Walker signs balanced budget that cuts schools

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (WLS-TV)

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June 26, 2011 (ASHWAUBENON, Wis.) -- Gov. Scott Walker has signed his first budget, which plugs the state's $3 billion shortfall but also slashes funding for public schools and the University of Wisconsin System.

Walker signed the budget Sunday at a private ceremony at a Green Bay manufacturing company.
Democrats assailed the budget as an attack on middle class values since it cuts funding for public schools by $800 million, reduces funding to the University of Wisconsin system by $250 million and cuts tax credits for poor people.
But Walker says it's a responsible plan that doesn't raise sales or income taxes, does away with the shortfall and leaves the state with a surplus.
The budget also includes tax breaks for manufacturers and large companies.

After heated debate, Wis. union law takes effect

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (WLS-TV)

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June 28, 2011 (MADISON, Wis.) -- After months of heated debate, ear-splitting protests and legal maneuvering, Gov. Scott Walker's polarizing collective bargaining changes are finally set to become law.

Secretary of State Doug LaFollette published the law in the Wisconsin State Journal on Tuesday. The law is now set to take effect on Wednesday.
The measure requires almost all public employees, from teachers to librarians, to contribute more to their health care and pensions. It also strips them of nearly all their collective bargaining rights. State employees will see the first reductions in their paychecks in late August.
Tens of thousands of protesters occupied the state Capitol for weeks as they protested the plan. A Madison prosecutor filed a lawsuit to block the measure, but the state Supreme Court earlier this month upheld the law.