By State Rep. Brent Jacobson

The process of writing the 2025-27 Wisconsin state budget began in February when Governor Tony Evers gave us his budget proposal. In the following month, my colleagues and I worked and debated, and ultimately delivered a fiscally responsible budget that delivers on the priorities of the people of Wisconsin. Now that the budget has been signed, it’s useful to look back at the proposal we received from Gov. (Tony) Evers in February, and the very different vision for our state it represents.

The Governor’s budget proposal was a masterpiece of big government and red tape. By increasing spending by more than 20 percent, smothering Wisconsinites and local businesses with unprecedented regulation, and adding 900 new positions to the bloated Madison bureaucracy, Gov. Evers’ budget would have turned a $4 billion one-time surplus into a $4 billion structural deficit.

In contrast, my Republican colleagues and I delivered a budget that cuts unnecessary spending. Instead of growing bureaucracy, our budget removed 300 positions and blocks the attempt to burden Wisconsinites with new agencies and offices. Finally, we eliminated controversial offices like the Office of Clean Energy, which operated with little oversight and no clear purpose other than growing government.

With all its new spending and government growth, Gov. Evers’ budget would have had to raise taxes dramatically. While Wisconsinites are struggling under the property tax increases Gov. Evers created with his 400 vetoes, his budget proposal would have saddled them with more than $3.7 billion in new taxes!

My fellow Legislative Republicans and I stood firm against these tax hikes. Not only did we block Gov. Evers’ irresponsible tax increases, we delivered $1.5 billion in tax relief! Our budget eases the burden on working Wisconsinites and seniors by eliminating the sales tax on residential gas and electricity, expanding the second income tax bracket, and exempting up to $48,000 in retirement income from taxation!

My colleagues and I successfully defended the conservative principles of limited government, individual liberty, and secure elections.