(The Center Square) – Politicians and the Wisconsin Department of Tourism touted new numbers this week that they say justify the $34 million in new spending in the state’s most recent budget to promote tourism in the state while making the state’s Office of Outdoor Recreation permanent and funding a new film office that includes a $5 million film tax credit.
The numbers, however, come from marketing group Tourism Economics which economists have said does not follow economic principles and the numbers are not reputable.
The same company filed a report on the claimed economic impact of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee that economist Victor Matheson of the College of the Holy Cross called a “promotional booklet/press release, not a serious economic impact study.”
Rather than being true economic studies that are peer-reviewed and published in journals, the reports are sent in marketing flyers that are then sent out in press releases by government entities hoping to benefit from the claims.
This year, the marketing report again claimed the state’s tourism industry had record numbers of visits, economic impact and both state and local tax revenue.
“Wisconsin’s tourism industry isn’t just growing, it’s booming,” Gov. Tony Evers said in a news release touting the numbers. “And the proof’s in the pudding, with four consecutive record-breaking years, including generating a record $27 billion last year alone.
“These numbers are a big deal for our state, our economy, and the countless hardworking folks in the industry who make it all happen – the folks who work each day to promote our state as the premier place to visit and explore, as well as the tour guides, waiters, restaurateurs, hoteliers, and the friendly faces in communities all across our state that keep folks coming back for one more adventure in Wisconsin year after year.”

(The Center Square) – One of Wisconsin’s Republican congressmen is leading the questions about how many NFL fans are being left out by games on streaming services.
Southeast Wisconsin Congressman Scott Fitzgerald led the Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on The Sports Broadcasting Act on Wednesday afternoon.
“When the NFL came to Congress in 1961 they warned that smaller teams wouldn’t survive if the league could not pool their broadcast rights. So, they created shared revenue,” Fitzgerald said during the hearing. “But today, professional sports leagues are amongst the most profitable in the world. Is it safe to say that the survival of professional sports is no longer dependent on a special exemption from Congress?”
Congress held the hearing because of complaints from fans that they now need several streaming services and have to spend hundreds of dollars a year to watch all of their favorite teams.
The NFL, for example, has games on broadcast TV, as well as games on YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Peacock.
The 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act requires the NFL to provide games on broadcast TV, essentially for free. The NFL claims it still does, pointing out that 87% of games are available on broadcast TV.
But Fitzgerald said that means 13% of games are not.
“To me the straw that kinda broke the camel’s back was when the NFL signed a contract with Netflix,” Fitzgerald added. “At that point, I think, they went from pushing on the edge of the law to jumping head first through it.”
There is a unique Wisconsin tie to this hearing.
When NFL games are on streaming, fans in their team’s home market can watch them on broadcast TV. But in Wisconsin, that means only fans in the Green Bay and Milwaukee markets can get the games for free. Fans in Madison, Eau Claire, La Crosse, and northern Wisconsin are blacked out.
You also have some other Packer fans who are blacked out of broadcast games as well. Some people in northwestern Wisconsin are included in the Minneapolis TV market, and they get Minnesota Vikings games. There are also some fans near the Upper Pennisula who are in a Michigan TV market and get Lions games.
Wisconsin Democrat U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin has tried to fix that issue for years with her Go Pack Go Act that would allow all fans in Wisconsin to watch the Packers on their local TV stations.

(The Center Square) – A Pittsville mother has reached a settlement that includes legal fees and recognition of her free speech rights after she received a cease-and-desist letter and a visit from police to her home following a video she posted on social media stating that she was considering homeschooling her disabled daughter after she was pushed aside at a holiday school concert.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty represented Amanda Vogel and reached a settlement acknowledging that the video was seen by millions online and the commentary was protected by First Amendment rights. The settlement calls for a $15,000 payment to fees.
The district rescinded its cease-and-desist notice.
