Old dispute rears its head in state stimulus talks
Sen. Russ Decker wants a proposal to broaden the availability of tax exemptions for low-income housing in the stimulus package.
But not everyone involved in the talks is on the same page.
The conflict has some budget watchers concerned that a hard-line stance could derail the state stimulus package and foul the water for money expected to come from the feds.
The so-called "Columbus Park fix" was vetoed by Gov. Jim Doyle from the budget repair bill last spring after Decker fought hard to put it in. In his veto message, Doyle said he didn't think it was proper to include the bill in a budget repair bill and that it needed a full airing by the Legislature.
Doyle's position hasn't changed, according to spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner.
"It should be given a full debate, and there's not a necessity to have it passed in the budget repair," he said.
Rebekah Sweeney, spokeswoman for Sheridan, said the Janesville Democrat's priority is focused on stimulating the economy and getting people back to work.
"We are not negotiating the bill in public," she said, when asked if the issue has been a roadblock to agreement on the package.
She stressed there has been progress. "There's a lot of agreement, a lot of overlap with this," Sweeney said.
Decker said today the past concerns have already been answered. The bill passed the Senate unanimously last session, and was approved by an Assembly committee on a 5-3 vote but failed to come to the floor in that house, he said.
"The position of the Senate is we'd like to keep a roof over the head of the elderly people," Decker said. "I'd like to see that these people are taken care of."
Asked if this was a bottom line for him, Decker responded, "You never say never in politics."
The bill has caused turmoil because of the uncertain effect on local governments. A fiscal estimate of the bill last session didn't determine the impact, and many are wary it could end up exempting many more properties than intended.
Rep. Mark Pocan, co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, said in the end there will be a "unified package" coming from the Democrats. He said he's hopeful it can be introduced before Doyle's Feb. 17 budget address.
"I fully anticipate we are going to have a good, strong stimulus plan in the very near future," he said.
Asked if that would include the "Columbus Park" issue, he said, "We need to focus on the most pressing, important issues that deal with the budget. And after that we can take care of some other issues in the session."
See the bill history here.
