Gov. Tony Evers’ on Monday released his proposed $4.1 billion capital spending plan, according to the Wisconsin State Journal, which recommends the state’s demolition of several aging facilities, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mosse Humanities building.
The proposal includes almost $1.6 billion in campus spending across the UW system, representing around 40% of all recommended state spending on buildings and facilities. It also proposes $634 million to modernize Wisconsin’s outdated prison system and close its oldest one, the Green Bay Correctional Institution, by 2030.
Around two-thirds of state agencies’ requests, which total nearly $6 billion in new construction and renovations, would be funded by the proposal; however, it’s likely that GOP lawmakers on the State Building Commission will block the approval of any projects in the months ahead, instead giving Republicans on the state’s budget-writing committee a clean slate for all projects’ consideration.
Evers’ plan would:
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Address Wisconsin’s $13.1 billion deferred maintenance backlog by infusing $1.2 billion in maintenance and repair projects;
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Allocate $137 million for upgrades to veterans homes and planning an expansion of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum;
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Provide $40 million to modernize the state Capitol;
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Give $195 million to statewide health facilities; and
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Funnel $25 million toward renewable energy projects.
The upcoming budget proposal is $300 million larger than the one from two years ago during the last biennial budget process — one of the largest capital budgets ever approved.
