The state Legislature's current delay in passing a budget has wasted $17.2 million since the July 1 deadline, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
The state Senate and Assembly have been unable to reach an agreement on a new 2007-09 budget for the past several months.
Mike McCabe, executive director of WDC, a nonpartisan watchdog group, said after examining the annual budget, legislators' salaries and other costs, his organization determined $17.2 million has been wasted since July 1.
We're paying for the operation of the legislature, but the legislature has not been able to accomplish anything because of this budget impasse,"" McCabe said.
Mike Mikalsen, a spokesperson for state Rep. Stephen Nass R-Whitewater, said this number is not accurate, and is based on the assumption that the only thing the legislators have been doing is spending time on the budget. He said the WDC study was a ""waste of effort,"" and Nass and other Republicans view the budget impasse as a positive.
""The people of Wisconsin have not seen their taxes increased by the $10 billion that Gov. Jim Doyle and the Senate Democrats were trying to ram down the throats of people by fast tracking a budget,"" Mikalsen said.
Mikalsen said without any new taxes, the state of Wisconsin will still take in $1.2 billion more in taxes in this budget period than under the last budget due to normal growth.
""We can have a budget tomorrow if the Democrats give up two things: their massive tax increases and their willingness to expend at massive rates,"" he said.
McCabe said some of the effects of the budget impasse are local governments struggling to finalize their budgets and a bond rating increase in the state, causing an increase in the cost to borrow money.
The UW-System is also effected by the budget impasse. According to UW-System spokesperson David Giroux, there are 5,000 students unsure of whether they will receive their financial aid from the Wisconsin Higher Education Grants state sponsored program. He said this is due to a Higher Education Aid Board freeze in April.
Mikalsen said $39 million has already come from Wisconsin Higher Education Grants, and the students on the waiting list all filed late.
Giroux said due to a provision in the state budget the UW-System is able to keep operating at last year's budget. However, Giroux said paying this year's bills with last year's budgeted amount of money is a problem because operating costs have gone up.
Giroux said the Assembly version of the budget takes $120 million out of base funding, which is $45 million for UW-Madison alone.
