Wisconsin Democratic Party cites press response to first bipartisan budget since 2007.

MADISON, Wis. — Thursday, Gov. Tony Evers signed into law the first bipartisan budget since 2007, including a massive tax break for working families, investments in infrastructure, broadband, and public education, and support for veterans. Thanks to the governor’s steady leadership during the pandemic, Wisconsin is able to take bold action to continue its economic recovery.

Gov. Evers also announced he is directing an additional $100 million in federal funding for Wisconsin’s public schools to support students across the state.

Read more about the bipartisan budget below.

Wisconsin State Journal: Tony Evers signs Republican-authored state budget with billions in income tax cuts

Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday said he planned to sign the Republican-authored state budget, heralding the more than $2 billion in income tax cuts that it provides and vowing to provide an additional $100 million in federal money for the state's schools on top of what the GOP provided.

The budget will bring down the income tax rate from 6.27% to 5.3% for income between about $24,000 and $263,000 a year for individuals, or between $32,000 and $351,000 for married filers. All told, Republicans say the plan would save taxpayers about $2.7 billion over the two-year period.

Talking to reporters at Cumberland Elementary in Whitefish Bay, Evers said though the GOP budget didn't go far enough in spending on schools, vetoing the budget in full was not an option when thinking about the state's kids.

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tony Evers signs Republican-written state budget that cuts income taxes, announces $100 million more for schools

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday signed into law a new state budget written largely by Republican lawmakers that cuts income taxes and announced he would be providing school districts with an additional $100 million in federal funding to make up for what he characterized as a plan that falls short for schools.

The Democratic governor signed the $87.5 billion two-year state spending plan in an elementary school library in a Milwaukee suburb, igniting his re-election campaign that will rely on areas like Whitefish Bay where a shifting electorate could prove crucial in Wisconsin's tight statewide races.

The governor tweaked the plan using his veto authority in 50 areas but left intact the centerpiece of the Republican plan — a more than $2 billion tax cut package that would reduce the state's third tax bracket for about half of Wisconsin residents to 5.3%.

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Associated Press: Wisconsin Gov. Evers Signs GOP-Written State Budget With $2 Billion Tax Cut

Gov. Tony Evers signed the Republican-written state budget Thursday, enacting a two-year spending plan that includes a $2 billion income tax cut while making 50 partial vetoes.

Evers, a Democrat who is running for reelection next year, cast the tax cut as a bipartisan effort even though the plan was added to the budget by Republican lawmakers.

“I could have vetoed that," Evers said at a signing ceremony at a suburban Milwaukee elementary school. "I made a promise to the taxpayers, to the state we would reduce middle class taxes by 10% and we did 15%. It is a bipartisan effort.”

The average person earning $61,000 a year will see an income tax cut of $488 this tax year and $975 over next two years, state Revenue Secretary Peter Barca said.

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WPR: Gov. Tony Evers Signs State Budget, Including GOP-Backed Tax Cut

Gov. Tony Evers has signed the 2021-2023 state budget, which includes a more than $2 billion tax cut backed by Republicans.

The Democratic governor used his veto pen to make 50 changes to the budget. Evers has one of the most powerful veto authorities in the country, with the ability to delete words, numbers and punctuation from the spending plan.

Speaking at a Thursday morning press conference at an elementary school in Whitefish Bay, the governor framed his signing of the mostly Republican-backed budget as a bipartisan move.

"In many ways, this budget presents a false choice between the priorities the people of the state care about and deserve," Evers said. "But after eight long years of politicians making decisions for all the wrong reasons, I ran to be governor of this state and promised I would always put people before politics."

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WBAY: Gov. Evers signs state budget with one of largest tax cuts in state history

Gov. Tony Evers has signed the $87 billion state budget passed by the legislature that includes a large tax cut for the middle class.

The governor is making stops across the state, starting with a visit to Cumberland Elementary School in Whitefish Bay where he is signing the 2021-2023 spending plan.

The budget includes a 10 percent tax cut for the middle class and $2 billion in tax relief.

“I made a promise when I ran for governor—I promised I would cut taxes for middle-class families by 10 percent. Today, I am keeping my word,” Gov. Evers said. “This morning, I’m providing more than $2 billion in tax relief and cutting taxes for middle-class families at a time when our economy and families need it most.”

The budget includes $685 million in school spending. Wisconsin will hit the mark of two-thirds funding for schools for the first time in 20 years.

The budget will allow the state to receive $100 million in federal funds for schools and children.

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Republican budget started out as an ugly and empty piñata, and while Governor Evers’ veto pen couldn’t fill it with good policies or smart investments, he at least broke it apart into a few useful pieces, says Milwaukee area Senator.

Milwaukee, WI – Thursday, Governor Evers partially vetoed and signed the budget put forth by the Republican-controlled legislature. While the Governor used his veto authority to salvage what he could, the final budget remains an example of missed opportunities and false choices. Senator Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) issued the following statement regarding the signed budget:

“Governor Evers understands the value of investing in our children. While the Republican budget continued the dangerous scheme of allowing an education funding gap and barely qualifying for federal funds, Governor Evers was able to meet the promise of two-thirds funding by using federal funds to increase per-pupil aid by $100 million. Given the education funding shell game of the GOP budget, there was little room left for the governor to fix their chaos while meeting the needs of our kids.

“When will Republicans stop forcing the false choices between tax cuts and adequate public education funding? In a year of plenty, they chose to underfund our kids, while giving an outsized tax cut to the wealthy. Seventy-four percent of this regressive tax cut goes toward the wealthy few, while the average person saves little. How many of them should we expect to be grateful enough to use their ill-gotten gains to fund a new school air ventilation system? Or boost the special education reimbursement rate?

“Budget after budget, when Republicans control the process they have failed our children and put our future in jeopardy. They have done this by intentionally denying our kids adequate and equitable funding for their education. It is time for those in GOP leadership to hear the call of the people. Over the past biennium, our communities passed 138 referendums, costing taxpayers $3,220,966,510. Wisconsin deserves better than forcing local communities to keep going back to referendums to make up the gaps in what is needed for our children.

“As the economic future of Wisconsin remains strong, we should have invested in our teachers, reduced classroom sizes, and ensured that our public schools system returned to being a point of national pride. As a member of the Senate Committee on Education, I will continue to fight for progressive policies to bring our children, and those that devote their lives to them, the resources they need to thrive.

“This Republican budget started out as an ugly and empty piñata, and while Governor Evers’ veto pen couldn’t fill it with good policies or smart investments, he at least broke it apart into a few useful pieces.”