State Biennial Budget Process 2025-2027

WLA members promote State Library Aid Priorities

Background

Governor Tony Evers delivered his executive budget proposal to a joint session of the legislature on
February 18, where it became SB45/AB50 and was immediately assigned to the legislature’s
powerful Joint Finance Committee (JFC). The JFC consists of 8 senators and 8 assembly representatives
(12 Republicans and 4 Democrats, reflecting the majority in both houses). It serves as the principal
legislative committee charged with the review of all state appropriations and revenues. JFC co-chairs
have announced their intention to use the 2023-2025 budget framework as a starting point rather than the
Governor’s proposal.

CLICK HERE for list 2025-2027 JFC members and the libraries in their districts.  

WLA members play a prominent role in advocating for state library funding. A WLA Library Development; Legislation (LD&L) Committee budget team began meeting with legislative leaders and JFC members
after the current legislative session commenced on January 6, 2025.


A record number of attendees at Library Legislative Day on February 11 were encouraged to share
stories illustrating how state library aid enables crucial library system infrastructure, shared data bases,
inter-loan coordination and other support for local library programs and services. Emphasis was placed
on the ways in which the library system aid increase approved in 2023 for the current budget has made a
positive contribution to the lives of the constituents we share with legislators.


WLA budget documents support a $2 million increase to public library system aid in the first year of the
2025-2027 biennium and an additional $4 million in the second year. WLA also supports a modest cost-to-
continue increases for core library services including BadgerLink and Newsline for the Blind, as well as
state resource contracts for Auto-Graphics, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, Wisconsin Talking
Book and Braille Library, and inter-library loan access to Milwaukee Public Library and UW-Madison
collections.

 

Joint Finance Committee Public Hearings and Review

On March 18, the JFC announced dates and locations for four public budget hearings in April at which committee members heard citizen testimony during marathon sessions from 10 AM to 5 PM.  A summary of WLA participation at the JFC hearings is LINKED HERE.

On June 14, the Joint Finance Committee included the state library aid items endorsed by WLA in a public instruction omnibus motion authored by majority party members. The requested cost-to-continue funding for library service contracts, BadgerLink and Newsline for the Blind, as well as a $1 million/first year and $2 million/second year increase in funding for public library systems was approved on a 12-4 party line vote. Although the $3M boost for system services was half what was proposed in DPI’s budget request endorsed by the Wisconsin Library Association, that $3 million is nonetheless a significant increase that continues the steady rise in system aid dollars since 2018, after seven years of flat funding.  

A minority party motion covering the same DPI items and including the original $2M/$4M library system aid request failed to pass. The two motions were quite different in many respects, but it can honestly be stated that all 16 JFC members voting on both motions recognized the importance of library services to their constituents and supported additional funding.  

Once the JFC has completed its review, the budget bill is returned to the full legislature for amendment and floor debate. The version passed by both the Senate and Assembly moves to the Governor’s office for consideration.