Despite a rocky start to negotiations, Republican leaders have reached a compromise on a series of central policy priorities during the state Senate’s final day of session activity.
After initially taking issue with some of the details present in versions of the Assembly’s juvenile justice reform and child tax credit bills, Senate Republicans have passed comparable drafts of both.
In both cases, the state Senate’s more fiscally conservative GOP caucus was skeptical of the spending levels proposed by their colleagues down the hall.
In its last day of regular activity, prior to Gov. Scott Walker
Many thought the legislation dead after a Senate committee rejected the plan’s spending, but the chamber has since approved a proposal to close Lincoln Hills and open the new facilities, provided the Joint Finance Committee OKs the costs after they are calculated.
“This is not a ‘lock them up and throw away the key’ issue,” said state Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine. “We are dealing with lives and families and the future of our state. It was appropriate that the state Senate have time to review
The legislation passed the chamber unanimously, just as its sister bill did in the Assembly.
Another explicit priority of the governor seemed in danger, as the state Senate initially refused to consider the Assembly’s version of Walker’s child tax credit plan, giving $100 per child annually to each family in the state, as it had a sales-tax holiday tacked onto it.
Such a period of tax exemption, which was projected to rid the state’s coffers up to $52 million, was deemed unacceptable to fiscal conservatives in the higher chamber.
After negotiations, the Senate narrowly passed the plan, though only allowing for $12 million in revenue loss in their altered version.
The amended versions of both bills will now be sent to the Assembly to consider in their unorthodox Thursday session.
