MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Assembly Republicans proposed a $340 million income tax cut plan Thursday that they said would give Democratic Gov. Tony Evers a “fantastic” opportunity to fulfill one of his top campaign promises.
But Republicans would tap a budget surplus to pay for it rather than scale back a corporate tax break program as Evers wants, forcing Evers to decide if he will accept the deal under their terms. Republicans were also moving quickly to pass a bill designed to protect people with pre-existing health conditions, even though Evers has signaled opposition.
The two issues are early tests for Evers and Republicans who control the Legislature as they jockey for position and attempt to get the upper hand early in the governor’s first term. State government is under divided control for the first time in more than a decade.
Evers campaigned on cutting income taxes by 10 percent for the middle class. But he wants to pay for it by nearly eliminating the Manufacturing and Agriculture Credit program, a Republican priority signed into law by former Gov. Scott Walker.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said at a Capitol news conference that “we’ll see how serious” Evers is about wanting to work together to cut taxes. Evers’ spokeswoman had no immediate comment.
Senate Republican Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald signaled general support for the idea.
“With another budget surplus this year, we can once again prioritize lowering taxes on families without raising taxes on small businesses and farmers,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Republicans are moving ahead quickly with a bill that would guarantee health insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. The Assembly Health Committee planned to vote on advancing the measure Thursday, two days after a public hearing, which would set up a vote on passage Tuesday.
Vos said he wanted to pass the bill on the first day lawmakers were in session. That evening, Evers is delivering his first State of the State speech. By introducing the tax cut proposal now, Evers has a “fantastic chance” to announce his support for the plan in his State of the State speech, Vos said.
Republicans are focusing on the income tax cut and pre-existing insurance coverage because they see those as issues where they can work together with Evers, Vos said.
But Evers earlier this week signaled his opposition to the pre-existing conditions bill, saying he will only sign a proposal that would guarantee protections as well or better than the Affordable Care Act already does. The Republican proposal’s protections would be narrower than the existing federal ones.
Supporters of the GOP proposal argue that there’s no reason to oppose putting in place state protections, which would only take effect if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. But opponents say it wouldn’t work as planned unless other elements of the federal law, including those designed to keep down costs, are also in place.
“The bill is just window dressing and no substitute for the ACA,” said Bobby Peterson, an attorney at ABC for Health, a group that advocates for poor people.
While the battle over those two issues continues, Evers and Republican leaders can’t even agree on a time to meet to talk about it.
Evers tweeted Wednesday that he had invited Republican leaders to meet to discuss the issue. Vos and Fitzgerald responded with a letter they made public saying they couldn’t meet with Evers on Friday as he proposed, but they could on Thursday afternoon.
Evers’ spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said the governor wants to meet with them and “we’re going to find a time that works for the governor.”
Both Evers and Republican leaders have said they want to find common ground and Evers met privately with GOP lawmakers on Tuesday, but the public negotiating for something as seemingly routine as a meeting time is highly unusual and suggests they have yet to establish a working relationship.
