The state will begin taxing the gross revenues of rural hospitals the same as other hospitals are currently assessed under a bill passed by the JFC today. (AB 770)

The JFC approved the bill on a 13-3 vote, with Sen. Luther Olsen of Ripon the only Republican to vote yes.

Under the bill, the state's 59 rural hospitals -- defined as a hospital located outside a metro area that is more than a 35-mile drive from another hospital and maintaining no more than 25 beds for acute patient care -- would be assessed approximately 1.6 percent of gross revenues, as other hospitals are. Also known as critical access hospitals, the rural facilities were excluded from the hospital assessment passed in a budget repair bill last year.

The assessment became necessary because the DHS previously reimbursed critical access hospital 100 percent of MA costs. That was cut by 10 percent at the beginning of this year to allow the agency to realize $600 million in savings required as part of the 10 percent spending reduction mandated in the state budget.

The assessment will increase MA benefits funding by $27.7 million in 2010-11, and increase SEG revenues by $10.6 million in 2010-11, according to the LFB.

-- By Greg Bump

The maximum burial and funeral expenses for indigent individuals will go from $3,500 to $4,500, under legislation approved by the JFC. (SB 338)

The bill does not provide additional funding to the Department of Health Services for the increased reimbursement rate, so DHS would be required to support the increase by reallocating current funds.

Total program expenses were $6.1 million in 2006, nearly $7 million in 2007, about $7.4 million in 2008, and are estimated to reach $7.8 million this year.

Under an amendment approved by the committee, the effective date of the reimbursement increase is put off until Jan. 1.

The bill was approved unanimously by JFC.

-- By Greg Bump

Attempts to provide more money for district attorneys facing increased costs due to enhanced drunken driving enforcement were unsuccessful.

The JFC approved a package of funding for the drunken driving reforms passed by the Legislature earlier this month, including an additional $700,000 annually for DA salaries and fringe benefits. According to the LFB, the appropriation addresses funding cuts prosecutors endured in the 2009-11 budget, but the DA budgets would only balance if assistant DAs stick to the state mandated plan of eight furlough days.

District attorneys have argued that it will cost at least an additional $2.5 million annually to meet the mandates of the DUI bill, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

A majority of the committee rejected alternatives to provide more funding -- a total of $943,800 annually -- in order to cut the assistant DA furlough days to five were defeated, as did a motion to boost funding for a handful of selected counties.

A motion from Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, and Rep. Robin Vos, R-Caledonia, to provide $2 million in each of the next two years for 27 new assistant DA positions failed on a 5-11 vote.

Rep. Mark Pocan, the co-chair of the committee, said while he agrees there is a need for more assistant DAs, he said some committee members were confusing the issue before them, which was to approve funding for the DUI bill, not fix the DA funding situation.

The committee approved nearly $2 million annually for equipment and staffing costs for the Department of Corrections to supervise offenders on probation for second and third offense DUI.

Also passed was $480,500 2010-11 to create four new toxicology analyst positions and purchase two gas-chromatography units for the state crime lab. In addition, to meet the increased case load in district courts, $231,100 was approved for reserve judges.

An additional $144,900 in 2010-11 was approved for the Office of the State Public Defender's private bar to meet costs associated with an increased criminal caseload.

-- By Greg Bump

A request to fund a community program aimed at serving felons who are entering parole caused partisan rifts to show in the JFC.

The Department of Corrections requested a $10 million transfer -- $70,000 GPR in 2009-10 and $9,930,000 GPR and 9.0 GPR positions in 2010-11 -- for the Becky Young Community Corrections progrm. The center is designed "to provide services to persons who are on probation, or who are soon to be or are currently on parole or extended supervision, following a felony conviction, in an effort to reduce recidivism," according to an analysis from the LFB.

Rep. Robin Vos, R-Caledonia, said in these tight economic times, there are surely better ways to spend the funds, and said it was a prime example of Dems' "misplaced priorities."

