WisPolitics Budget Blog

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Budget director, WTA prez at odds over deficit number

State budget director Dave Schmiedicke and Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance President Todd Berry have a fundamental difference over the state's budget deficit.

Schmiedicke says the bulk of the projected $5.4 billion budget shortfall is the result of crashing state revenues. Berry, a former assistant Revenue secretary, says the administration is "double counting" and the deficit is not nearly that large.

Schmiedicke said the difference between a revenue forecast done in June and this month is $3.5 billion. The balance of the $1.9 billion that makes up the rest of the deficit is the result of population growth in state institutions, caseload increases for state services like Medicaid and funding for pay increases already implemented for some state agencies, like the University of Wisconsin System.

"Everything we see is the result of the economy," he said.

But Berry says the numbers assume an 8 percent spending increase in the first year of the biennium based on state agency budget requests. That is a level that is unlikely to be met in the final budget bill, Berry said.

"State spending growth has averaged 3 to 4 percent since 1998. It's not going to rise 8 percent, and that's what this document is saying," he said.

But Schmiedicke said the $5.4 billion figure, which represents about 17 percent of the 2009-11 budget, is a real number.

"He's trying to parse the numbers in certain ways," Schmiedicke said of Berry's analysis.

Berry says he's not parsing. He said he's not suggesting the numbers from the Doyle administration "are cooked up or anything," but they follow a format that has been utilized by governors for years.

To arrive at the numbers the Doyle administration is offering, "The assumption you have to make here is the state will take absolutely no action for the next 31 months and let things ride and compound," Berry said.

"Regardless of who the is governor, regardless of their party identification, it is valuable for the chief executive to put on notice state employees, state agencies, the Legislature, and interest groups -- all of whom want more in the state budget -- that we are facing some difficult challenges, which we are. No one is disputing that," Berry said. "But there is a way that you can make this number sound bigger than the needed fix will be, and it will be in any governor's interest to strengthen his or her position going into a budget."

Robson wants smoking ban in budget bill

Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, has sent a letter to Gov. Jim Doyle asking him to include a statewide smoking ban in the 2009-2011 budget bill.

"SeniorCare passed as part of the state budget," Robson said in a press release. "The Joint Finance Committee typically holds public hearings around the state. There will be ample opportunity for people on both sides of this issue to express their views. If citizens cannot make it to a public hearing, I encourage them to contact me and other members of the Joint Finance Committee to state their opinions."

See the press release here.

See Robson's letter to Doyle here.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Petroleum Council says administration is "misleading" oil company assessment

The Wisconsin Petroleum Council is disputing the claim made by the Department of Transportation that other states have provisions that keep companies from passing the cost of assessments on revenues on to customers.

The Department of Transportation's budget proposal for the 2009-11 biennium includes the introduction of a state oil company assessment that could bring in nearly $393 million in revenues.

The proposal was part of the 2007-09 biennial budget submitted by Gov. Jim Doyle, but was opposed by Assembly Republicans and dropped from the final document before it was sent to the governor. See more on the proposal here.

Erin Roth, executive director of the Wisconsin Petroleum Council, says in a letter to Gov. Jim Doyle that four states -- New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania -- have similar that have the assessment, not five as the DOT indicated. In addition, Roth says, none of the states have provisions that prevent the tax from being passed along to consumers.

"The omission of this misleads lawmakers and the public from the facts," writes Roth. "These states in fact treat the tax similar to the gas tax and it is passed on by fuel suppliers to consumers of fuel. States like Pennsylvania and New York who originally tried to include anti-pass through language either were challenged in court, or through the advice of counsel, dropped the idea for fear of it being
unconstitutional and bad tax policy. We know of no other Wisconsin tax law that prohibits in statute a company or companies that do business in the state from passing a tax on as part of the cost of doing business in the state.

"We would hope that in the future as we debate the merits of the issue, you, your administration and supporters of this onerous tax make it clear that it is unique to any similar proposal adopted by any other state. We believe it to be nconstitutional and it could have major supply and price implications to Wisconsin fuel consumers as proposed."

