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MADISON - Fearful that stalled budget
talks could jeopardize $74 million in federal Medicaid reimbursements,
Gov. Jim Doyle on Tuesday called a special legislative session to make
sure the state gets that money.
If changes to the state's hospital tax
aren't made by Monday to meet a June 30 deadline, the state will lose
the federal money, Doyle said. Changes to the hospital tax also will
free up another $26 million to help pay down Wisconsin's record-high
$6.6 billion budget shortfall.
The Democratic-controlled Legislature
approved the hospital tax in February. The new two-year budget would
increase the tax and extend it to surgical centers.
The tax is expected to bring in about
$1.7 billion over two years in federal money. About $900 million would
be used to increase state payments to hospitals and surgical centers,
and about $840 million would replace state tax dollars, freeing up
that money to be used elsewhere.
Both the Senate and Assembly included
the hospital tax expansion in their versions of the state budget, but
other portions of their spending plans differed. An identical budget
must pass both chambers before Doyle can sign it into law.
"My preference would be for the
entire budget to be completed on time, but the Legislature is now
facing critical financial deadlines and I am calling on them to
act," Doyle said in a statement announcing the special session
for Wednesday.
Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan,
D-Janesville, said Democrats who control that chamber would do
"everything necessary" to see that the hospital tax changes
are enacted on time but the focus remains on passing the entire
budget. Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, issued a
statement that said lawmakers were still dedicated to getting the
entire budget done by the end of the month.
If that doesn't happen, more special
sessions could be called to pass portions of the budget to meet
deadlines to receive federal money.
For example, the state could get
another $15 million in federal money if it enacts a law by July 1
allowing police to stop drivers for not wearing their seat belts. That
law change is included in the proposed budget.
Doyle also has argued that a 6 percent
spending cut for most state agencies, as well as other tax and fee
increases, must start as soon as possible to help address the
shortfall. He and legislative leaders have been pushing to get the
budget done by July 1.
The last two-year state budget didn't
pass until mid-October.
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