"The Democratic Party is saying the best way to spend $10 million is on criminals -- on giving coming home parties for criminals," Vos said.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, said Vos was polishing up election rhetoric.

"I thought maybe we could get more than a half hour into this meeting before we got into our fall election speeches," Pocan, the committee co-chair, shot back. "Sometimes we have to be statesmen and do something right, something every state around us is doing ... and rise above the petty partisan politics we have around here."

Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, said without reforms like the Becky Young program costs will continue to climb and "bankrupt our state."

"Today we are saying we are going to spend our dollars in a way that will reduce recidivism," Taylor said.

Services the center will provide include residential and outpatient treatment for alcohol and other drug addiction, cognitive group intervention, day reporting centers and other services that have shown to be successful in reducing recidivism.

The request was approved 13-3, with Sen. Luther Olsen of Ripon the only Republican to vote for it. He said anything the state can do to reduce recidivism is a wise investment.

"These folks cost us a lot of money when they screw up and go back to prison," he said. "Sometimes you have to spend a little to save a lot."

-- By Greg Bump

A pair of requests to spend federal stimulus funds received unanimous approval by the JFC.

The first is a request by the Department of Health Services to spend $186,000 in 2009-10 and $929,800 in 2010-11 to support expansion of chronic disease self-management programs targeted at older adults.

Also passing with unanimous support was a $6 million request from the Department of Workforce Development for workforce investment and assistance in jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.

A request by the DNR to spend $475,847 in 2009-10 for supplemental snowmobile trail also passed without opposition.

-- By Greg Bump

The Joint Finance Committee tomorrow will vote on a funding request to provide $4.2 million over the next two years -- including $1.4 million for district attorneys -- to fund drunken driving reforms passed by the Legislature earlier this year. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m.

Wisconsin District Attorneys Association president Ralph Uttke sent a letter to the JFC earlier this month saying the funding wasn't enough, estimating it will cost more than $2.5 million annually to retain experienced prosecutors and meet the mandates in the legislation.

See the full 13.10 request agenda here.

-- By Greg Bump

Assembly members of the Joint Finance Committee sparred Wednesday over past and future state budgets at an event sponsored by the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

JFC Co-chair Mark Pocan, D-Madison, said the budget picture is beginning to stabilize, noting a Legislative Fiscal Bureau report that showed a shortfall of just more than $9 million heading into the next session. But Rep. Robin Vos, R-Racine, said lawmakers are going to have to take a serious look at public employee wages and benefits, health insurance cost sharing and education changes in order to get the state's finances under control.

Both legislators agreed the next budget could be balanced without a large-scale tax increase.

Pocan said this session's cuts to state agencies would likely remain through the next budget cycle, but that revenues are likely to stabilize after a "rough first six months" of 2011. He said the main budgetary issue the state faces is its structural deficit, which he noted has been in place through both GOP and Dem governors.

"It's a terribly disingenuous way to balance a budget," Pocan said of increasing the structural deficit. He also said that although Democrats are loathe to suggest cuts to K-12 education, members of both parties could likely acknowledge that "426 school districts is probably a little too many."

Vos noted that Wisconsin typically divides control of the Capitol between parties and predicted that with the GOP will win at least one house of the Legislature this fall. He said that will result in tax and fee increases in the next budget being much more modest than the 2009 budget and said the state eventually has to get a handle on the wages and benefits paid to local government employees. The JFC's ranking Republican also ripped the Dems' budget procedure for its tax hikes and lack of bipartisanship.

"Few of the incentives that we have in Wisconsin were able to remain," Vos said of last year's budget. He attributed the job losses at many of the state's larger corporations to the enactment of combined reporting and said Wisconsin taxpayers funded most of the increase in the landfill tipping fee.