UPDATE: Lee Sensenbrenner, spokesman for Gov. Jim Doyle, responds:

"Throughout our country's economic downturn, we continually saw oil companies post record profits -- and, shockingly, those profits only grew fatter during the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression. As Wisconsin and 40 other states deal with the challenges brought on by our country's faltering economy, Gov. Doyle has called for an oil assessment to help fund our roads. The response from the oil industry is, unfortunately, not surprising. Rather than doing their part to help build the infrastructure they rely on, we see their lobbying arm trying to slide by on empty arguments and threats."

Doyle is pained by state employee pay raise caps

Gov. Jim Doyle said Monday that his cap on discretionary pay raises for state employees was necessary but "really unfair."

"Frankly, it really pains me to do this," Doyle said of the measure put in place to help the state cope with an unprecedented $5.4 billion deficit. "There are many people in state government that are working long hours on very difficult programs."

Doyle added that he hoped to move forward with his BadgerCare Plus expansion plan despite the shortfall, arguing the plan saves the state money after the initial investment.

"We may have to slow it down," Doyle said. "We're certainly not going to abandon it."

Friday, November 21, 2008

FYO9 deficit triggers budget repair bill, according to statutes

The $346.2 million budget shortfall for this fiscal year exceeds the statutory threshold that would require the introduction of a budget repair bill.

Yesterday, Gov. Jim Doyle indicated that the deficit in the current fiscal year could be dealt with the the budget for the next biennium, which has a projected deficit of more than $5 billion. Doyle said he would confer with legislative leaders before deciding how to proceed.

According to state statutes, if after reviewing the estimates the secretary of Administration determines that expenditures will exceed revenues by more than one-half of 1 percent for that fiscal year, he or she must immediately notify the governor, the presiding officers of the Senate and Assembly, and the Joint Finance Committee.

According to DOA spokeswoman Linda Barth, the $346.2 million deficit exceeds that statutory requirement.

The statute then requires the governor to submit a bill containing recommendations for correcting the imbalance. This would include recommendations for whether funds should be transferred from the budget stabilization fund to the general fund.

Doyle has taken preliminary steps to shrink the current deficit, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009.

Doyle's direction to his administration heads includes cutting an additional 2.5 percent in state agency spending, which Doyle said would save $20 million. He also said state grants won't be awarded "unless absolutely necessary" through the end of the biennium, a move he estimated would save another $30 million.

Doyle also said that open state positions won't be filled, estimating there will be 3,500 open state jobs by June 30, 2011. In addition, 500 cars from the state fleet of 4,000 passenger vehicles will be sold, and he ordered a halt to any year-end employee bonuses.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Revenues take major dive since June projections

State budget director Dave Schmiedicke said state revenue collections are off $3.5 billion from the projections made in June, a major factor in the $5.4 billion budget deficit now facing the state.

"It would have been a challenging budget based on the June numbers," Schmiedicke said. The "rapid deterioration" in revenues over the past several months have the state staring at the biggest budget hole in its history, he said.

Wisconsin is not alone; 41 other states are also facing deficits, Schmiedicke said.

The national credit crisis, the continued drop in home values, and the collapse in the financial markets that has resulted in a 40 percent dip in stock values have affected consumer confidence and resulted in a drop in retail sales have combined to produce an economic storm the nation hasn't seen since the recession of the early 1980s, Schmiedicke said.

The governor's order to cut an additional 2.5 percent in state agency spending is on top of $500 million in cuts ordered in the budget repair bill earlier this year, Schmiedicke said. A portion of that 2.5 percent savings will come from leaving vacant positions unfilled, 3,500 by mid-2011, he said.

"The governor was clear he wants to avoid furloughs or layoffs, which is why we are clamping down on any sort of new hires and only filling those positions related to direct care and direct services," Schmiedicke said.

How to address the $346 million shortfall in the current fiscal year is "still under development," Schmiedicke said.

Legislators react to gloomy budget outlook

Assembly Minority Leader-elect Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, ruled out tax increases as a solution to the shortfall, saying that the state's families have "been dealing with tight budgets for quite some time."

"While Governor Doyle listed some new agency guidelines as steps to modestly reduce spending, his first legislative requests will unfortunately be tax increases," Fitzgerald said in a statement. "As Democrats control all aspects of state government, he will likely get his wish."

See the Fitzgerald's press release here.

Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, called the budget numbers "disappointing, but not surprising given the state of the national economy," while Assembly Speaker-elect Mike Sheridan said the news was "troubling."

Decker said in a statement states have "been bankrupted by Bush Administration policies."

"The least President Bush could do before he leaves is to get on board plans to send relief to the states," Decker said.

Sheridan said in a statement, "This is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem, this is a Wisconsin problem and all of Wisconsin must be involved in the solution."

See Decker's statement here.

See Sheridan's statement here.

Other reaction from Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, Rep. Robin Vos, R-Racine, AFT-Wisconsin, and UW-Stout.

Doyle vows to protect schools, infrastructure

Gov. Jim Doyle said today he will explore every avenue possible to bridge the $5.4 billion budget deficit projected over the next two and a half years without a general tax increase.

"We should all be working on trying to get this done without a tax increase," Doyle said.

"This is going to be a difficult time for us," Doyle said at a press conference today, surrounded at his conference room table by his cabinet.

The state will finish the current fiscal year will end with a $346.2 million deficit if corrective actions aren't taken, and a $5 billion-plus shortfall is projected for the 2009-11 biennium.

Despite the difficult budgetary times, Doyle said he will "do everything I possibly can to protect schools." His other priorities will be public safety, infrastructure, basic health care for children, and ensuring the burden doesn't fall on local governments to raise property taxes, Doyle said.

Doyle also said he wants to continue to invest in the renewable energy industry, but the investment may be less than what he would like.

He also called for the Legislature to pass the hospital assessment as soon as lawmakers come into session in January, adding his hope a surcharge on oil companies' gross receipts could also be enacted.

Doyle said the deficit in the current fiscal year may be solved in the next biennial budget or as a budget repair bill but said he first wants to confer with legislative leaders before deciding on a path. Doyle called the deficit in the current biennium "a number that's manageable."

Doyle directed his cabinet to begin taking steps to save money now.

That includes an additional 2.5 percent cut in state agency spending, which Doyle said would save $20 million. He also said state grants won't be awarded "unless absolutely necessary" through the end of the biennium, a move he estimated would save another $30 million.

Doyle also said that open state positions won't be filled, estimating there will be 3,500 open state jobs by the end of this fiscal year. In addition, 500 cars from the state fleet of 4,000 passenger vehicles will be sold, and he ordered a halt to any year-end employee bonuses.

The guv said he has talked to members of president-elect Obama's transition team and the state's congressional delegation about the prospect of a federal bailout, and he said they've been receptive to the idea.

"I hope we get a good deal of help," he said. "A lot of what's happened with the national economy falls on the states."

Listen to Doyle's news conference here.

Listen to the Q&A with reporters here.

Tax collections expected to decline for next two years

DOA Secretary Mike Morgan's report on the state's fiscal picture offered a sobering assessment of Wisconsin's problems.

It notes the Department of Revenue predicts that tax collections are expected to fall for two consecutive fiscal years for the first time in decades. A 2.2 percent revenue decline is forecast for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, and a 3.9 percent drop is predicted for 2009-10.

DOR projects an increase of 4.1 percent in the 2010-11 fiscal year. The estimates reflect losses brought on by the Menasha Corporation decision and tax cuts scheduled to take effect in 2009-11.

According to the DOA report, state agencies requested spending increases of
$1.4 billion in the 2009-10 biennium and an additional $480.3 million in 2010-11. If approved, the requests would increase GPR spending from the adjusted base level of $14.2 billion to $15.3 billion 2009-10 and $15.8 billion in 2010-11.

See the DOA memo here.

Tax collections for the current fiscal year underscore the state's plight.

The Department of Revenue today reported corporate tax collections through October are down 20.8 percent compared to a year ago. They were down 41 percent for October compared to the same month a year ago.

Sale and general use taxes during the first four months of the fiscal year, which ends June 30, were down 2.5 percent compared to a year ago.

Overall, GPR collections for the fiscal year were up 2.4 percent compared to last year.

See the release here.

Budget woes could result in another repair bill

Gov. Jim Doyle announced the state deficit is expected to be $346.2 million at the end of this fiscal year, June 30, 2009, according to a memo from the Department of Administration.

