MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker hoped a larger Republican majority in his state’s Legislature would lead to the quick and smooth passage of a budget, a perfect kickoff to his all-but-announced campaign for president.
Instead, the spending plan landed on his desk a week late bearing the most ‘no’ votes his budgets have ever received from GOP lawmakers, who derided his original $73 billion spending plan as “crap.”
Republicans who voted against the budget cited a variety of concerns with the far-reaching legislation that lays out Walker’s priorities for state funding over the next two years. They said it didn’t spend enough on K-12 schools, would borrow too much for road construction and they objected to repealing a law setting minimum salaries for construction workers on local government projects. Their lukewarm reception isn’t the kind of momentum Walker’s had hoped for heading into the launch of his presidential bid Monday.
Walker still has plenty to campaign on: The budget includes no sales or income tax increases and property taxes are in line to be lower in 2016 than they were when Walker took office in 2011. He’s also expanding the private school voucher program, a favorite with conservatives, and continuing a tuition freeze at the University of Wisconsin System.
But there are big losses as well.