A compromise bill to spend about two-thirds of Wisconsin’s projected $2.5 billion surplus on tax rebates and school funding failed in the Senate on a 15-18 vote Wednesday night, May 13, killing the proposal.

The plan, negotiated between Gov. Tony Evers and GOP legislative leaders, drew opposition from rank-and-file lawmakers. Democrats expressed frustration at being excluded from negotiations. It would have reduced the surplus by roughly $1.8 billion, with most of the money directed toward tax relief.

“Wisconsin’s kids and schools aren’t going to get the investments they desperately need this year because Tom Tiffany and a few Republican and Democratic lawmakers chose to blow up a bipartisan plan to invest in our K-12 schools, lower property taxes, and help working families afford rising costs, all because they’d rather do what’s best for the next election than what’s right for the people of our state,” Evers said.

Read the Wisconsin Public Radio story here.

Read the Wisconsin Examiner story here.