Overall, the state is facing a $5.4 billion shortfall through the end of the next biennial budget, which runs through mid-2011.

Doyle said in his press conference that the shortfall in the current fiscal year could be addressed either by a budget repair bill or in the next biennial budget. He said he will confer with legislative leaders before choosing how to address it.

According to the DOA report, state agencies requested spending increases of $1.4 billion in the 2009-10 biennium and an additional $480.3 million in 2010-11. If approved, the requests would increase GPR spending from the adjusted base level of $14.2 billion to $15.3 billion 2009-10 and $15.8 billion in 2010-11.

Meanwhile, the Department of Revenue predicts that tax collections are expected to fall for two consecutive fiscal years for the first time in decades. A 2.2 percent revenue decline is forecast for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, and a 3.9 percent drop is predicted for 2009-10.

Revenue projects an increase of 4.1 percent in the 2010-11 fiscal year. The estimates reflect losses brought on by the Menasha Corporation decision and tax cuts that are scheduled to take effect in 2009-11.

See the DOA memo here.

Budget deficit projected at $5.4 billion

Gov. Jim Doyle this afternoon will announce the state will face a $5.4 billion budget deficit by the end of the next biennium, the largest gap in state history.

Last week, Doyle warned that the budget deficit could exceed $5 billion after initially estimating a $3 billion gap earlier in the fall.

UPDATE: Sources indicate that the governor will introduce a budget repair bill, the second of this biennium, to address a deficit in this biennium. Doyle said last week that the current fiscal year, ending June 30, 2009, could end with as much as a $500 million deficit due to sluggish revenue collections resulting from the national economic downturn.

Doyle to discuss budget deficit this afternoon

Gov. Jim Doyle will release details today on the budget deficit the state is facing at a 3:30 p.m. news conference in the governor's conference room.

Last week, Doyle estimated that the deficit could exceed $5 billion for the upcoming biennium.

Doyle, who will appear with his cabinet, is also expected to detail steps the state will take immediately to address the shortfall.

A spokesman declined to say whether that would include a stimulus package or a budget repair bill to address a looming a deficit in the current fiscal year that could be $500 million.

"He's going to talk about some things that we're going to do right now to address the budget challenges brought on by the economic downturn in the country," Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner said.

See details of the event here.

UPDATE: The heads of three small state departments, the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads, the Secretary of State, and the Board on Aging and Long Term Care, submitted letters to DOA objecting to the additional 10 percent cut mandated by Doyle.

Railroad Commissioner Roger Breske says cutting 10 percent would result in the elimination of one of two safety analyst positions. Board on Long Term Aging and Long Term Care executive director Heather Bruemmer said the cuts would have to come from the board's ombudsman program. Secretary of State Doug La Follette states it would be "simply impossible to offer a functional plan."

DOA spokeswoman said the three departments are "very minimally funded" and the heads were not required to respond to Doyle's mandate.

Labels: Doyle

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Vos, Montgomery named to JFC

GOP Reps. Robin Vos of Racine and Phil Montgomery of Ashwaubenon have been appointed to the Joint Finance Committee by Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald. Vos serves on the JFC in the current session, while this is Montgomery's first stint on the committee.

The appointments complete the full JFC lineup for the upcoming legislative session. On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker reappointed the same six members that served on the committee last session: Monona Sen. Mark Miller will serve as co-chairman, along with Green Bay Sen. Dave Hansen, Milwaukee Sen. Lena Taylor, Racine Sen. John Lehman, Beloit Sen. Judy Robson, and Stevens Point Sen. Julie Lassa.

The Assembly Dem members of the JFC are co-chairman Mark Pocan of Madison, vice chairman Pedro Colon of Milwaukee, Cory Mason of Racine, Jen Shilling of La Crosse, Gary Sherman Port Wing and Tamara Grigsby of Milwaukee.

On the Senate GOP side, Luther Olsen of Ripon and Alberta Darling of River Hills were re-appointed to the committee.

Monday, November 17, 2008

No changes to Senate Dem JFC lineup

Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, announced today that he has reappointed the same six members of his caucus to the Joint Finance Committee for the upcoming session.

