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WEAC on Thursday (September 15, 2005) urged Democratic legislators to oppose any veto override attempts that would harm kids and taxpayers.
The Assembly has scheduled veto override votes for
Tuesday (September 20) on several health care-related provisions. Any
override of these vetoes would require additional state funding, which
might raise questions about the state's ability to fund schools at the
level approved by Governor Doyle when he signed the state budget. The
governor used his veto pen to boost school funding by $861 million,
which is $404 million more than the Legislature provided for public
education in its version of the budget bill.
Key override votes scheduled for Tuesday involve the Medicaid reimbursement rate for nursing homes, funding for outpatient hospital services, and the pharmacy reimbursement rates for Medicaid and Senior Care.
Republicans hold 60 seats in the Assembly and need
66 votes to override any vetoes.
In a memo to Democratic legislators, WEAC Government Relations Director Bob Burke said Governor Doyle made education and taxpayers a priority in his budget actions.
"The Governor invested in our children's future by keeping the state's promise to pay two-thirds of the local cost of each child's education and allowed for a responsible property tax freeze," the memo states.
"Governor Doyle exercised his veto authority to fund education and freeze property taxes in a responsible way. The budget that the governor signed into law accomplishes these goals while preserving all existing eligibility and all current benefits for populations served by Medical Assistance (MA). It does not pit the poor and sick against our schoolchildren. MA has received a 19% increase while schools have received a cost-of-living increase of 3%."
Burke wrote that the Republicans' version of the budget that they sent to Doyle "would have devastated the ability of local school districts to place kids in classrooms that work, maintain quality staff in schools and promote educational opportunities that benefit everyone in the community."
He asked that Democratic legislators "show your support for great schools and protecting property taxpayers" by opposing the veto override attempts.
Resource page on 2005-07 state budget
Posted September 16, 2005