“When the police showed up at my door because of a social media post, it was shocking and overwhelming,” Vogel said in a statement. “I hope this settlement ensures that no other parents have to feel that way just for sharing their family’s story. At the heart of all of this was my desire to advocate for my daughter and to encourage a conversation about treating every child with dignity and respect. I hope this outcome helps protect both the right of parents to speak openly and the importance of ensuring that all children feel valued and supported.”
The Pittsville School District had threatened a defamation lawsuit and initially refused to acknowledge wrongdoing.
“The First Amendment does not disappear when a parent criticizes a school district,” WILL Deputy Counsel Cory Brewer said in a statement. “Our client exercised her constitutional right to share her family’s experience and explain why she chose to homeschool her daughter. The school district has now acknowledged that her speech was protected and has withdrawn its legal threats. WILL continues to fight, and win, on behalf of parents when they, or their rights, are threatened by government overreach.”
The district acknowledge that involving the Chief of Police, who serves as the District’s School Resource Officer, with two visits to her home could have been seen as intimidating.

(The Center Square) – The Institute for Reforming Government has filed a lawsuit claiming that Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction violated the state’s Open Meetings Act when it failed to post agendas, keep minutes or notify the public of committee meetings at a 2024 Forward Exam standards-setting conference in the Wisconsin Dells.
DPI spent nearly $369,000 on the conference, which was run by contractor Data Recognition Corp. as part of a nearly $80 million, 10-year contract with Wisconsin to operate its testing and create the Forward Exam.
The lawsuit was filed by the Wisconsin Transparency Project on behalf of IRG.
IRG’s General Counsel and Director of its Center for Investigative Oversight Jake Curtis told The Center Square in February that he believed the 88-member standards-setting group filled with school employees and leaders fits the exact definition of an Ad Hoc Committee and that meetings of that committee should be public and not subject to the non-disclosure agreements signed by conference attendees.
IRG previously asked the Adams County District Attorney to take action with an Open Meetings Act verified complaint and it did not, leading to the lawsuit.
“DPI cannot lower academic standards in secret and simply expect parents and students to accept the outcome,” Curtis said in a statement. “Taxpayers funded this process, but DPI shut them out. The DA’s silence left us no choice but to pursue legal action — Wisconsin families deserve to know how and why decisions about their children’s education are being made behind closed doors.”
Dairyland Sentinel has asked Wisconsin’s Department of Justice to intervene on a public records request related to the conference that the outlet believes is still incomplete.
Dairyland Sentinel Publisher Brian Fraley previously told The Center Square that he believes there are minutes and recordings from the conference that should be public records that DPI has not released related to its workshop and that he plans to continue to fight for those records.
“The DPI holds a massive contract with DRC to manage the Forward Exam,” Fraley told The Center Square. “However, the Department cannot use a private vendor to shield itself from public records requests, nor can they use that vendor to prevent citizens from seeing the inner workings of public meetings that altered state education policy.”
DPI Superintendent Jill Underly did not attend an April committee meeting about the conference, but did have private meetings she attended instead that day.
DPI representatives were adamant that the work of the 88-member committee was not subject to open meetings or open records disclosure because it was setup by vendor Data Recognition Corp.

(The Center Square) – Kirk Bangstad is running out of options in his bid to become the Democrat candidate for governor in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted to keep Bangstad off the August primary ballot. The Commission didn’t specifically talk about or to Bangstad, but Tuesday’s vote comes after the commission ruled last week that he did not have enough valid signatures to make the ballot.
Bangstad became famous for his “free beer” offer on Facebook.
Bangstad wrote in April “we almost got #freebeerday,” after the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents dinner.
“Either a brother or sister in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship or he faked another assassination to get a positive news cycle,” Bangstad wrote. “We’ll never know. Regardless, we stand at the ready to pour free beer the day it happens.”
That prompted a Secret Service investigation. A few days later Bangstad announced his campaign for governor.
WisPolitics reported Tuesday that Bangstad is planning to sue to try and make the August ballot, but he was silent about that on his Facebook page.
Bangstad has also been excluded from this weekend’s Wisconsin Democrat State Convention. Bangstad was not given a speaking role at the convention, while the seven other candidates all got time on the stage.
