MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered the Democratic Radio Address on the 2023-25 biennial budget he enacted yesterday with improvements by using his broad, constitutional veto authority. The governor’s budget provides a historic increase in support to local communities for the first time in a decade, invests more than $1 billion in public education, makes one of the largest state investments in workforce housing, invests in infrastructure, supports Wisconsin farmers, and provides tax relief to working families, among several other critical priorities. More information can be found here.

Audio File of Radio Address.

Hey there, folks. Governor Tony Evers here.

Yesterday, I signed the 2023-25 biennial budget the Legislature sent to my desk, making substantial improvements.

I’m proud that the budget I signed into law yesterday will provide a historic increase in support to local communities statewide, build on our work to do what’s best for our kids with historic budget investments in K-12 education, investing $125 million in addressing and preventing PFAS contamination statewide, make one of the largest investments in our workforce housing in state’s history, and make key investments in our justice system, our state workforces, our tourism industries, our farmers, producers, and our veterans.

And with the help of my vetoes, this budget will ensure $15 million in additional support for our state’s child care providers with additional flexibility, provide school districts with predictable long-term spending authority increases for the foreseeable future, give the UW System the ability to keep 188 positions, and make sure tax relief goes to working families facing rising costs.

So, I’m glad the Legislature joined me in making critical investments in several key areas—the fact remains that this budget, while now improved, remains imperfect and incomplete.

Of urgent concern to me as governor is that Republicans returned this budget to me without critical components of my comprehensive plan to address the workforce challenges that have already plagued our state for generations and will continue to do so without further action.

So, I’m giving the Legislature a second chance—I’m using my broad, constitutional veto authority to ensure ample state resources are readily available for the Legislature to complete their work on this budget.

I am optimistic that our work together can continue—and it must—so we can bolster our state’s workforce, maintain our economic momentum, and most importantly, do the right thing for Wisconsin.