Highlights of what's included in state budget passed by committee
(Published Monday, June 11, 2007 10:47:04 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - Highlights of the state budget proposal headed for debate in the Legislature after clearing the Joint Finance Committee on Friday:
TAXES AND FEES:
- Raises the cigarette tax from 77 cents to $2.02.
- Imposes a tax on oil company sales in the state.
- Levies a 0.8 percent tax on hospital profits.
- The cost to register a car increases from $55 to $75 a year. The cost for trucks would also go up, depending on the size of the truck.
- Driver's license fees increase by $10.
- A fee to dump garbage in landfills increases from $3 per ton to $6 per ton.
- Boat registration fees go up by 15 percent.
- The real estate transfer fee, paid by people selling their houses, doubles from $3 to $6 per $1,000 of sale value. That equates to $1,010 on a $169,000 home, the state median.
- The cap on local property tax increases doubles from 2 percent to 4 percent, or the percentage of growth in new construction in a community, whichever is greater.
- A $5 fee is implemented for small business owners who choose to file sales tax returns, typically due quarterly, on paper instead of electronically.
EDUCATION:
- State funding for K-12 public schools increases 2 percent a year. That would result in the state meeting 65 percent of schools' costs next year and 64.9 percent the following year. State aid to schools covers 66.1 percent this year.
- Schools could exceed spending limits to pay for hiring security guards.
- Moves ahead with the Wisconsin Covenant program, Doyle's promise to eighth-graders who meet certain goals during high school that higher education will be available to them.
- Extends in-state tuition at the state's colleges and universities to illegal immigrants who meet certain criteria.
- Approves a plan to begin 16 new initiatives on University of Wisconsin System campuses next year. The so-called growth agenda includes expanding enrollment on campuses such as UW-Green Bay and UW-Oshkosh, improving research at UW-Milwaukee and adding programs elsewhere.
HEALTH AND WELFARE:
- Expands health care coverage to all children, regardless of income, as well as low-income pregnant women and parents or caretaker relatives.
- Creates a new state agency to handle programs for children and needy families.
- Allows deadbeat parents and unemployed people who don't go through a job training program to get food stamps.
- Expands the Family Care program, which currently provides long-term care for the elderly and disabled, from just 10,500 people in seven counties to statewide.
