Emergency measure is
needed to balance the state budget and give government the tools to
manage during economic crisis
Madison– Governor Walker today
released details of his budget repair bill.
gWe must take immediate
action to ensure fiscal stability in our state,h said Governor
Walker. gThis budget
repair bill will meet the immediate needs of our state and give
government the tools to deal with this and future budget crises.h
The state of Wisconsin is
facing an immediate deficit of $137 million for the current fiscal
year which ends July 1.
In addition, bill collectors are waiting to collect over $225
million for a prior raid of the Patientsf Compensation
Fund.
The budget repair bill
will balance the budget and lay the foundation for a long-term
sustainable budget through several measures without raising taxes,
raiding segregated funds, or using accounting
gimmicks.
First, it will require
state employees to pay about 5.8% toward their pension (about the
private sector national average) and about 12% of their healthcare
benefits (about half the private sector national average). These changes will help the
state save $30 million in the last three months of the current
fiscal year.
gItfs fair to ask public
employees to make a pension payment of just over 5%, which is about
the national average, and a premium payment of 12%, which is about
half of the national average,h said Governor Walker.
The budget repair will
also restructure the state debt, lowering the statefs interest rate,
saving the state $165 million.
These changes will help
the state fulfill its Medicaid spending on needy families of about
$170 million; funding that the previous administration did not have
in its budget. It will
also allow the state to spend an additional $21 million in the
Department of Corrections.
Additionally, the budget
repair bill gives state and local governments the tools to manage
spending reductions through changing some provisions of the statefs
collective bargaining laws.
The statefs civil service
system, among the strongest in the country, would remain in
place. State and local
employees could continue to bargain for base pay, they would not be
able to bargain over other compensation measures. Local police, fire and state
patrol would be exempted from the changes. Other reforms will include
state and local governments not collecting union dues, annual
certification will be required in a secret ballot, and any employee
can opt out of paying union dues.
A full summary of the
Governorfs budget repair bill is below.
Fiscal Year 2010-11 Budget Adjustment Bill
Items
Employee Compensation:
Pension
contributions: Currently, state, school
district and municipal employees that are members of the Wisconsin
Retirement System (WRS) generally pay little or nothing toward their
pensions. The bill
would require that employees of WRS employers, and the City and
County
of Milwaukee
contribute 50 percent of the annual pension payment. The payment amount for WRS
employees is estimated to be 5.8 percent of salary in
2011.
Health
insurance contributions: Currently, state employees
on average pay approximately 6 percent of annual health insurance
premiums. This bill
will require that state employees pay at least 12.6 percent of the
average cost of annual premiums. In addition, the bill would
require changes to the plan design necessary to reduce current
premiums by 5 percent.
Local employers participating in the Public Employers Group
Health insurance would be prohibited from paying more than 88
percent of the lowest cost plan. The bill would also
authorize the Department of Employee Trust Funds to use
$28 million of excess balances in reserve accounts for health
insurance and pharmacy benefits to reduce health insurance premium
costs.
Health
insurance cost containment strategies: The bill directs the
Department of Employee Trust Funds and the Group Insurance Board to
implement health risk assessments and similar programs aimed at
participant wellness, collect certain data related to assessing
health care provider quality and effectiveness, and verify the
status of dependents participating in the state health insurance
program. In addition,
it modifies the membership of the Group Insurance Board to require
that the representative of the Attorney General be an attorney to
ensure the board has access to legal advice among its
membership.
Pension
changes for elected officials and appointees: The bill modifies the
pension calculation for elected officials and appointees to be the
same as general occupation employees and teachers. Current law requires these
positions to pay more and receive a different multiplier for pension
calculation than general classification employees. Under the state
constitution, this change will be effective for elected officials at
the beginning of their next term of
office.
Modifications
to Wisconsin Retirement System and
state health insurance plans: The bill directs the
Department of Administration, Office of State Employment Relations
and Department of Employee Trust Funds to study and report on
possible changes to the Wisconsin Retirement System, including
defined contribution plans and longer vesting periods. The three agencies must also
study and report on changes to the current state health insurance
plans, including health insurance purchasing exchanges, larger
purchasing pools, and high-deductible insurance
options.
General fund
impact – Authorize
the Department of Administration Secretary to lapse or transfer from
GPR and PR appropriations (excluding PR appropriations to the
University of Wisconsin) to the general fund estimated savings of
approximately $30 million from implementing these provisions for
state employees in the current fiscal year (2010-11). Segregated funds would
retain any savings from these measures.
State and Local Government and School
District Labor
Relations:
Collective
bargaining – The bill
would make various changes to limit collective bargaining for most
public employees to wages.
Total wage increases could not exceed a cap based on the
consumer price index (CPI) unless approved by referendum. Contracts would be limited
to one year and wages would be frozen until the new contract is
settled. Collective
bargaining units are required to take annual votes to maintain
certification as a union.
