17th Senate District Senator Howard Marklein announced several recent state budget changes made by the Joint Finance Committee during the last week of deliberation and Executive Sessions. Marklein said while the new state revenue numbers were disappointing, he and his colleagues continue to seek ways to save funds and apply them to certain priorities.
Some of the changes included:
- Wisconsin Well Woman program – added $100,000 to the Wisconsin Well Woman Program which provides breast and cervical cancer screenings and diagnostic services to women aged 45 to 64 with little or no health care coverage.
- Rural Emergency Medical Education – provide a $40,000 grant for advanced life support training to doctors, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and paramedics who work in rural hospitals and clinics.
- Wisconsin Fund for Private Onsite Wastewater Treatment System (POWTS) Grants – restored the Wisconsin Fund which provides grants to low-income residents for part of the costs of repairing and replacing failing septic systems.
- Sexual Assault Victims Servicing Funding (SAVS) – added $100,000 GPR to the Department of Justice in 2016-17 for grants under the sexual assault victims servicing grant program.
- Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department – added a grant for $50,000 per year to enable the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department to hire an officer dedicated to drug law enforcement.
- Law Enforcement Officer-Involved Death Investigations – added $630,000 for 4 positions over the biennium to conduct office involved incidents.
- State Park Solvency – Marklein authored a motion for the state parks account that he says would improve the financial condition of the state park system. They also required the DNR to study ways for the state parks to increase revenue and manage resources for continued sustainability.
The Joint Finance Committee will continue to meet in Executive Session over the next several weeks to revise the Governor’s budget proposal before it is presented to the full legislature.