Dem Gov. Tony Evers Wednesday night called for steps to lower costs for Wisconsinites, from eliminating the sales tax on over-the-counter medications to capping co-pays for insulin and providing $500 million in state funds to make childcare more affordable.
Evers also pledged new gun control laws, money to remove lead from school bubblers and a “historic” investment in K-12 education in his upcoming state budget.
It was all part of what Evers called the “Year of the Kid” in Wisconsin as he prepares to release his state budget Feb. 18.
“Lowering everyday, out-of-pocket costs for Wisconsinites and working families must be a priority for us this session,” Evers told lawmakers in the Assembly chamber as he delivered his seventh State of the State. “Making child care and everyday prescriptions more affordable are two easy ways we can help Wisconsinites afford basic needs, help paychecks go a little further, and give parents, families, and seniors some breathing room in their household budgets.”
Some of Evers’ calls are similar to pushes he’s made in the past — without success — as he faced a Legislature with overwhelming GOP majorities. That includes a “red flag law” that would allow authorities to seize firearms from someone found to be a danger to themselves or others. Evers also again called for new state money — this time $500 million — to make permanent a program that provides subsidies to health care providers after funding it with federal COVID-19 money in recent years.
Still, Evers argued there is a mandate “to find common ground” after Dems picked up a combined 14 seats in the Assembly and Senate in November under new legislative maps.
“I am hopeful this will mean more collaboration, more partnership, a little less rancor, and a renewed commitment to do right by the will of the people,” Evers said.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, immediately dismissed much of what Evers called for in the speech. Vos added his priorities include: pairing high educational standards with any increase in state funding for schools; making sure those here without documentation are deported if they commit a crime; and passing a tax cut of nearly $1,000 for every person in Wisconsin.
“What we heard tonight was Gov. Evers’ longest State of the State address, and it was chock full of liberal wishes and empty promises and a whole lot of things that are not going to happen in Wisconsin,” he said.
The guv didn’t provide specifics on some of his calls, including his planned investment in K-12 education. In his speech, Evers said he will release a comprehensive plan in the coming weeks to address costs.
The pieces he laid out Wednesday night include renewing his past calls to cap insulin copays at $35 and setting price caps for prescription drugs. The guv’s office said dropping the sales tax from prescription drugs would save Wisconsinites $40 million a year.
Evers has previously pushed GOP lawmakers without success to require everyone who buys a firearm to go through a background check, something not currently required for sales at gun shows or private sales, as well as implementing a red flag law. His call Wednesday night also included requiring guns to be locked away or have a trigger lock if they’re in homes where there are kids or someone prohibited from possessing a firearm, as well as ensuring law enforcement is immediately notified if a firearm is lost or stolen.
Evers pitched the plan in personal terms, pointing to a school shooting on Madison’s east side last month. He noted the shooter had potentially plotted with a man in California who was suspected of planning his own mass shooting. Because of that state’s red flag law, Evers said, authorities were able to get a protective order requiring him to surrender his firearms.
He also noted the suicide of former Dem state Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, of Milwaukee, in November as he urged lawmakers to reinstate Wisconsin’s 48-hour waiting period to purchase a firearm. Evers said he will include the proposal in his budget.
“If you talk to someone whose loved one died by suicide, many will tell you their loss was not a foregone conclusion,” said Evers, who recognized Brostoff’s wife and parents in the gallery. “That maybe — just maybe — if the person they loved had just made it through one more dark night to see with certainty that the sun would rise again, things might have ended up differently. Tonight, I’m asking this Legislature to give the next family, and the next one, and the family after that, hope for that same opportunity.”
Vos called Evers’ comments “a cheap political stunt to try to get a piece of legislation passed” that the speaker said the guvs know won’t happen.
While Evers didn’t share the size of his planned investment in K-12 education, the guv announced he’ll call for $300 million to provide comprehensive mental health services in schools, including peer-to-peer suicide prevention programs.
He also pushed GOP lawmakers to release $50 million that has been set aside to help fund a literacy program. The Legislature has held back releasing that money as part of a dispute with Evers over the guv using his partial veto authority on the legislation. That issue is now in the courts.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said he backs continuing to invest in mental health, but called $300 million “a lot of dollars.”
“But you know, we’ve, we’ve increased mental health spending from virtually nothing from when I was first elected to 30 million in the last budget, and it’s vitally important we’ll keep investing in mental health,” he said.Evers also:
- renewed two veto vows. Speaking on the 52nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the guv said he will “fight like hell” against any bill reduces access to abortion, birth control, infertility treatments or reproductive care. Evers, who last session nixed legislation seeking to restricting transgender girls to playing sports of their biological birth, vowed to LGBTQ kids and Wisconsinites to veto any bill that makes Wisconsin less safe and inclusive.
- countered Donald Trump’s push for mass deportations of those in the country without documentation, though he didn’t mention the president by name. Evers reminded the chamber that Wisconsin was built “born of immigrants. But today, there are those who would make us forget this fact.” He argued those who work, obey the law, pay taxes and “play by the rules just like everyone else” should have a “fair shot at continuing to pursue the American Dream.”
At an availability following the guv’s speech, Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, and Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, said there is fear in Wisconsin about what Trump’s plans could mean for the state’s dairy industry and other segments that rely on immigrant labor.
“We are focused on moving Wisconsin forward and not allowing Trump to take us backwards,” Neubauer said, adding Dems are focused on building a strong economy and lowering costs for working families.
Read Evers’ prepared remarks.
