Doyle budget leaves $1.5 billion deficit in 2011-'13, report says

Mar. 19, 2009 Madison - Although Gov. Jim Doyle's 2009-'11 budget would raise taxes, spend federal stimulus money and boost state spending by almost 10%, a report Thursday said state government would still face a potential $1.5 billion deficit as it heads into the following budget. Sen. Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) made public a Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo that estimated the two-year potential shortfall before the 2011-'13 budget at $1.5 billion. The governor and legislators elected in November 2010 will have to pass that 2011-'13 budget in two years.
This week, lawmakers began reviewing Doyle's budget proposal for the 2009-'11 budget cycle that starts July 1. The new Fiscal Bureau report estimated the so-called "structural deficit" - the imbalance between future tax collections and spending commitments.