Bangstad has also been left out of the recently announced Democrat Primary debate. Channel 12 on Tuesday announced it will hold a late-July debate between the seven candidates on the ballot. That list includes candidates Mandela Barnes, Joel Brennan, David Crowley, Francesca Hong, Missy Hughes, Sara Rodriguez and Kelda Roys.

(The Center Square) – Business owners in Wisconsin are concerned that the state is not headed in the right direction while 71% reported an increase in the property tax bill for their owned or leased commercial property over the past year with 1% seeing a decrease.
The employer survey from the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce is conducted twice a year with 200 respondents.
“It’s no wonder employers say Wisconsin is headed the wrong way: we’re already among the highest-taxed states in the nation, with top-10 individual and property tax burdens and a top-12 corporate tax burden,” Kurt R. Bauer, WMC President/CEO, said in a statement. “Property taxes are a punishing fixed cost, owed whether a business is just starting out, expanding, or struggling. With Governor Evers’ 400-year autopilot increase, Wisconsin is on track to climb even higher.”
Gov. Tony Evers used the current veto power to erase numbers and a hyphen to change the year “2024-25” to “2425” in a school appropriation in the budget bill.
That meant a $325 per student per year funding increase for the next 400 years was allowed and later upheld in a 4-3 ruling from the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
In the Nov. 3 election, Wisconsin voters will have the chance to end the governor’s partial veto power with a referendum to block a partial veto to “create or increase or authorize the creation or increase of any tax or fee.”
The survey also showed that 71% of employers favor ending the state’s personal income tax while 46% said that they strongly support the idea with just 14% say that they oppose it.
The employers weren’t asked if the state’s budget would decrease or another tax would be added in its place.
“Some states roll out the red carpet for businesses; others roll out the red tape,” Bauer said in a statement. “Wisconsin taxes 95% of its businesses through the individual income tax rate—what many rightly call a ‘small business tax’—hitting them with one of the highest top rates in the country. If Wisconsin seeks to attract investment, businesses, and talent, we must reform our tax climate to make it more competitive with neighboring states and those across the country. More red carpet—less red tape.”

(The Center Square) – The Milwaukee Brewers will add a high-end private club and new first-row seats as part of a renovation fueled by $500 million in public funding agreed to by state leaders in late 2023.
The Truss Club, set to open in 2027, will be a two story open-air 20,000-square-foot club that will include everything from a valet option and priority departure along with separate security and private lockers that go with 375 new seats.
The wider seats, 23 or 24 inches, will be in the first six rows between the dugouts.
The club will open onto the concourse level of the stadium.
Fans will need to be full and half-season ticket members and will plan to pay prices that start at $245 for the seats. The all-inclusive seats include high-end food options and in-seat service.
The club will open 30 minutes before other stadium gates.
The 2023 funding deal from state lawmakers, which included a lease renewal through 2050, included $366 million in state tax money along with $135 million from taxpayers in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County over the 27-year renewal.
The deal also included a non-Brewer game ticket tax for events such as last weekend’s Banana Ball at the stadium or concerts such as Luke Combs.
Milwaukee was the only stadium without a premium club area besides the Athletics in their temporary home in Sacramento before a planned move to Las Vegas in 2028, according to MLB.com.
The team is also building a plaza in the outfield that will open this season along with a planned multilevel food and beverage complex that will open in 2027.

(The Center Square) – A new report from the University of Wisconsin says tuition in the state is actually too low.
UW regents last week voted for a 2% tuition increase across the UW System, but the report from the university’s Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy said that tuition increase is modest at best.
“[The] 2% (about $210), [is] the fourth increase since a decade-long freeze ended in 2023, the report states. The debate treats this as a hardship; the data show the opposite. The resident price is too low, a legacy of political price control rather than market value.”
The 2% tuition hike will bring the cost of a year’s worth of tuition and fees at UW-Madison to more than $12,000 per-year. Tuition and fees at UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse will jump this fall to more than $10,000 per-year, and most other UW campuses will see tuition rise to just less than $10,000.
Regents and the CROWE report both say that is a bargain compared to other universities in other states.
