With so much going on at the federal level, Wisconsin conservatives need to continue paying attention to our state officials.  I know with the trillions being spent at the federal level and the national debt increasing at an absolutely alarming rate, it is natural to forget about what is going on in Madison.  However, that is a risk conservatives in Wisconsin cannot afford to take…..literally.

Mark Gundrum recently outlined in his constituent newsletter that the Chairman of the Joint Finance Committee kept in the state budget:

40 of the 80 items identified by the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau as policy items that would be more appropriately dealt with as individual legislation outside of the budget process.

Examples of the pure policy items kept in the budget include:

provisions expunging the record of convicted criminals, a statewide smoking ban, changes in the state law on contributory negligence in lawsuits, collection of traffic stop data related to race, and provisions related to staff credentials, school accreditation, pupil records, and pupil participation in religious activities at schools participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program

Democrats in the legislature are clearly undercutting the legislative process by inserting policy items into a massive state budget in order to avoid voting on controversial issues. 

A budget is intended to fund ongoing operations or new spending which has been debated in open hearings.  By including such policy choices, Democrats are avoiding accountability.  A vote for the state budget is in reality of vote for substantive policy considerations which should be debated on an individual basis.  Mark gets it right when he notes that such decisions should go through the “normal ‘good government’ process.”

Just because things are getting messy at the federal level doesn’t mean state Democrats should be able to avoid “good government.”  It is our job to uphold that standard.