A bill that will serve as a first step in eliminating the accumulating deficit for the end of this fiscal year was passed Thursday in special sessions by the state Senate and the state Assembly.
The bill reflects changes to the budget made by Gov. Jim Doyle and the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee. The bill was passed overwhelmingly by the Assembly and Senate with the deficit brought down from $454 to $283 million. A total of $38.9 million was cut from various state agency budgets. The remaining deficit will roll over into the next fiscal year.
\It was really a financial budget; there were no policy items,"" said state Rep. Therese Berceau, D-Madison. ""It was the easiest vote of the night.""
The UW System faced an expected cut in its budget of $6.89 million as a result of the bill.
State Rep. and Co-Chair of the Joint Finance Committee Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, said that ""the university tells us they can manage in this biennium. They were more concerned with the next fiscal year.""
The bill will now go on to be signed by Doyle.
Plans for the 2003 to 2005 fiscal budget have yet to be debated.
""We will take what we can get now and then work on the big budget,"" Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, said.
After passing the budget bill, the Senate and Assembly moved into extraordinary session to consider legislation which, if passed, would require the governor to present tribal gaming contracts to the Legislature for approval.
Tribal gaming contracts determine what percentage of revenue American Indian tribes give to the state.
The push for this legislation came after Doyle entered into a contract with the Oneida Nation Wednesday.
The contract settled gaming terms on the Oneida reservation as well as granting the tribe higher betting limits, extended hours and the ability to use more games. In addition, the contract is perpetual. In the past, gaming contracts have come up for renewal every five years.
State Sen. Tom Reynolds, R-West Allis, and others were worried by the permanance of the contract.
""This is the government entering into a contract that is never, ever renewable again,"" he said.
Reynolds said the proposal allowing the Legislature to renew the governor's compacts had support from both parties.
Yet Berceau said she thought the issue had more to do with partisan disagreements.
""Its sole purpose is to be in your face to a democratic governor and to challenge Democrats to see if they will stick together,"" she said.
The Legislature will reconvene on this issue Friday morning starting with the Senate at 9 a.m. and the Assembly at 11 a.m.
