It’s been the pattern for as long as I have been familiar with state budget bills: After a two-year proposal is unveiled in the winter, not much happens for months on end — except some partisan friction — followed by a flurry of action in the closing weeks and rapid closure on a biennial tax-and-spending plan.
While it’s not pretty, constructive policy can emerge from that process. The 2025-27 version of Wisconsin’s budget does so in ways that promise to spur the state economy over time. Here are some examples from that document and related legislation just signed into law:
Support for science and tech-related campus buildings: The capital budget for the Universities of Wisconsin includes $194 million to complete the construction of the Prairie Springs Science Center at UW-La Crosse and to demolish Crowley Hall, which no longer meets modern science and research needs. This expansion will support science and tech education and workforce development by providing state-of-the-art instructional labs and research space.
The budget also includes $189 million to renovate the Health Sciences and Northwest Quadrant complex at UW-Milwaukee by transforming former hospital buildings into an interdisciplinary health sciences hub. It will unify programs scattered across five buildings, expand instructional labs and enhance collaborative learning in high-demand health care fields.
Also authorized is $160 million for UW-Madison’s Science Hall, which was built in 1887 and will be renovated to restore its historic character while modernizing its uses.
Money for talent attraction: About 20% of the increase in the university budget, or $54 million, will go toward recruiting and retaining faculty and staff in high-demand fields. Keeping star faculty could become a problem on some UW campuses if cuts in National Institutes of Health grants become a full-bore reality. Within the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., a $5 million talent attraction fund was created to aid in relocating needed workers in various sectors.
Embracing the rise of AI: The budget provides $2 million for the state’s technical colleges to enhance educator recruitment, retention and upskilling in artificial intelligence fields; to adopt AI courses and training to meet employer demands for workers; and to develop “stackable” degrees and credentials for students.
Wisconsin’s tech colleges received a strong reputational boost this spring when the nationally known Aspen Institute selected Southwest Wisconsin Technical College in Fennimore as the 2025 winner of its $1 million award for community college excellence. Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay was also in Aspen’s top 10 out of 1,000 community colleges nationwide.
Luring film makers to the Dairy State: The $111-billion budget creates a $5-million film tax credit fund and establishes a State Film Office in the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. Don’t expect Hollywood to roll up its palm-lined sidewalks, however. California legislators passed a $750-million film tax credit plan in the same week. Wisconsin has a vigorous video gaming industry; similar incentives in that world might go farther.
Making Wisconsin a nuclear fission and fusion hub: Technically outside the budget but still requiring fiscal support are two bills signed into law this week by Gov. Tony Evers.
Together, the bills require a study of nuclear energy opportunities and potential nuclear power and fusion sites in Wisconsin; create a Nuclear Power Summit Board to help showcase Wisconsin’s leadership in the nuclear industry; and call for a Wisconsin nuclear power summit in Madison. The goal is to fill the state’s growing need for carbon-free energy. The budget includes $2 million for the fission and fusion initiatives.
There is strong potential for growth. The UW-Madison College of Engineering has one of the nation’s few remaining teaching and research reactors. It ranks No. 2 among all U.S. public universities in undergraduate and graduate education. Companies with Wisconsin roots or operations are SHINE Technologies, Realta Fusion and Type One Energy.
In addition, some Wisconsin-based utilities are exploring the possibility of building small module nuclear fission reactors to power the future.
Wisconsin expertise in nuclear-related education, research and application can help people statewide and beyond. A little shove in the new budget cycle will help.