Vos also criticized Dem efforts at job creation both in the budget and later in the session, saying their strategy amounts to "very targeted tax cuts funded by massive tax increases." Vos added that Republicans are preparing to introduce legislation that would provide all employers a $1,000 tax deduction for each employee.

Pocan said that proposal would be a welcome change, charging that Republicans in this session have been "a wasteland when it comes to ideas or proposals offered." He defended the tax incentives passed so far and suggested that more jobs bills would be churning through the Legislature as the session winds down -- many likely to receive bipartisan support.

"I could spend 45 minutes going through the proposals and the companies that came in," Pocan said.

-- By Andy Szal

JFC signed off on using federal money to build a high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee and update the track that connects Milwaukee to Chicago.

While the Milwaukee to Chicago line was unanimously approved, the Madison to Milwaukee vote was 12-4 with all Republicans on the committee opposed.

Republicans argued that the ongoing costs of subsidizing the rail line between the state's largest city and the state Capitol are not clear. They worry the line will be little-used, and the prices will be prohibitive for commuters. And they say with the state transportation fund struggling for solvency and state roads in need of repair, that the current infrastructure must be prioritized over a new project.

"This is not mass transit. This is elite transit," said Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, of the ticket cost, which has been estimated at $40 or more round trip.

"I can't believe anybody's going to be selling their car because they can go back and forth from Milwaukee to Madison on a train," he said.

Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said while the Chicago to Milwaukee line is hugely popular with her constituents, she doesn't think the same will be true for Milwaukee to Madison.

"I don't hear in my district that people want this," she said.

Democrats countered that the rail project is something the business community is clamoring for.

"These are the very people you ask us to listen to all the time and when they tell us advice you say 'No, not this time,'" Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, told the Republicans.

Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, said the type of multi-modal transportation system many other state's enjoy is "long overdue" in Wisconsin.

"The road to prosperity is not paved by asphalt alone," she said.

-- By Greg Bump

Republicans said a plan to offer health insurance coverage to individuals on the waiting list for the state BadgerCare Plus Core plan raise the cost of health insurance for everyone else, and end up costing taxpayers money when federal subsidies run dry.

Despite those objections, the plan was approved on a partisan 12-4 vote today by the JFC.

The plan, BadgerCare Plus Basic, would be paid for entirely by a $130 monthly premium paid by enrollees.

Rep. Robin Vos, R-Caledonia, said the program is another example of a "brand new taxpayer entitlement" that "someone in the future will have to figure out how to pay for."

But Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, countered that the program is merely meant as a stopgap for the 25,000 people on the waiting list for the Core plan, and that because it is paid for via premiums "it is not subsidized by the taxpayers."

Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, said the reason the plan is able to provide service at the rate is because the plan excludes government mandates like coverage of autism treatment or mental health conditions. He said given a level playing field, private sector insurance companies could provide a better service for cheaper.

"Let's give them the chance to create jobs," Montgomery said.

But Rep. Pedro Colon, D-Milwaukee, said those who would enroll in the program are being denied coverage by provide providers.

"It hasn't been done by the private market, which is why we're here today," Colon said.

Rep. Robin Vos, R-Caledonia, said the plan "is not a panacea," pointing to a provision that allows for one hospital stay per year to be covered by the program, while a second stay has a co-pay of $7,500.

Colon responded with a rhetorical question. "If you're really sick is it better to be covered for one hospital stay or no hospital stays?"

Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, said what Montgomery proposed sounds a lot like the public option Democrats are trying to pass in Washington.

"When socialization of medicine is put before me I will stand up for the employers in my district," Montgomery responded. He decided not to offer an amendment to the bill to open up the program to proposals from private sector companies, saying he will do so when the legislation comes to the Assembly floor.

-- By Greg Bump

The JFC passed legislation to eliminate the $100,000 income cap for individuals to transition from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs, a move that would mirror federal tax policy.

The change would take effect in tax year 2010 if passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jim Doyle. The modifications would reduce state tax collections by $12 million in 2010-11, $31.8 million in 2011-12, and $42.1 million in 2012-13.