Employers would be prohibited from collecting union dues and
members of collective bargaining units would not be required to pay
dues. These changes
take effect upon the expiration of existing contracts. Local law enforcement and
fire employees, and state troopers and inspectors would be exempt
from these changes.
Career
executive transfers – The bill
would allow state employees in the career executive positions to be
reassigned between agencies upon agreement of agency
heads.
Limited term
employees (LTE) – The bill
would prohibit LTE's from being eligible for health insurance or
participation in the Wisconsin Retirement
System.
State
employee absences and other work actions – If the
Governor has declared a state of emergency, the bill authorizes
appointing authorities to terminate any employees that are absent
for three days without approval of the employer or any employees
that participate in an organized action to stop or slow
work.
Quality
Health Care Authority – The bill
repeals the authority of home health care workers under the Medicaid
program to collectively bargain.
Child care
labor relations – The bill
repeals the authority of family child care workers to collectively
bargain with the State.
University of
Wisconsin
Hospitals and Clinics
(UWHC) Board and Authority – The bill
repeals collective bargaining for UWHC employees. State positions currently
employed by the UWHC Board are eliminated and the incumbents are
transferred to the UWHC Authority.
University of
Wisconsin faculty and
academic staff - The bill
repeals the authority of UW faculty and academic staff to
collectively bargain.
Debt
Restructuring – The bill
authorizes the restructuring of principal payments in fiscal year
2010-11 on the state's general obligation bonds. These principal repayments
will be paid in future years.
Since the state is required to make debt service payments by
March 15th, the bill must be enacted by February 25th to allow time
to sell the refinancing bonds.
This provision will reduce debt service costs by $165 million
in fiscal year 2010-11.
This savings will help address one‑time costs to comply with
the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund state Supreme
Court decision and make payments under the Minnesota‑Wisconsin tax
reciprocity program.
Medicaid
Address FY11
Medicaid deficit – Medicaid
costs are expected to exceed current GPR appropriations by $153
million. The bill would
increase the Medicaid GPR appropriation to address this
shortfall.
Authorize
DHS to restructure program notwithstanding current
law – Medicaid
costs have increased dramatically due to the recession and expanded
program eligibility. In
order to reduce the growth in costs, the bill authorizes the
Department of Health Services to make program changes
notwithstanding limits in state law related to specific program
provisions. The
department is expected to develop new approaches on program
benefits, eligibility determination and provider
cost-effectiveness. The
proposed changes will require passive approval of the Joint
Committee on Finance before
implementation.
Technical
correction – Act 28
included language that required unused GPR expenditure authority in
the Medicaid GPR appropriation at the end of the biennium to be
carried over to the subsequent biennium. The bill repeals this
provision in order to ensure unspent funds in Medicaid lapse to the
general fund balance.
Aging and
Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) – The bill
transfers an estimated $3 million in savings in this appropriation
to Medicaid. ADRC's are
the intake and assessment element of the state's Family Care
program.
Corrections – The bill
provides $22 million GPR to address shortfalls in the Department of
Corrections adult institutions appropriation. These shortfalls are due to
health care costs, overtime, and reductions in salary and fringe
benefit budgets under Act 28.
Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Funding for Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC) – The bill
allocates $37 million of excess TANF revenues to increase TANF
funding for the EITC from $6.6 million to $43.6 million in fiscal
year 2010-11. By
increasing TANF funding, GPR funding for the EITC is reduced by a
commensurate amount.
Income
Augmentation Revenues – Allow the
Department of Children and Families and Department of Health
Services to utilize $6.5 million of already identified income
augmentation revenues to meet fiscal year 2010-11 lapse
requirements.
Act 28
Required Lapses by DOA Secretary – Under Act
28, the Department of Administration Secretary is required to lapse
or transfer a total of $680 million in 2009-11 from appropriations
made to executive branch agencies to the general fund. The bill would reduce this
amount by $79 million to ensure the lapses can be met in the next
five months as this was ineffectively addressed by the previous
administration.
Lapse of
Funding from Joint Committee on Finance (JCF)
Appropriation – The JCF
appropriation includes $4.5 million related to estimated fiscal
year 2010-11 implementation costs of 2009 Wisconsin Act 100
(operating while intoxicated enforcement changes). This funding is not
anticipated to be needed in fiscal year 2010-11 and the bill lapses
these amounts to the general fund
balance.
Sale of State
Heating Plants – The bill
authorizes the Department of Administration to sell state heating
plants. The proceeds
from any sale, net of remaining debt service, would be deposited in
the budget stabilization fund.
Shift Key
Cabinet Agency Positions to Unclassified Status – The bill
creates unclassified positions for chief legal counsel, public
information officer and legislative liaison activities in cabinet
agencies. An equivalent
number of classified positions are deleted to offset the new
unclassified positions.
These activities are critical to each cabinet agency's
overall mission and should have direct accountability to the agency
head.
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