2013-15 State Budget Update

Statement

The State of Wisconsin operates on biennial state budgets with each fiscal year running from July 1st to June 30th. We are currently operating under "Fiscal Year 2013" (FY2013) and will be until June 30, 2013.

I recently received budget requests from each state agency, which outline the money each agency would like to spend in the future. Over the next few months, I will be carefully reviewing each of these agency budget requests. These requests are just the first step in the budget process--I will eventually propose a complete budget early next year for consideration by the Legislature.

The 2011-13 budget I signed into law last year made long-term reforms balancing a $3.6 billion budget deficit without raising taxes, without massive public employee layoffs, and without government service reductions. Wisconsin has a projected budget surplus in FY2013. If the FY2013 projections are correct, we will deposit money into the state's rainy day fund in two consecutive years for the first time in our state's history. Unlike other states, instead of burying the next generation under a mountain of economically crippling debt, we are making responsible decisions--leaving our children and grandchildren with funding reserves for future hard economic times.

The next state budget I plan to introduce early next year will focus on five main priorities:

1. Creating Jobs
2. Transforming Education
3. Developing Our Workforce
4. Investing in Infrastructure
5. Reforming Government

As I work on the next state budget, I am excited about Wisconsin's future and the opportunities we have to grow private sector jobs in our great state.

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