Governor Jim Doyle's inclusion of tax increases and non-fiscal related policies in the budget introduced Tuesday is drawing criticism from Republican lawmakers.
His budget proposal calls for an income tax increase for individuals earning over $300,000 a year, in addition to a 75-cent increase in the cigarette tax and a tax on oil companies' profits.
The amount of taxes being raised outnumber the amount of cuts to government spending,"" said state Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn.
Mike Mikalsen, spokesperson for state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, said a proposed $1.4 billion in tax increases aimed at businesses will result in a ""guaranteed loss of jobs.""
Kedzie said the 1 percent, across the board cut in spending for state agencies Doyle proposed is ""a step in the right direction,"" but all the issues that do not focus on fiscal policy should not be included in the budget.
""We've got domestic partnerships, prevailing wage law, red light traffic cameras, primary seatbelt enforcement, statewide smoking ban - othese are things that don't belong in a budget bill, these are issues that should be debated individually,"" Kedzie said.
State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, defended the smoking ban, saying it would save billions of dollars in health-care costs for smokers, most of which are picked up by taxpayers.
According to Mikalsen, Nass has always opposed putting policy in the budget because it cheats the public out of the opportunity to testify on the issues.
Mikalsen said the $1.74 million cut in UW System funding was within the expected range, but warned that losses to the system will likely be offset by a 5- to 6-percent tuition increase.
Doyle proposed freezing tuition for UW System students whose household incomes fall under $60,000 a year, a move state Rep. Robin Vos, R-Racine, criticized.
""If you're successful, your parents are doing better, you're going to end up paying much higher [tuition] than the person sitting next to you in class,"" Vos said.
According to Risser, the 2009-'11 budget is going to be difficult to pass.
""It looks like at this point in time the Republicans are just going to vote as a block against the budget '¦ The Democrats have to put together a coalition to pass it,"" he said, adding it could be difficult because Democrats hold a slim majority in both houses.
