Tony Evers and Republican lawmakers battle over taxes, health coverage
MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers and Republican legislative leaders are clashing over the first major issues facing the state's new divided leadership: how to ensure coverage for Wisconsinites' pre-existing health conditions and how to provide them with income tax relief.
Assembly Republicans traveled throughout the state Thursday to release a plan that provides a different way to deliver an income tax cut promised by Evers — a proposal that was swiftly rejected by the Democratic governor.
Evers has proposed cutting middle-class income taxes by 10 percent through capping a tax credit for manufacturers and agriculture producers.
But Republican lawmakers want to, instead, pay for the cut with a state budget surplus.
"Why jeopardize what has brought us to this point of prosperity by undoing a tax cut that brought us to today?" said Rep. John Nygren, co-chairman of the Legislature's budget-writing committee at a news conference in the Wisconsin State Capitol.
But the Evers administration rebuffed the Republicans' proposal, saying it falls short of providing the ongoing relief he is seeking in his plan to cut middle-class income taxes.
"It’s great to hear that Republicans agree with another one of the governor’s good ideas to support middle-class families, however, their proposal falls short of what Gov. Evers has proposed," spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said.
The Assembly Republicans' plan comes as Republican legislative leaders and Evers vie for an upper hand as they figure out how to work together.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he did not inform Evers of the tax proposal when they met earlier this week.
Evers and Republican lawmakers this week also are battling over how to protect health insurance coverage of pre-existing health conditions.
Assembly Republicans on Thursday advanced a bill that would require coverage of pre-existing conditions but is opposed by Evers and some Democrats because it neither provides the same protections as the Affordable Care Act nor addresses lifetime or annual caps on coverage.
Evers tweeted Thursday he met with Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald to discuss potential changes to the Assembly bill, including barring insurance plans from having lifetime or annual limits and requiring coverage of "critical services like care for moms and newborns before and after birth and prescription drug costs."
"I will not sign legislation that fails to fully protect Wisconsinites like me who have pre-existing conditions," Evers tweeted.
Vos said Thursday afternoon "it's too early to tell" whether he would support the changes Evers seeks.
"I'm not going to negotiate by Twitter. I think that's kind of BS," Vos said.
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The Republican income tax plan unveiled Thursday will cost $490 million in its first year and $338 million annually moving forward.
A married couple with a combined income of between $100,000 and $125,000 would see an average decrease of $212. A couple making between $60,000 and $70,000 would see the largest average decrease, $311.
The state's general fund had a balance of $588.5 million as of June 30. The projected balance for 2019 is expected to be $622.6 million.
An analysis released in November by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum said the state would need more than $2 billion more revenue over the next two years to cover projected cost increases in Medicaid, provide the same funding for public schools and give 1 percent spending increases to other programs.
When asked how the cut would be funded in future years, Nygren said he believed Republican lawmakers could again produce a surplus.
Baldauff said Evers' plan scales back tax credits for corporations and provides relief "without adding to the deficit or relying on one-time funds."
"In contrast, Speaker Vos’ spending plan continues to grow," Baldauff said. "Between this unfunded proposal, their refusal to accept federal funds to expand Medicaid and growing legal fees for outside counsel to defend their lame-duck laws, Republicans are willing to leave taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars."
Vos told reporters his caucus released the plan Thursday so Evers could include it in his "state of the state" address Tuesday.
"What a fantastic chance for him on Tuesday to say I accept the offer of legislative Republicans to be able to use the surplus they developed for the tax cut that he wants — seems like a win-win to me," Vos said.
In a news conference in Green Bay, Rep. Joel Kitchens said scaling back the corporate tax credit isn't a good way to pay for Evers' proposed tax cut because of the effect on farmers.
“Milk prices are horrible. Commodity prices are horrible. This is not a good time to be increasing taxes on farmers,” Kitchens said.
Fitzgerald in a statement said he supports the goal of lowering the state's tax burden and has asked three senators to work with Assembly Republicans on developing the plan.
"I believe we can find a solution to provide tax relief for the middle-class without hurting Wisconsin farmers like the governor originally proposed," Sen. Alberta Darling, co-chairwoman of the Legislature's budget-writing committee, also said.
Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling called the Assembly plan a "gimmick."
"Voters want school funding to be a top priority and this Republican gimmick prevents us from expanding opportunities for students," she said.
Vos said he wants to enact the tax cut plan outside the state budget process.
Assembly lawmakers plan to take up their bill aimed at ensuring coverage for pre-existing conditions Tuesday, and Vos has not said whether he would include the proposed changes from Evers.
"It does nothing to make insurance more affordable and it does nothing to make it more accessible," Rep. Jimmy Anderson, D-Fitchburg, said Thursday about the bill he characterized as a "publicity stunt."
Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville, said the bill is a good start and isn't supposed to be a wholesale fix.
"It's just excuses to vote against something they know they should vote for," he said about Democratic opposition. "I don't know why anyone would say or think that this is done. It's not done. We always have more work to do. But if you don't make steps to move forward, you're not going to get anywhere."
Samantha Hernandez of the Green Bay Press-Gazette contributed to this report.