In the next few days, the media will go to work listing the major tax increases (see below) and policy initiatives in Governor Doyle’s proposed 2009-11 budget.  Here are a few things of interest that might get lost in the shuffle:

1. In his budget address, Doyle didn’t even pretend the budget was balanced.  Instead, he attempted to inoculate himself against criticism by listing all the things he would have to actually cut to get the budget back to a structural deficit of zero.  As seen on page 37 of the “Budget in Brief,” Doyle’s budget leaves an accrual-based deficit of $2.5 billion in 2010 and $2.3 billion in 2011.  Keep this clipping for the scrapbook for when Doyle blames someone else for the giant budget deficit facing him (assuming he’s still around) when putting together the 2011-13 budget.

2.  Doyle’s budget increases the amount the state has to be in deficit before a budget adjustment bill requirement goes into effect.  Currently, if there’s a shortfall of .5%, the governor has to introduce a budget fix.  This bill increases that trigger to 2% – increasing the chances Doyle won’t have to be back to fix a bad budget. (p. 11)

3.  The budget increases the “state aid for the arts” program by 5%, or $188,600 in general purpose revenue over the biennium. (p. 6)

4.  After the recent “Public Enemies” film debacle (where the state gave a Hollywood crew $4.6 million so Johnny Depp could get nice haircuts), Doyle eliminates the tax credit program altogether ($5 million per year) and replaces it with a much more modest grant program of $500,000 per year. (p.11)

5.  While the budget document is supposed to be a no-nonsense look at the governor’s programs, the section on Doyle’s proposed statewide smoking ban oddly contains this argument, as if it were incontrovertible fact: (p. 12)

“The ban will prevent thousands of premature deaths from secondhand smoke exposure and improve the overall health of Wisconsin residents. It is estimated that the smoking ban will result in over $1 million in savings to the Medicaid programs during the first 18 months after implementation.”

6.  The budget adds men as eligible recipients of the Medicaid-funded Family Planning Waiver, which almost certainly  means taxpayer-funded vasectomies (which are already covered in some cases by Medicaid).  The bill appropriates $355,000 in FY 2010 for this change, then reduces funding by $940,300 the next year, citing the “net savings to Medicaid and BadgerCare Plus programs due to a decrease in the number of Medicaid-funded births among the eligible population.”  Ask Nancy Pelosi how well this argument went over. (p. 17)

7.  The 15 person board Governor Doyle set up to spend federal stimulus money gets to play with $650 million that isn’t included in other portions of Doyle’s budget. (p. 4)

8.  The budget blows holes in the school property tax caps in three ways: By exempting costs related to school safety, salary and fringe benefits for nurses, and for transportation costs above the state average.  The school districts with the highest transportation costs are likely to be rural districts with low property tax bases.  This could be sticking a large property tax increase to taxpayers in districts that can least afford it. (p. 8 )

9.  The budget slaps the school choice program in Milwaukee with all kinds of new requirements to ensure the “quality” and “accountability” of the program.  In other words, they want as much bureaucracy in private schools as you get in MPS.  (p. 9)  The bill also allows MPS to count a portion of choice students in their headcounts, so they get more state aid (even though the children do not attend MPS schools.)  This is a newspaper investigative report just waiting to happen.

10.  The budget creates a sales and use tax exemption for fees associated with playing youth sports.  Swing, batta batta.(p. 13)

11.  Doyle’s budget clears the way for Milwaukee to offer bonds to pay for its unfunded pension obligation. (p. 7)

12.  Since the state has a huge budget deficit, it makes perfect sense for the budget to… institute primary enforcement of seatbelts for drivers?  (Which has zero fiscal effect for the state, incidentally.)  And here’s the kicker – officers now have to undergo “cultural sensitivity training in order to prevent racial profiling or stereotyping,”  as if cops have all the time in the world on their hands.  This is no surprise, though, as Doyle said back in October that this would be part of his budget. (p. 11)

13.  The budget creates a Milwaukee Brewers license plate.  Hopefully, the proceeds will go to buying Rickie Weeks a one way plane ticket to the Ukraine.

14.  The budget expands the prevailing wage law to any private construction project that receives state money, as opposed to fully state-financed projects.  This will force higher wages on construction sites and make new buildings more expensive to build.

15.  While these are some of the line-by-line details, the big numbers are what matter.  And while going through page by page, I started adding up some of the real trouble spots in the budget – many of which I addressed in detail in my last report.  Tomorrow, I’ll double and triple check the numbers, add them all up, and explain where the problems lie.