To refresh memories, that would be Monona Sen. Mark Miller as co-chair, with Green Bay Sen. Dave Hansen, Milwaukee Sen. Lena Taylor, Racine Sen. John Lehman, Beloit Sen. Judy Robson, and Stevens Point Sen. Julie Lassa.

See Decker's press release announcing his committee assignments here.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Decker: Senate to take up minimum wage first

Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, declared today that raising the state's minimum wage will be the first order of business when the Senate reconvenes in the next legislative session.

Decker said in a statement that the first bill introduced in January would raise the minimum wage to $7.60 per hour effective June 1, 2009. The bill would also index the minimum wage to inflation thereafter.

"We need to get our economy moving by paying workers a wage that enables them to support themselves and their families," Decker said.

A similar bill was passed by the Senate last session, according to Decker's office, but was never taken up in the GOP-controlled Assembly.

See the press release: here.

Labels: Decker

Morgan orders agencies to find deeper cuts

DOA Secretary Mike Morgan informed agency heads today that they need to find ways to cut deeper than the 10 percent reduction in administrative costs that the governor had previously requested.

Plans for those 10 percent reductions were due Nov. 17. But Morgan informed agency heads that the state and national economic outlook have changed dramatically since the governor's budget policies were issued in June. Their proposals for the deeper cuts will not be due next week. Instead, the State Budget Office will contact each agency to discuss possible cuts.

"In light of these significant economic events and associated budget realities, deeper budget cuts will be necessary to many state government programs," Morgan wrote. "Agencies should carefully review all activities to identify redundancies, low-priority programs and new ways of doing business."

Read the letter:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/081114_DOA_Budget.pdf

Fitzgerald re-appoints Darling, Olsen to JFC

Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has re-appointed Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, to the Joint Finance Committee.

It will be Olsen's third straight session on the committee. It will be the fifth straight session for Darling, who chaired the committee in the 2003-04 session.

Pocan named JFC co-chair, Colon vice chair

Assembly Speaker-elect Mike Sheridan appointed Mark Pocan of Madison co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee late today and gave the vice chair's spot to Pedro Colon of Milwaukee.

The other four Assembly Dem appointments to the budget committee are: Cory Mason of Racine, Jen Shilling of La Crosse, Gary Sherman Port Wing and Tamara Grigsby of Milwaukee.

See Sheridan's statement here.

See Pocan's statement here.

Labels: JFC, Pocan

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Doyle: Deficit could reach $5 billion or more

Gov. Jim Doyle said today that the budget deficit for the next biennium could reach more than $5 billion.

"We have come into a really serious and extraordinary set of economic circumstances in this country," Doyle said.

Doyle met with reporters to discuss the impending deficit a week before a report will be released by the departments of Administration and Revenue detailing the state's budget outlook. Doyle said more details on the scope of the problem and how it will be addressed will be forthcoming in that report and in the budget he proposes in late January or February.

But he did say that he will do "everything humanly possible" to avoid an increase in general taxes like sales and income, though he wouldn't completely rule out that alternative.

"We got through the last significant deficit without raising taxes and that is what I really want to accomplish here," Doyle said.

"Having said that," Doyle continued, "if you finally get to a point where you would just have to destroy schools or have such high tuition increases at the university that ordinary people wouldn't be able to afford it, then you have to look at everything. But I think people know me well enough by now to know that I work to do these budgets and I've worked very hard to do them without tax increases."

He said all agencies are going to have to tighten their belts.

"The new increase is a flat line," he said.

Doyle said one of his priorities will be to protect K-12 education and the university system from major cuts, but said the state "may have to save some money on school aids" and the UW System is "definitely going to have to participate in this."

"The bottom line of this," Doyle said, "is I'm willing to make very deep cuts."

Doyle added, "But I don't want to see schools go into total crisis mode."

Doyle also said one of his priorities will be to "make sure we don't go backwards" on areas of investment in biotechnology, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

"We've made significant investments that I don't want to see us walk away from," he said.

In addition, the state budget for this current fiscal year could end up $400 million to $500 million in the red, Doyle said. But he couldn't say yet whether the current shortfall will result in the need for a budget repair bill, or can be addressed in the next state budget.

