The proposal in the state Legislature comes as the White House has cut federal agencies and threatened funding to states.

By Annie Pulley, THE BADGER PROJECT

If the president freezes federal aid already promised to Wisconsin, the state Legislature would immediately call an extraordinary session to make cuts, under a new bill proposed by state Democrats.

Democrats introduced the bill in both houses of the state Legislature in March after President Donald Trump’s administration moved to freeze many federal grants and other programs nationwide. A federal judge blocked the administration’s move in January and extended the action in March.

The Frozen Federal Funds Emergency Act would create a procedure to estimate the amount of federal aid that each state agency, eligible governmental unit and nonprofit “is likely to be deprived of.”

The bill, which is highly unlikely to be advanced by the GOP majority, would tap the state’s “rainy day fund,” officially named the Budget Stabilization Fund, to offset the funding difference while prioritizing essential services, it states.

According to the state budget proposed by Gov. Tony Evers, the cash in the “rainy day fund” sat at a record-high $1.9 billion on June 30, 2024, the end of the previous fiscal year.

Federal cash makes up the second-largest source of funds in the state’s budget, Evers’ proposal notes. Projections have Wisconsin receiving 32% of its budget from federal cash in fiscal year 2026, which runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.

With majorities in both houses of the state Legislature, Republicans rarely advance bills introduced by Democrats.

The office of Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) did not reply to questions about whether legislative Republicans have a plan in the event of cuts to federal funding.

State Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) co-chairs the powerful Joint Finance Committee, which is responsible for writing the state budget and is in full gear right now.

“We have no idea what’s going to happen in Washington, D.C. Nobody does,” Marklein said when asked if Republicans have a plan if federal funding is cut. It’s “just pure speculation.”

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.