At Ohio State, in-state tuition and fees average a little more than $14,000 a year, while Michigan residents pay more than $18,000 at University of Michigan. In-state tuition and fees at the University of Minnesota run $18,000, while the average cost at Indiana University is a little more than $12,000.
“At $12,166, resident tuition and fees are the 12th-lowest of the 38 public members of the Association of American Universities and well below the median of $14,726, even though U.S. News ranks UW–Madison 12th among public universities. Its research peers charge residents 51% to 73% more,” the report adds.
Tuition for out-of-state students is also rising, but the CROWE report said that’s not much of a concern.
“Nonresident tuition of $44,191 carries no taxpayer subsidy and is the closest available market price; residents pay just 28 cents on the dollar, the fourth-lowest share in the group and a discount near $32,000 a year,” the report noted.
The report, however, is not doing much to calm the anger over the University of Wisconsin’s fourth-straight tuition increase.
State Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, on Monday said the university should be looking to cut costs, not raise tuition.
“Since 2021, the UW System’s budget has grown from approximately $12.9 billion to nearly $15.9 billion, an increase that tracks inflation. The Legislature also provided an additional $256 million in taxpayer support in the most recent state budget. Yet students and families are now facing a fourth consecutive tuition increase, putting a first-class UW education further out of reach for many deserving families,” Hutton said.
Hutton and other Republicans at the Capitol say the tuition increase is even more insulting when costs are going up largely to continue paying for extra layers of university administrators.
“The challenge facing the UW System is not simply one of resources. It is whether we are willing to undertake the reforms necessary to make the System stronger, more responsive, and more affordable over the long term. That includes streamlining bureaucracy, reducing unnecessary duplication across campuses, modernizing governance, and ensuring programs align with the needs of today’s students and Wisconsin employers,” Hutton added in a statement.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin had nearly 356,000 of what it calls assistance groups receiving FoodShare in the state in May, down from nearly 370,000 last June.
FoodShare is the Wisconsin version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, which saw changes in the past year to work requirements along with ending eligibility for some immigrants and refugees.
The work requirements are for any individual aged 18 to 64 who is physically and mentally able to work and does not have a child under 14. Each person fitting that description must work 20 hours per week or participate in approved job readiness programs, job searching or volunteering.
In March, Gov. Tony Evers and legislators came to an agreement on a $72 million FoodShare bill that included a ban on candy and soda purchases with the SNAP funds.
The Foundation for Government Accountability said when the new requirements were put in place, including a significant financial penalty for states that exceed a 6% error rate on payments, that the integrity measures were necessary since SNAP costs had increased 488% since 2000 with the number of enrollees doubling over that time.
There were 42 million enrollees with annual federal costs of more than $100 billion for the program.
The five-year trend on Wisconsin SNAP enrollments showed that numbers went from nearly 371,000 households in 2022 to more than 374,000 in both 2023 and 2024 and back down to 356,000 now.

(The Center Square) – Dane County in Wisconsin is stopping the clock on large artificial intelligence data center projects.
The county board last week approved an 18-month pause on large data center projects. That pause involves a stop order on all zoning permits for large projects for the next 18 months.
“Following review by the Zoning and Land Regulation Committee, the resolution was narrowed to apply only to hyperscale data centers, defined as facilities that use at least 5,000 servers and occupy at least 10,000 square feet of floor space,” the county said in a statement. “Smaller data center infrastructure is not affected.”
Dane County is not the only county in Wisconsin with a ban on large data center projects. Manitowoc County also has a ban. County leaders there unanimously approved an 18-month pause on large projects back in April. Brown County discussed a pause, but ultimately decided not to vote.
The city of Madison approved aone-year ban on large data center construction last month.
“Communities across Dane County are watching this issue closely, and there is real concern that proposals could move forward before we have the information needed to properly evaluate them,” County Board Chairman Patrick Miles said in a statement. “Pressing pause is the responsible step. It protects our communities while we do the work to understand what hyperscale data center development would mean for our land, our infrastructure, and our residents.”
