Shared Revenue Bill Heads to Governor Evers' Desk

Friday, June 16th, 2023 -- 12:00 PM

(By Shawn Johnson, Wisconsin Public Radio) A deal to overhaul local government funding cleared a major hurdle Wednesday, passing both houses of the Legislature to cement the biggest bipartisan compromise in Wisconsin state government in years.

The passage of the bill with a combination of Republican and Democratic votes sent the plan to Gov. Tony Evers' desk. Evers, who helped negotiate the package, is likely to sign it. The bipartisan support was more than just symbolic in the Legislature.

Republicans, whose two-thirds supermajority in the Senate is large enough that they can normally pass their agenda with room to spare, needed help from Democrats this time around. A total of seven Republicans voted against the plan, which would have been enough to kill the bill without Democratic support.

In the end, it passed the Senate 21-12, with six Democrats joining 15 Republicans to support it, an exceedingly rare coalition in an era when the two parties generally don't divide their ranks on an issue as big as this one. The measure also passed the Assembly 68-26, with 13 Democrats joining 55 Republicans to vote yes in that chamber.

The agreement, which was reached between Evers, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, would increase state funding for local communities throughout Wisconsin by at least 20 percent and potentially save Milwaukee from a pending financial disaster.

At the same time, it also includes provisions that have angered lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, for different reasons.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.