Gov. Scott Walker will reveal his heavily anticipated biennial budget Wednesday, Feb. 8, he announced in a formal letter to his colleagues.
The budget address will allow Walker to lay out the exact details and monetary investments of what he wants to give certain state agencies and programs.
Walker has proposed several plans ahead his official address, including an in-state tuition cut for all UW System schools, a welfare initiative that focuses on skills training, a funding increase for K-12 schools public schools and a promise to repair the state’s roads—the fourth worst in the country—without raising taxes.
Many legislators and parties involved in the proposals are awaiting specifics from Walker, who has not elaborated on details and likely will not until his address.
The budget isn’t set in stone after the address, however. Following Walker’s announcement, the Joint Committee on Finance will hear from state Legislature, Wisconsin residents and heads of state agencies on what they want the budget to look like.
Then the Committee will modify Walker’s version and send it to the Legislature to debate. After that, the state Legislature will send the budget to Walker to sign into law sometime in the summer months.
At the beginning of this process, the budget address will live stream on Facebook live, YouTube and Periscope. Walker urged those who are unable to attend the budget address at the Capitol to tune in to one of those platforms.