Miles said the county will look to answer questions about the “environmental, economic, health, and safety implications of data centers.”
Miles also said the 18-month delay will allow other counties and communities to decide how they are going to handle data centers of their own.
“This is a regional question as much as a local one,” he said. “I hope our partners in cities, villages, and towns with their own zoning will look at taking similar steps so that no community in Dane County is left without the benefit of this research.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Senate leadership is again asking for records related to the state’s Department of Justice and lawyers paid for through the Michael Bloomberg-funded New York University State Energy & Environmental Impact Center.
Earlier this year, a special committee led by Senate President Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, asked Attorney General Josh Kaul to stop using special assistant attorney generals paid with private funds.
The committee also asked for records related to the relationship between the Justice Department and what it calls outside influences. The committee believes the department did not conduct a new search for records after that request was made and instead only “turned over records already compiled from previous open records requests or disclosed during litigation.”
“Oversight is a core responsibility of the Legislature, and DOJ consciously chose to not turn over the records that the legislative committee originally requested,” Felzkowski said in a statement. “Wisconsinites deserve transparency, especially when it’s about outside influence in Wisconsin’s Department of Justice.”
Farm groups including the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and Venture Dairy Cooperative filed a lawsuit in February 2025 related to challenging the agreement between Wisconsin’s attorney general office and a special assistant attorney general paid for by the university group.
The groups say that the special interest attorneys deny the groups from equal protection under the law and provide access that other groups do not have to leverage their ideology.
The new request for information includes all records from the original information request along with information on a hiring freeze at the Department of Justice while the department brought in lawyers funded by outside groups.

(The Center Square) – Credit card debt is now an issue in the Democrats’ race for governor in Wisconsin.
Frontrunner Francesca Hong on Wednesday addressed the news that she was being sued over $30,000 in unpaid credit card debt.
“You deserve a real response from me, directly. The real talk,” Hong said in a video she recorded and posted to social media. “I am an ordinary working Wisconsinite, and we are living in an America where too many people have been robbed of the American dream.”
Hong explained that her credit card debt is tied to her now-closed restaurant in Madison.
“I’m not ashamed to have made honest financial mistakes in pursuit of my dream of opening a restaurant,” she added. “What I am ashamed of is a system that treats debt as a moral failure.”
Hong is not the only Democrat in the governor’s race who is talking about credit card debt.
Kirk Bangstad took to social media to share his story, and stick up for Hong.
He wrote, “First and foremost, a candidate running for governor with credit problems is probably the most relatable thing to Wisconsin voters – especially those under 40 who have been left behind by an economy that siphons money to the rich. Most people who read that article probably nodded their heads and say ‘yep, been there.’ Second, there is absolutely no shame in falling behind on credit card payments.”
Bangstad explained that he owed about $30,000 on his credit cards after the 2008 recession.
“I went from ‘just getting by’ to being underwater in less than a month,” Bangstad added.
Hong blamed the other Democrats in the race for trying to use her debt to smear her.
“My opponents are scrambling,” Hong said in her video. “They are scared of what we’ve built, our platform that is resonating with working class people all across the state who feel left behind.”
Bangstad then blamed the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for the story on Hong.
“So sorry, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,” Bangstad wrote. “Your hit piece against Hong fell flat with me, as I’m guessing it did with most Wisconsinites who struggle to meet their basic needs in an economy stacked against them.”
In a March 11-18 poll (when there were nine candidates; today there are eight) Hong had a modest 14%-11% lead over Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes among Democrats in the governor’s race with 65% undecided.
Bangstad joined the race late, and may not make the ballot at all.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission this week ruled that he does not have enough valid signatures to make the cut. He has til Sunday to fix the problems with his nominating petitions.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s two-year budget has more than doubled from $54.3 billion in 2005-06 to $114.08 billion in 2025-26.
Spending has gone up more than 10% each of the past two budgets.
That spending increase, fueled by increased tax collections, were highlighted as well as warning signs that it could continue in a new legislative session report from the Institute for Reforming Government.
