business Day in Madison" here.
