Wisconsin’s state budget is as important as it is extensive, covering taxes, spending, and a range of issues that touch on nearly every aspect of public life in Wisconsin. Voters do well to follow the state budget and influence it where they can. However, doing so requires a basic understanding of the state budget process. This report provides an explanation of the process by which the budget is developed, revised, and enacted.
According to an old saying around Wisconsin’s capitol, the only bill that has to pass the legislature is the state’s two-year budget.
Over the past 50 years, the budget has expanded from being a manageable piece of legislation with a fiscal focus to being a massive bill spanning a thousand pages or more that touches on almost every aspect of public life in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin’s state budget has become a veritable “catch all,” covering not only taxes and spending, but also a number of other issues, ranging from schools and prisons to higher education, health care, and transportation. Even items that in other states might be passed as separate bills are folded into the budget here.
No one seeking to impact public policy in Wisconsin can afford to ignore the biennial budget. For governors, it is the primary tool by which they advance their agenda. Lawmakers know that the best way to enact legislative priorities is to fold them into the budget. Lobbyists understand that the fastest and surest results for clients can be secured in the budget.
Citizens who ignore Wisconsin’s state budget as a boring collection of numbers do themselves a great disservice. The bill allocates over $70 billion in spending over two years.
If Wisconsin taxpayers and voters wish to change government, the state budget is a good place to start. But, first, they need a basic understanding of Wisconsin’s budget, and particularly the process by which it is developed, revised, and enacted.