IRG Deputy Director Maryjane Behm saw a late-session estate tax proposal as a warning sign that the spending and taxing increases would continue if Democrats hold the Legislature and governorship after this fall’s elections.
“You look at the last two budgets and we’re at a 26% increase,” Behm told The Center Square. “Did your income increase 24% in the last four years? I don’t think anyone’s did. But government did.”
She said that “regular people” are failing to see the value in their increased tax obligations that went along with the spending increase.
The estate tax proposal, Assembly Bill 1029, could have led to nearly $170 million more in taxes collected each year from Wisconsinites. The bill had an exception for up to $15 million worth of farmland held continuously by qualified family members before death.
“Those bills that were introduced at the end of March were not going to move anywhere but it was kind of the Democrats showing their hand on ‘this is the policies we want in Wisconsin if we have control,’” Behm said.
The report highlighted a group of grooming bills that were signed into law but also a failed $1.8 billion surplus package that included $300 or $600 income tax refund checks, $600 million for schools, and an end to taxes on tips and overtime.
Behm pointed out that in a divided government with a Democrat in the governor’s role and the Republicans in charge of the Legislature, overall spending increased significantly and there were not a ton of bills that made large long-term changes.
But, in the span from 2011 to 2018 with Republicans in charge with both, spending flattened in the first budget before seeing increases of 7%, 4% and 4% as opposed to the 10% that preceded that span and the 9% increase that followed.
“I do think that people are getting worried about the outrageous spending state government has, the federal government and local government,” Behm said.

(The Center Square) – For the fifth straight year, the University of Wisconsin System will increase tuition for in-state undergraduate students.
The 2% hike was approved 15-1 by regents on Thursday. Last year’s increase was 5%.
The highest total of tuition and segregated fees in the system is at the flagship University of Wisconsin-Madison ($12,416).
The increase includes a 3.5% increase in segregated fees, which are for student services, activities, programs and facilities. In all, it would be a 2.5% average increase across tuition, segregated fees, and room and board.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly, also a regent, spoke in support of the increase, saying it was necessary because state funding for the system was not sufficient. The opinion is similar to what Underly has stated about K-12 school funding in the state.
Regent Timothy Nixon was the lone vote against the increase, stating that he would not support another increase unless all other options had been explored.
“We must be confident we have explored all options before putting it on the backs of the students,” Nixon said.
Regent Ashok Rai said he appreciated Nixon’s concerns but that hard decisions would still have to be made on each campus due to what he called a “modest increase” in tuition.
The increase has been the subject of criticism from several Republican leaders in the state including Congressman Tom Tiffany, a Republican running for governor. He said that he would freeze tuition in the UW System if elected.
Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Gillett, previously pointed out that, over the past 10 years, the system has added 2,400 nonfaculty staff positions while educating 16,000 fewer students.
Wimberger said that, if the system would “eliminate their administrative bloat,” it would free up $750 million.
“UW’s leadership is continuing to pass its payroll expenses onto students and their families, when it should be cutting its massive bureaucracy and reinvesting its funds to create a more valuable student experience,” Wimberger said in a statement. “No amount of money will ever be enough for satisfy these bureaucrats, and the bright students who attend our universities are only left with a worse education.”
The new numbers for the rest of the campuses are: UW-Eau Claire ($10,268), UW-Green Bay ($9,133), UW-La Crosse ($10,563), UW-Milwaukee ($11,153), UW-Oshkosh ($9,180), UW-Parkside ($8,851), UW-Platteville ($9,007), UW-River Falls ($9,448), UW-Stevens Point ($9,692), UW-Stout ($10,289), UW-Superior ($9,477) and UW-Whitewater ($8,984).

(The Center Square) – If two Senate Republicans change their mind on a $1.8 billion surplus deal, the Wisconsin Senate will meet again and send the proposal on to second-term Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said on Thursday afternoon that if any two of Sens. Steve Nass, Chris Kapenga and Rob Hutton changed their mind after previously voting against the bill in special session that the Senate would go back into session.
