Gov. Jim Doyle signed the 2009-'11 biennial budget Monday, the first time since 1977 that the budget has been put into effect before the start of the new biennium.
In light of the record $6.6 billion state budget deficit, the budget requires state employees to take 16 unpaid furlough days over the next two years, includes over 1,000 state employee layoffs and introduces an across-the-board cut on state agencies.
Additional cuts include Doyle's veto of 81 provisions totaling over $10 million. The vetoes reduced the state's film tax incentive program and introduced a new early release program for prisons.
Doyle promised to hold the line on taxes and protect education funding with aid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He also cited new employment opportunities for scientists and researchers throughout the UW System.
In Wisconsin, our universities play a significant role in growing the economy,"" Doyle said at the signing.
The budget also includes an increase of $20 million for financial aid and protects Wisconsin families with incomes less than $60,000 from tuition increases.
On Friday, the state Senate passed the conference report by a 17-15 vote, and the state Assembly quickly passed the bill 51-46.
State Sen. Jim Sullivan, D-Wauwatosa, was the only Democratic senator to vote against the bill, while state Rep. Margaret Krusick, D-Milwaukee, and state Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer, D-Manitowoc, sided with Republican Assembly members.
The conference report attempted to reconcile differences between the Assembly and Senate versions of the budget. The budget has faced opposition since being originally introduced by Doyle in February and continues to face criticism from Republican lawmakers.
State Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said the bill raises property taxes and does little to create jobs. He criticized the bill for increasing taxes on cell phones, gasoline and hospital care.
Fitzgerald also condemned ""pork"" Doyle failed to veto, such as $5 million for Bradley Center renovations and $50,000 for recycle bins for Wrightstown.
""When Wisconsin is facing a massive budget deficit, high unemployment and a crippling recession, the governor also signed major pork provisions into law,"" Fitzgerald said in a statement.
State Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, praised the effort put into finalizing the budget and acknowledged the challenges posed by declining revenue and the nationwide recession.
""We had to find a way to make necessary investments in job creation and maintain our commitments to schools while protecting middle-income families from increases in sales and income taxes,"" he said in a statement.
The final budget kept intact the new 75-cent cigarette tax and the higher income tax bracket for households earning more than $300,000 a year that were proposed in Doyle's original budget address.
""I knew we could avoid irreparable harm to our services - and our people - by making sure we made responsible cuts that took the path of least destruction. I knew we could still invest in our future to strengthen Wisconsin for generations to come,"" Doyle said.
