State budget committee gives $10M to vet homes
MADISON - The Legislature’s budget committee unanimously voted Thursday to put an extra $10 million toward the state’s veterans homes to prepare for and respond to future pandemics and natural disasters.
Republicans who control the Legislature said the funding is needed so facilities can react better in the future than they did to the coronavirus pandemic. The $10 million proposal would be funded with fees paid by residents, federal aid for veterans programs and government health care programs.
The 12 Republicans and four Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee agreed on the plan as they worked their way through the state budget. They will spend the next several weeks crafting the budget and then send it to the Assembly and Senate for approval.
Once the Legislature passes the budget, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers can rework it using line-item vetoes.
As part of Thursday’s unanimous action on the Department of Veterans Affairs, the committee adopted Evers’ recommendation to spend an additional $100,000 a year on suicide prevention efforts for veterans.
Also Thursday, the committee recommended keeping eight state workers who boost the state’s bottom line by helping collect unpaid taxes and fees.
The eight employees are part of a team of 31 that collects debts for the state and local governments. Their jobs are set to expire in September unless lawmakers extend them.
Letting the jobs go would cost the state about $4 million over the next two years because they wouldn’t be collecting funds, according to the state Department of Revenue. In addition, local governments, courts and others who use their services would miss out on about $14 million in debt payments a year, according to the department’s estimates.
The committee approved funding for two computer upgrades at the Department of Financial Institutions. One, costing about $800,000, would overhaul the information technology system the department uses for notaries. The other, costing about $1.3 million, would modernize financial applications the department uses.