What will lawmakers do with a $4 billion state surplus?

 

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- What will lawmakers in Wisconsin do with a whopping $4 billion state surplus? That's the billion-dollar question when lawmakers return to work in January.

For Republican leaders, their number one priority is giving some of the surplus back to taxpayers.

"What Trump ran on, and what many of us ran on is the economy," Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) said. "People are struggling… the one thing we can do to help them out is reduce their tax burden."

LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) say they're willing to spend about $2 billion of the surplus on tax cuts. In addition, Vos plans to renew his push to cut retirement income.

In March, Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a series of GOP tax bills including a measure to exempt up to $150,000 in retirement income.

Democratic leaders are open to cutting taxes next year, including retirement income, but stressed they prefer targeted tax relief.

"We should consider a tax cut that really benefits working- and middle-class families," said Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine). "What we saw last cycle was Republicans put forth a number of proposals that benefited the wealthiest Wisconsinites. We're not interested in that."

Pumping more money into K-12 and higher education, as well as child care, is also top of mind for Democrats.

"We have people living in child care deserts where they can't find childcare," said Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton). "Let's make it as easy as possible for people to get to work and provide adequate child care."

While Democrats and Republicans have a different set of priorities on how to spend the surplus, some lawmakers are optimistic next year could lead to more compromise.

That's because Republicans will be working with the smallest majorities they've ever had since 2011.

In November, new legislative maps helped Democrats pick up 10 seats in the Assembly and 5 in the Senate. Neubauer believes that it could put pressure on some GOP lawmakers who live in competitive districts to try and find consensus on a variety of issues.

"I'm really thrilled we have so many Republicans and Democrats who are in close seats who need to go home, listen to their constituents and come here to deliver," Neubauer said.