Because the state fund balance is $55.7 million, below the $65 million required under state statutes, the committee passed a notwithstanding clause to allow the legislation. The bill passed 15-1, with Rep. Pedro Colon, D-Milwaukee, voting against it.

The committee is currently debating the BadgerCare Plus Basic plan.

-- By Greg Bump

More than $822 million to establish a high-speed rail line between Milwaukee and Madison and to improve the line between Milwaukee and Chicago will be up for a vote today before the Joint Finance Committee.

Approval from the JFC would clear the way for work to start on the project, with a goal of a January 2013 completion date.

Conservatives, including the GOP's leading guv candidates and Republican legislative leaders, questioned the massive federal rail spending this week.

A Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo notes that upon completion, state funding will be required to cover at least a portion of the cost to operate the system.

"Although Amtrak has developed a preliminary estimate of this subsidy ($7.5 million, in addition to the current subsidy for the current Hiawatha service), the amount of the subsidies is unknown and would depend upon various factors, such as ticket prices and the development of other train service from the Chicago hub."

The state award of $810 million for the Milwaukee-Madison line is about $7.6 million below what the state requested for the project. The Department of Transportation has indicated that the unfunded portion could be paid for with rail development bonds, which would also be subject to JFC approval, the memo notes.

Denial of the request would kill the project and the money would likely go to rail projects in other states, the LFB notes.

See the LFB memos on the request.

-- By Greg Bump

Dems are touting a Legislative Fiscal Bureau report released today as evidence that their mix of spending cuts, job creation efforts and revenue increases have helped to stabilize the budget.

Republicans said the report shows state finances continue to dangerously teeter toward fiscal disaster.

The LFB has revised its projections for the state's gross balance, dropping it almost $220 million to $55.7 million -- not a large enough gap to trigger a budget repair bill. State law requires a budget repair bill any time expenditures exceed revenue by one-half of 1 percent, a gross balance of roughly minus-$70 million in this biennium, according to DOA. The state budget exceeded that threshold in each of the last two years as revenue started to plummet due to the declining economy.

The latest estimates take into account $200 million in administrative lapses Doyle vetoed into the 2009-11 budget -- budget trims the guv referenced in his State of the State speech last night.

State Budget Director Dave Schmiedicke said decisions on administering $200 million in lapses will come in the next few weeks.

"We are looking at different approaches to keep in mind the key priorities of education and health," Schmiedicke said. Including the budget repair bill from 2009 and the 2009-11 biennial budget, more than $3.54 billion has been cut from state government thus far, Schmiedicke said.

Joint Finance Committee Chair Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, said the estimates show the state economy is bouncing back.

"There is a lot of reason to have some hope," said Pocan. "A lot of states are seeing a lot tougher times right now."

But Rep. Robin Vos, one of four Republicans on JFC, said Democrats are ignoring the finding that state revenues remain nearly flat.

"If that continues, we will be headed for a massive fiscal train wreck," Vos, R-Caledonia, predicted.

More reaction can be found in the press releases from Pocan, Vos, JFC co-chair Sen. Mark Miller, and Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan.

-- By Greg Bump

The state's books are projected to be about $225 million off due to a lapsed reciprocity agreement with Minnesota and lagging cigarette sales tax revenues.

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau today released its annual update, finding that the state has a projected gross balance of $55.7 million. Once statutory balance is figured in, the net balance at the end of the biennium in mid-2011 is projected to be -9.3 million.

Even so, Dem legislative leaders say a budget repair bill is not necessary.

-- By Greg Bump

Gov. Jim Doyle said today his warning of another round of budget cuts in last night's State of the State address was a reference to the $200 million in unspecified lapses called for in the 2009-11 budget bill signed last year.

Doyle used his veto pen to include an additional $200 million in cuts to state agencies, a move that gave the state a $290 million "cushion," Doyle said.

