Assembly Minority Leader Jim Kreuser said a majority of his caucus does not support the proposed fixes for the state's budget shortfall that were put before members today during a closed-door caucus.
Listen to audio of Kreuser's remarks
here.
The Assembly Dems got a briefing from Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, and from DOA deputy secretary Dan Schooff. Legislative Fiscal Bureau Director Bob Lang was also summoned to answer questions the leggies had on the proposals.
Kreuser said he's challenging Decker and Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, to "get this done."
Sources suggest the current proposal to fix the shortfall is going to need Dem support to pass the Assembly.
"We've been cut out," Kreuser, D-Kenosha, said.
"Odds are (Huebsch) doesn't have the votes," he said.
Kreuser expressed his own displeasure with the proposals. He said he does not like the amount of tobacco securitization included in the plan or the delay in school aid payments being proposed.
Reports have put the amount of cash legislative leaders are hoping to reap from tobacco securitization at $247 million.
While he didn't give a precise figure on how much tobacco bonding he'd be comfortable with, Kreuser said "It's extremely difficult to support that if the first number is a two."
Kreuser said he'd prefer to see a hospital assessment included in the plan, saying it "makes more sense" than delaying school payments. He also said he'd prefer to bridge the budget gap with a transfer from the transportation fund that would be backfilled through bonding "provided it (the transportation fund) stays whole or goes up."
Department of Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi posted a message on the Department of Transportation's Web site two weeks ago warning May and June project lets "could be negatively impacted" without swift budget action. Those May and June lets are to be awarded next Tuesday.
Kreuser challenged Huebsch and Decker to meet until an agreement is worked out to avoid those road projects from being delayed.
Kreuser also said he'll continue to push for a $13 increase to car rental fees in Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee counties to fund a commuter rail project.
Kreuser also said his caucus expressed its unhappiness to Decker over being "cut out" of the process to hammer out a deal.
"There was no misunderstanding of what their concerns were," Kreuser said during a media availability after the caucus.
The sources say that Decker and Huebsch have agreed in principle on a budget package to send to the governor. But it's expected that package would need Dem support, much like last year's budget, to pass the Assembly.
Kreuser said Assembly Republicans "couldn't govern that well in October when we needed to bail them out on the budget, and here we are again in May."
Republicans control the Assembly by a 52-47 margin, although one member, Rep. Mark Gundrum, is unavailable to vote because he is on military service in Iraq.
Thirty-seven Dems voted for the budget in October as the bill passed the Assembly 60-39.
See the roll call
here.
If both sides come to an agreement, it's expected the bill would then go to a conference committee. If passed by the conference committee, the bill would be un-amendable when voted on by the Assembly and Senate.
The major components of the package are expected to include a combination of delaying $125 million in school aid payments, as much as $247 million in tobacco re-securitization and some spending cuts.
Labels: Budget_Repair_Bill, Kreuser
