The state Legislature passed the 2007-2009 budget Tuesday evening, 115 days after it was supposed to be passed and only needs approval by Gov. Jim Doyle to become law.
The vote in the Republican-controlled Assembly was 60 to 39, with 23 Republicans and 37 Democrats voting in favor. In the Democrat-controlled state Senate, the vote was 18 to 15 on party lines.
A few small line item vetoes from Doyle are possible, according to Doyle spokesperson and Deputy Secretary for the Department of Administration Dan Schooff.
Schooff said normally the governor would take a few weeks to look over the budget, but the three months of legislative deadlock mean the process will occur much faster.
While we all had to make some difficult compromises, I believe the bill that passed tonight reflects our state's values, protects our priorities and invests in our people,"" Doyle said in a statement.
Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, said after the vote that he was pleased with the outcome and that the bipartisan passage should send a strong statement to Wisconsin families. Huebsch said the 29 Republicans voting against the budget were close to what he had earlier predicted.
""I think you know you've got a good product when neither side is happy,"" Huebsch said.
Still, several legislators said they were disappointed with the budget to the point that they could not vote for it.
State Rep. Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, said every state that raised its cigarette tax has not received the sort of revenue predicted, referencing the $1 per pack tax included in the budget.
""This budget is simply not good enough,"" Vukmir said.
Other legislators said they were unhappy with certain parts of the budget, but would vote for it because a compromise needed to be reached.
State Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, and state Rep. Josh Zepnick, D-Milwaukee, both said they were frustrated a planned commuter rail line in their districts would not be funded in the budget, but they would vote in favor to move the process forward.
Even with the budget passing both chambers, several lingering issues remain. The budget passed with a structural deficit of $892 million, a debt that is pushed to the next budget and can be paid only if tax revenues meet expectations, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Senate Democrats also caucused after the budget passed the Senate, with some Democrats considering changing Senate leadership away from Majority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, according to the state news website Wispolitics.
Robson spokesperson Josh Wescott said no leadership vote was taken in the closed caucus and that Democrats were more focused on the upcoming fall session.
