The Joint Finance Committee finished their work on the next two-year budget bill, AB-75, on May 29.  There is a projected $6.5 billion shortfall that has to be filled in order to balance the budget.  Because of that, the committee raised fees on some services, cut services, raised some taxes, and found other ways to balance the budget.

The budget now goes to the Assembly for their action.  They will start to discuss the budget in caucus on Tuesday, June 9, 2009.  It is expected that they will finish their work within a day or two.  After they are done, the bill will go to the Senate for their action.  If the Assembly and Senate agree on their versions of the budget, it then will go to Gov. Doyle for his action.  It is expected that this process will be done by the end of the month.

So far there are a number of items of interest to the disability community included in the bill.  They include:

• Maintains eligibility standards and benefits for Medicaid, although $190 million of efficiency cuts will be announced later;
•  Continues the expansion of Family Care statewide over the next three years, but gives counties yet to convert to Family Care the option to delay their conversion;
• Provides funding for 1,000 long-term support waiver slots for children with disabilities over the next four years;
• Provides insurance coverage for children with autism (similar language as SB-3);
• Restores funding of the Lifespan Respite Care Program;
• Maintains funding of the Birth to 3 Program, although federal stimulus funds have been added;
• Increases funding for elderly and disabled transportation by $1 million over two years;
• Creates a Quality Home Care Authority to assist consumers to find qualified home care providers;
• Restructures Southern Wisconsin Center to encourage the relocation of 70 people into the community;
• Restores the Family Care ombudsman ratio of 1 advocate for every 2500 consumers, although this does not include people in the IRIS waiver;
• Level funding for Special Education categorical aids, although federal stimulus funding has been added;
• General school aids are cut by 3.1% which will impact special education;
• Small class size program (SAGE) for grades K-3 was cut by 2.5%;
• Increases funds for CSP, crisis intervention and CCS programs by $4 million;
• Creates a Resource Center to treat female inmates with mental illness;
• Increases the tax on tobacco by $.75 per pack;
• Cuts funding to the Independent Living Centers, but restores their current funding level in the next budget;
• Cuts the epilepsy grants by 11% or $16,500 each year of the budget;
• Prohibits smoking in all workplaces as of July 2010, although it also eliminates funds for the Tobacco Control Board that helps people to quit smoking.

Your action is needed right now to tell your legislators what you think about the budget.  You can send a quick and easy email message to them by using the “Take Action” tool located on the DAWN home page.  It is located in a red box on the right side of the page.

For more information about the budget, go to the DAWN web site's Budget page.