Hutton and LeMahieu are not seeking reelection along with Evers and 14th-year Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
“Fifteen of 18 Senate Republicans supported the plan to provide rebate checks to hardworking families, pass no tax on tips and overtime, cut property taxes, and increase special education funding,” LeMahieu said in a statement. “All 15 Senate Democrats voted against it.
“If two more Senators decide to stand with the 80% of Wisconsinites who support this compromise, the Senate will meet to send the proposal to the governor.”
LeMahieu pointed to a Marquette poll on the bill, which said that 80% of voters supported the $1.8 billion surplus bill that included income tax refund checks, $600 million for schools and an end to taxes on tips and overtime.
The bill included an income tax refund, an end to income tax on overtime and tips and includes $300 million in special education funding along with $300 million in general school aid that would replace property tax funding for the same.
The poll found that 77% of Republicans, 82% of Democrats and 81% of independents supported the bill.
Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, said after the 18-15 vote against the bill on May 13 that she did not support the bill because it would create a $2.9 billion structural deficit heading into the next budget.
“From Day 1 of this legislative session, Senate Democrats have shown by our actions what we are for,” Hesselbein said. “Democrats have introduced bills that would lower costs, reduce property taxes, fund our schools, make health care and medications more affordable. We have proposed legislation to make sure more people can stay in their homes, to support our farmers, to raise wages and improve working conditions.
“We are, and have been, laser-focused on Wisconsin families who are struggling because of the chaos and skyrocketing costs in the Trump economy. And that’s why this reckless proposal was not something we could support. When Democrats are in the majority, we will steer a course to a Wisconsin in which our economy works for all, where schools are sufficiently funded, and health care is affordable and accessible. We will lead from a position of compassion, strength, tolerance, collaboration and fiscal responsibility that brings security to future generations.”
Inflation climbed from 2.4% in February to 3.8% in April. The national unemployment rate is 4.3%; it’s been between 4.1% and 4.5% for 15 months.
The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones are all hovering around all-time highs. The national jobs report hasn’t shown a loss since February.
Consumer confidence polls have not matched the Wall Street markets, in part because the former is more present day outlook and the latter is future based.

(The Center Square) – Population projections are decreased, and with it the Wisconsin Counties Association’s Housing Outlook says fewer homes will be needed.
In 2023, the association projected the need to build 140,000 new homes by 2030 to keep up with demand. The report released last month says the state needs only 84,000 new homes.
“In late 2024, the Wisconsin Department of Administration released new population projections anchored to the 2020 Census,” the report says. “Those projections tell a more challenging story than the 2023 report. The working-age population is now projected to decline by closer to 200,000, and the senior population is expected to grow more slowly than originally anticipated.
“The prime working-age population, that is those aged 25 to 64, is the broadest measure of Wisconsin’s labor force and the primary driver of housing demand for owner-occupied units. The decline is concentrated among those aged 55-64, the younger half of the baby boom generation, who account for 171,096 of that projected drop. This is the single most significant demographic shift of the decade.”
Wisconsin has a housing availability problem. The state’s Realtors Association has noted not enough homes for sale for years. That lack of availability is one of the reasons why the price of homes continues to increase.
The association report acknowledges the same problem.
“A state that constructs only enough housing for a shrinking workforce is not positioning itself to grow, attract talent, or remain economically competitive through the next decade and beyond,” the authors wrote.
The report, though, strikes a positive tone when looking at whether Wisconsin can build enough homes to remain competitive.
“Lot creation is the furthest upstream measure of housing capacity because permits can only be issued, and homes can only be built, where lots already exist,” the report states. “From 2020 through 2025, there were an average of 5,600 lots created per year, an increase from the 4,600 created per year in the preceding five-year period.”
Those numbers, however, are far below the pre-2008 numbers which averaged over 14,000 lots created per year.
The report says, “The next few years of lot creation and permit data will signal which path Wisconsin is on. Lot creation ticked upward in 2025 to its highest level since 2007, which is encouraging, but still far short of preGreat Recession levels. Permitting has increased in recent years as well, but these incremental increases may not be enough to make up for years of lower construction and underdevelopment.”