"It is very likely I will have to make those $200 million, or at least a significant portion of those $200 million in cuts," Doyle said today at a press conference in McFarland to tout a clean energy bill.

Doyle said the cuts will be meted out across state agencies, but said protecting education will remain a priority.

"Everybody may feel a little pain, but we're not going to see the kinds of destructive actions that have happened in other states," he said.

With new fiscal outlook numbers due to be released soon, Doyle said it looks like another budget repair bill may be avoidable.

"I think so. But I want to put a big 'I think so' on that," Doyle said. "Because frankly economists -- we base these budgets based on these projections -- and in this economy, economists have a hard time sort of projecting where we're going to be six months or a year from now."

Doyle said layoffs to state workers should be avoidable, but couldn't definitively say there won't be any.

"We really worked hard to avoid layoffs. Particularly in this economy, I don't want to be putting people out of work," he said.

Doyle said holding 10 percent of state positions vacant and requiring an eight-day furlough on state workers this year and next has helped to avoid about 1,500 layoffs of state workers.

-- By Greg Bump

A provision to provide $3 million in competitive grants focused on achieving a statewide policy to ban candy-flavored tobacco products and free tobacco samples was deleted by the JFC.

The funding request was made by the Department of Health Services as part of a request to spend nearly $24 million in federal stimulus funding over the next two years for prevention and wellness programs such as obesity and tobacco use prevention.

The committee, in a motion from Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, removed the language on banning flavored tobacco and ordered the Doyle administration to resubmit the request.

-- By Greg Bump

Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, said a federal plan to map of broadband Internet service availability would create a tool that is "obsolete the second it's created."

The committee, despite Montgomery's claims, approved $1.7 million in ARRA funding to produce the map.

Montgomery said a better use for the funding would be to purchase the equipment needed to expand broadband.

But the majority disagreed, passing the expenditure 13-1. Sen. Mark Miller, the Monona Democrat who co-chairs the committee, said he applauds the feds commitment to expanding broadband access, and to do that a map is essential.

"I certainly wouldn't want us to stand in the way of the expansion of high-speed Internet," he said.

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau said the map is scheduled for completion by February 2011, and there may be subsequent grants available to update the mapping.

-- By Greg Bump

The Joint Finance Committee today approved spending $1 million in ARRA funding to cleanup leaky underground storage tank sites at the Chrysler Engine Plant site in Kenosha.

The funding will be allocated from a pot of nearly $6.4 million in federal stimulus funds set aside by the JFC in August for underground storage tank site remediation.

Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, voted against the measure, saying the state was being too hasty to clean up Chrysler's mess.

"They haven't come to the conclusion they have no money to do this," said Olsen of the embattled automaker.

Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, joined Olsen in voting against the expenditure. She said the company previously "got U.S. money and then took jobs to Mexico. Enough."

The item passed 11-3, with Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, joining Olsen and Robson in voting against it. Rep. Robin Vos of Caledonia and Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills, both Republicans, are absent from today's meeting.

-- By Greg Bump

The Joint Finance Committee will exec tomorrow on the CORE Jobs package proposed by Senate Democrats and vote on a handful of supplemental funding requests through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Among the 13.10 requests is one from the Department of Health Services to use nearly $5 million over the next two fiscal years to plan and implement a statewide health information exchange. In addition, DHS is requesting nearly $1.4 million to plan and develop a state Medicaid health information technology plan.

The DHS requests for ARRA money also include $2.4 million this fiscal year and $21.4 million in 2010-11 for obesity prevention and tobacco use prevention.

In addition, the Department of Workforce Development is requesting the use of $9 million in federal money for employment assistance and unemployment insurance administration.

The meeting begins at 10 a.m.

See the exec session agenda here.

See the 13.10 meeting agenda here.

See the LFB papers on the 13.10 requests here.

-- By Greg Bump