As most of you now know, the conference committee on the state budget met last night and approved a conference report on the budget.

 

The news today is that the State Senate approved that conference report last night around 12:30 AM (early Friday morning, actually) and now the State Assembly is set to consider the conference report tonight. The Assembly will go into session at 5:30 PM tonight

 

Observers assume that the budget will pass the Assembly tonight; it will head to Governor Doyle for his vetoes and signature as soon as passed; and the Governor has announced his intention to sign the bill on Monday, June 29.

 

The bill must be signed no later than June 29th if it is to be effective before the end of the state's fiscal year on July 1st. If the bill is not effective on that date, millions in federal Medicaid dollars will be forfeited and the budget "balances" on a set of assumptions that include the state's collecting that money.

 

In addition, more millions in federal highway aid will be collected if Wisconsin has ratified primary enforcement of seat belts by July 1. The conference budget includes a primary-enforcement provision so that money, too, will be head to Wisconsin.

 

In the main the results of the conference committee were good for county government. We achieved several of our main goals, either in whole or in very great part.

 

WCA has asked Governor Doyle to retain the 911 sunrise-sunset language found in the Senate and the conference budget (see below) and we have also asked the Governor to veto the maintenance-of-effort language that accompanied the 911 grant proposal as it emerged from the State Senate and the conference committee.

 

THANK YOU to all of you who contacted legislators on these issues.With your help, and the help of partners, we achieved and retained the best of the various versions of the budget on many key issues - and on the really big issues (911 and responsible bidder / public works items) we did very well indeed.

 

A summary of the conference committee provisions is available online at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/2009-11Budget/2009_06_25Conf%20Comm.pdf