Doyle said state revenue growth that had been projected at 1.5 percent is now expected to become a decrease of 2.5 percent over the previous fiscal year. Revenue projection for fiscal year 2010 will continue to fall by 1.5 percent, he said, before seeing a modest increase in the second year of the upcoming biennium.

"Obviously we have a huge challenge ahead of us in how to deal with this," Doyle said.

Doyle pointed to large deficits faced by many other states as evidence that the problem extends far beyond Wisconsin and suggested some federal assistance may be in order to help the states out with health care and education costs.

"We obviously need some help from Washington," Doyle said. "It's not a matter of helping state governments, it's how we help people in these states."

The governor reiterated his support for the hospital assessment to help defray state Medicaid costs and for an assessment on motor fuel suppliers to help fund road projects.

Doyle said modifying state shared revenues to municipalities is "something we will have to look at," but added he "didn't want to go back on the commitments we've made." He also said the number of state jobs will be decreased, though he hopes the eliminations can be handled through attrition and not through layoffs.

DOT revives oil company assessment in budget request

The Department of Transportation's budget proposal for the 2009-11 biennium includes the introduction of a state oil company assessment that could bring in nearly $393 million in revenues.

The proposal was part of the 2007-09 biennial budget submitted by Gov. Jim Doyle, but was opposed by Assembly Republicans and dropped from the final document before it was sent to the governor.

The assessment would be constructed based on annual gross receipts from motor fuel suppliers and would assess the largest suppliers at the highest rates. Suppliers with gross receipts of less than $15 million would be exempt from the assessment, while those with gross receipts between $15 million and $75 million would have a 0.5 percent assessment. Suppliers with gross receipts of between $75 million and $120 million would be assessed 1.5 percent, while those with more than $120 million in gross receipts would be assessed 2.5 percent.

The proposal also prohibits suppliers from taking any action to increase or influence the price at the pump to recover assessment costs. Currently, five other stats apply similar charges or fees -- New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Ohio -- according to a DOT memo.

The DOT's budget request is for $5.9 billion, a 7.25 percent increase over the current biennium. The agency's request of $135.5 million in general program revenue is the same as the current biennium.

The DOT's federal revenue of $1.56 billion is expected to increase by only $23,400 in the 2009-11 biennium.

Program revenues would increase by 16.28 percent, from just more than $9 million to $10.5 million. Segregated revenue would increase 10.49 percent, from $3.77 billion to $4.17 billion.

See the DOT's issue paper on the oil company assessment here.

See the statutory modifications for the assessment here.

See the DOT's B-7 budget summary document here.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Doyle hopes for help from a President Obama

With a President Obama soon to take office, Gov. Jim Doyle was asked today whether he expects the new administration to offer some kind of aid package to states to help them dig their way out of deficits.

"I hope so, but I don't want to presume anything," the governor said in a press conference at the Executive Residence.

With a Dem Congress, Doyle said he'd like to see the feds and state governments work together to help with Medicaid costs and transit and transportation costs.

Doyle said it is especially unlikely that any one state can implement a universal health care plan with the economic difficulties Wisconsin and other states are facing. But, with Obama in the White House, there may be a chance for a federal-state approach to health care reform.

"Now we're going to have a federal government that's really working with us toward the goal that I think we all have, which is to have affordable health care insurance for everybody," he said.

Doyle said he hopes the hospital assessment will be adopted by the Legislature "almost immediately," and said it should be easier to get a statewide workplace smoking ban than before the election.

Fielding questions from reporters, Doyle said that there needs to be a mechanism to fund transit systems, and he said Tuesday's advisory vote in Milwaukee County is a sign that people want a strong transit system.

"In every state that I've looked at that has a good municipal transit system what they have done is create the authority ... that allows counties to enter into it and provides the authority with taxing authority," he said.

"I think that's a pretty good model. I don't believe we can sit by and let transit in Milwaukee just crumble into nothing," he said. "I think the state has a very important responsibility -- as most states have done -- to set up a framework that allows counties and municipalities to join together in a regional transit authority and giving them some method to raise the funds to provide the transit."

*Listen to Doyle's press conference:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/081105Doylepresser.mp3
*Listen to his Q&A with reporters:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/081105DoyleQ_A.mp3

The URL for the Budget Blog has changed as of Feb. 13, 2009. Click here to visit the new home page