Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau: Non-Fiscal Policy Items Contained Within 2013 AB 40

Credit:  Wikipedia

June 11, 2013 Fiscal Bureau memo

Excerpt  Putting such a list together always requires some subjective judgment on which items should be identified. Arguments could be made to expand the list beyond what is presented here or to delete some items from it. However, in preparing the attached list, this office applied the same criteria that it has used in previous biennia when identifying provisions of the executive budget bill as non-fiscal policy items.

The criteria used are as follows: 

(1) generally, the item has no state fiscal effect;

(2) if there is a state fiscal effect associated with an item, the policy implications of the provision outweigh any potential fiscal effect;

(3) the item has been, or is, the subject of separate, nonbudget legislation;

(4) the item is one that typically would be reviewed by a standing committee of the Legislature; and

(5) the provision could be accomplished without statutory directive, such as reports, studies, and audits.

Items that typically are not included on the list are those that: 

(1) affect state program eligibility;

(2) would generally be referred to the Joint Committee on Finance if introduced as separate legislation; and

(3) address a reorganization or transfer of state government operations or functions.

Section 1:  Items Included In AB 40, As Introduced

(Let's count 'em up by agency/area)

• Administration  (12, Joint Finance has removed 9 of them)
• Building Commission (5)
• Children and Families (2)
• Employee Trust Funds (1)
• Financial Institutions (1; removed by Joint Finance)
• General Fund Taxes (1)
• General Provisions (4; 1 removed by Joint Finance)
• Justice (3)
• Natural Resources
• Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation (3)
• Forestry and Parks (1; removed by Joint Finance)
• Office of State Employment Relations (2)
• Public Instruction (17)
• Choice, Charter, and Open Enrollment (10: Joint Finance removed 8)
• Administration and other Funding (6)
• Shared Revenue and Tax Relief (1)
• Transportation (1; removed by Joint Finance)
• University of Wisconsin System (2)
• Veterans Affairs (3; 2 removed by Joint Finance)
• Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority (1)

Section 2:  Items Added by the Joint Committee on Finance

Credit:  Wikipedia

• Administration (1)
• Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (5)
• Children and Families (1)
• Corrections (2)
• Employment Relations Commission (1)
• Financial Institutions (5)
• General Provision (6)
• Government Accountability Board (1)
• Insurance (1)
• Justice (2)
• Natural Resources (11)
• Departmentwide (1)
• Forestry and Parks (1)
• Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation (3)
• Air, Waste, and Contaminated Land (2)
• Water Quality (4)
• Public Instruction (5)
• Choice, Charter, and Open Enrollment (1)
• Administration and Other Funding (4)
• Safety and Professional Services (3)
• Shared Revenue and Tax Relief (8)
• Property Tax Credits (1)
• Property Taxation (5)
• Local Revenue Options (2)
• Transportation (5)
• UW System (1)

Other 2013-15 budget posts:

Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) Points to $505,000,000 Structural Deficit in FY2015-17 b/w Robin Vos's Alternate Reality. (6/12/20133)

State Senator Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) Tells Joy Cardin What's On His Mind: "I think things have gotten too extreme and out of hand.".  (6/7/2013)
What'd I Say?  (6/6/2013)
Why Item #36 in the Omnibus Education Motion #538 Could Be Called the Hudson Option. (6/6/2013)
Republicans' 2013-15 State Budget PolicyFest, Part 2: Allowing Private Bail Bonds.  (6/6/2013)
Republicans' 2013-15 State Budget PolicyFest, Part 1: Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.  (6/6/2013)
The Most Fortunate of Wisconsin's Residents: Heading in the Right Direction and Leaving the Rest of Us Behind.  (6/5/2013)
$490,000,000: The Partial Cost of Republican Ideology to Wisconsin Taxpayers.  (6/5/2013)
2013-15 Budget Bill / Library Funding Update.  (5/30/2013)
Wisconsin's Joint Finance Committee in Micromanaging Mode.  (5/30/2013)
Selling State Properties? It's in the ALEC Playbook.  (5/22/2013)
Scott Walker: "We take our responsibility of good stewardship very seriously".  (5/16/2013)
Scott Walker: Disingenuous, or Can't Tell Time (or Count).  (5/10/2013)
13 Assembly Republicans Endorse More Funding for K-12 Education (and None of Them Lives Close to Robin Vos).  (5/9/2013)
Whatever Robin Wants, Robin Gets.  (5/1/2013)
What's John Nygren Drinking Through that Green-and-Gold Straw?  (4/29/2013)
If Wishes Were Horses: When are the Democrats planning on coming out with their own alternative state budget for people to consider?  (4/27/2013)
Good Advice from the La Crosse Tribune Editorial Board.  (4/26/2013)
The 4th and Final Joint Finance Committee Public Hearing on 2013-15 Budget, at Baldwin.  (4/19/2013)