The budget plan approved by the Assembly also approved pay raises for state workers and UW System employees. Wages will increase 4% this July and another 2% next July.
Employees in the state's prison system would also see a $33 per hour minimum rate, with increased pay progression rates and incentives for roles that are often empty.
Evers used his veto authority to increase flexibility in the distribution of funds for several aid programs. Although Republicans opted not to approve Evers’ proposal to spend $350 million on extending a pandemic-era childcare relief program, they did allocate $15 million for a revolving loan fund for childcare providers.
The governor used his veto authority to allow those funds to be distributed as grants rather than loans. Evers made a similar adjustment to funds for housing rehabilitation projects, allowing the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority to provide grants or forgivable loans to homeowners.
Evers also kept in place $2 million to help pay for costs associated with the Green Bay Packers hosting the National Football League draft in 2025.
Lawmakers also approved a 2% increase for transit funding in the budget Evers signed Wednesday. The increase came paired with a proposal to move funding for buses and other mass transit systems from the state’s transportation fund to the general purpose fund, the state’s largest pool of funding used for a wide array of government services.
Tyler Katzenberger and Laura Schulte of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
Molly Beck and Jessie Opoien can be reached at
[email protected] and
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