The Joint Committee on Finance adjourned early Saturday morning after passing Gov. Scott Walker's budget bill with a partisan vote. The committee amended the Assembly version of the bill to reflect its changes at that time, and will do the same for the Senate version on Thursday. The bill must be approved by the full legislature, and the Assembly is scheduled to take it up first. Here's a look at the approval process as it moves forward:
June 8: The Joint Committee on Finance will meet at noon to modify Senate Bill 27 to reflect the same changes made to Assembly Bill 40. The committee will also take up Senate Bill 93, a concealed carry bill.
June 14: The Assembly will take up the JFC-amended version of the budget at 11 a.m., according to WisPolitics, as long as the budget is "drafted and ready to go."
After that: The Senate will take up the budget. According to an AP report, legislators have said they might add the collective bargaining bill passed in March to the budget "if the state Supreme Court hasn't ruled on whether the bill was legally passed earlier this year and can take effect."
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said a provision that requires the University of Wisconsin System to return $37 million in federal funds to expand high-speed Internet services to public schools and public libraries might be reviewed, according to another AP report. He also said a measure allowing voucher schools in Green Bay will likely stay intact, but would not comment on what specifically could be changed before the budget is approved.
After the Assembly and Senate approve the budget: It will land on the governor's desk. Walker has a few options. He can approve it, veto it, or use Wisconsin's unique partial veto power (PDF) to get rid of particular aspects not to his liking. More powerful than a line-item veto, the partial veto allows Wisconsin governors to veto individual words and phrases.
According to the Wisconsin Legislator Briefing Book (PDF), "the budget bill, minus any items deleted by the Governor's partial veto, then becomes the state's fiscal budget document for the biennium. However, as in the case of the Governor's veto of a bill in its entirety, the Legislature is permitted to review the Governor's partial vetoes and may, with a 2/3 vote by each house, enact any partially vetoes portion into law, notwithstanding the objections of the Governor."
July 1: Barring any delays, the budget takes effect, lasting for two years. If the budget does not take effect by July 1, state agencies will operate at the same appropriation levels from the previous budget until the new law takes effect.