MADISON, Wis. — State budget talks in Madison seem to have ramped up, but most of those conversations are happening behind closed doors.

The legislature’s budget-writing committee met two weeks ago when members voted 10-3 to remove 612 items from the spending package proposed by Gov. Tony Evers.

Lawmakers also acted on budget requests from 10 different agencies, but beyond that, nothing has happened. Since then, members haven’t met and progress appears to be at a standstill, at least procedurally.

What You Need To Know

  • While progress on Wisconsin’s next two-year budget seems to be moving slowly, legislative leaders have been meeting behind closed doors to work out the details

  • WisPolitics reported that Republican leaders met with Gov. Evers twice on Wednesday, according to their sources

  • Earlier this week, during a WisconsinEye Newsmakers interview, Gov. Evers told host Lisa Pugh that his conversation with Republicans “can’t be just about taxes”

  • The legislature’s budget-writing committee last met two weeks ago when members voted 10-3 to remove 612 of the governor’s proposals from the spending package

WisPolitics reported that sources said Republican leaders met with Evers twice on Wednesday.

While the details of those discussions are unknown, based on past press conferences, Republicans wanted to hammer out the details of a tax cut before moving forward. Evers, however, has his own topics to negotiate.

During a WisconsinEye Newsmakers interview with Lisa Pugh, released on Tuesday, the governor said his conversation with Republican leaders “can’t be just about taxes.”

“The thing that concerns me is it's a budget. It's a budget that includes expenditures and includes, what taxes are going to be — bigger or smaller,” Evers explained. “And so, those things work together. And the idea that somehow, we're going to say, ‘Okay, this is what the taxes are going to look like now, maybe we can do nothing, or we have to cut something.’ Yeah, reducing taxes is important. That's why I had it in my budget to begin with.”

Despite a difference in priorities, that doesn’t mean it’s an either-or situation. Rather, the top leaders from both political parties are bringing their to-do lists to the table.

During the interview with WisconsinEye, Evers expressed optimism about compromise.

“People have been working on our side and their side to come up with some things that we know are important to the people of Wisconsin and reach some compromise,” Evers told Pugh. "I think it still can happen.”

While political theater isn’t playing out on stage, talks are happening, and legislative leaders are more likely than not moving forward considering that some of the biggest deals between Democrats and Republicans, including shared revenue and funding for the Brewers ballpark, happened behind the scenes.

With a July deadline looming, odds are June will prove to be a busy month for lawmakers.

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