State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) represents parts of four counties: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Walworth. Her Senate District 28 includes New Berlin, Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners, Muskego, Waterford, Big Bend and parts of Greenfield, East Troy, and Mukwonago. Senator Lazich has been in the Legislature for more than a decade. She considers herself a tireless crusader for lower taxes, reduced spending and smaller government.
The massive $66 billion state budget approved this week by Senate Democrats resembles the world’s largest pig roast. Senate Democrats loaded this budget with a record amount of pork and new taxes.
Here are some examples of goodies Senate democrats jammed into their Porky’s budget:
THE FOLLOWING MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
Building Program
• Provide $1 million in general fund supported bonding to make a grant in aid to the expansion of the Bond Health Center in the City of Oconto from four to 14 beds.
Dept of Health and Family Services – Family and Human Services
• Provide $168,000 to community organizations in southcentral and southeastern Wisconsin to provide outreach services relating to health, mental health, housing, assisted living, domestic violence and other services.
Dept of Health and Family Services – Health
• Provide $50,000 annually to the statewide poison control program to provide public and professional education services.
• Require DHFS to provide $100,000 FED as a one-time grant to the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin to provide HIV infection outreach, education referral and other services.
Dept of Public Instruction
• Allocate $35,000 annually from the current law pupil transportation aid appropriation to reimburse school districts for 75% of the cost of transporting pupils to and from an island over ice.
Dept of Transportation
• Require DOT to make a grant of $100,000 to Milwaukee County from the transportation enhancements grant program for construction of a pedestrian bridge and path at the Milwaukee Urban Ecology Center, if the department determines the project is eligible for federal aid.
• Require DOT to make a grant of $800,000 to the City of West Allis from the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program for the construction of the West Allis Cross-Town Bike Trail, if the department determines the project is eligible for federal aid.
EDUCATION
Dept of Public Instruction
• Provide additional money for high poverty districts (Language in the document distributed will be revised.)
• Provide $250,000 annually and create a new annual appropriation for grants to school districts for nursing services.
• Delete provisions in the substitute relating to the school safety adjustment to revenue limits and provide a revenue limit increase in 07-08 equal to $100 per pupil or $40,000, whichever is greater to purchase school safety equipment or fund compensation costs for security officers.
• Provide a revenue limit increase for the salary and fringe benefit costs of school nurses employed by a school district, beginning in 07-08 school year.
• Provide $1,750,000 annually to create a new special education appropriation for supplemental education aid to school districts meeting certain criteria.
• Provide $18,000 to the Belmont Community School District for its school library.
• Restore the governor’s provision that would specify that a school board could construct or acquire, borrow funds to construct or acquire, operate and maintain a wind electricity generation facility.
HEALTH CARE
Healthy Wisconsin Plan.
• Incorporates Healthy Wisconsin Plan and creates Healthy Wisconsin Authority. (This is the universal health care coverage proposal).
Dept of Health and Family Services – Medical Assistance – Long-Term Care
• Increases nursing home rates; bed assessment increase. Reflects a re-estimate of the Governor’s proposal to fund nursing home rate increases by increasing the nursing home bed assessment and delays effective date of the increase to January 1, 2008. Increases funding for Wisconsin Veterans Home at King and the Veterans Home at Union Grove.
Dept of Health and Family Services – Health
• Health Care Quality Fund. Increase funding by $20,000,000 for tobacco use control grants. Increase amount of cigarette tax to be deposited in the fund.
• Provide $25,000 GPR annually to HealthNet of Janesville, Inc. to provide health care services to uninsured and low-income residents of Rock County.
• Provide $35,000 in one-time funding to the Community Connections Free Clinic in Dodgeville to expand the clinic’s capacity to provide dental services to low-income residents of Iowa County and surrounding areas.
Dept of Health and Family Services – Family and Human Services
• Provide one-time funding of $500,000 to fund the comprehensive early childhood initiative that provides home visiting and employment preparation and support for low-income families in Dane County in order to expand the initiative to one new neighborhood and provide on-going support for the current Allied Drive early childhood initiative.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
Dept of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
• Provide $800,000 from the agrichemical management fund for a grant to the Wisconsin Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative for techn
