NEW INFO ABOUT TPA AMENDMENT

Lawmaker who pushed for tax amendment yanks his support
New version would weaken plan by allowing Legislature to exempt state, local fees, Lasee says
By STEVEN WALTERSswalters@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 5, 2006
Madison

"Don't gut this, and then call it something that really works," said Rep. Frank Lasee (R-Bellevue), who led a push two years ago for tight, Colorado-like spending limits and endorsed the first version of what supporters call the Taxpayer Protection Amendment.
At a state Capitol hearing, Lasee said he could no longer support the plan, saying the newest version would allow the Legislature to exempt state and local fees from spending limits.
Amendment sponsors made that change public only this week, Lasee said.
The new version would allow the Legislature to exempt from spending limits something as big as the state's 30.9-cents a gallon gas tax, which will cost drivers $1 billion this year, he said.
Lasee called that exemption "a recipe for fees, fees and more fees" - a shift from tax increases to fee increases that taxpayers will not support.
But the chief Senate sponsor of the amendment, Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend), said the version of the amendment made public this week will deal with some of Lasee's fears.
Two Democratic senators joined Lasee in opposing the measure but for different reasons.
The constitutional amendment is a "piece of garbage" because it would take authority away from local elected officials who decide how to pay for highways and other important local programs, Sen. Robert Jauch (D-Poplar) said.
Jauch said his northwest Wisconsin district is so poor that it depends on state aid for critical services the amendment would threaten.
Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) said the amendment would hurt Milwaukee Public Schools and the City of Milwaukee, where per-capita spending on government is less than in other larger cities.
The amendment would not become law until 2007, at the earliest. It would have to pass two consecutive sessions of the Legislature before going before voters in a statewide referendum.
The Assembly and Senate are expected to vote on the amendment for the first time later this month.
The comments on the measure came at a hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Taxpayer Protection Amendment and the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means.
Some want tax relief
Republicans pushing the amendment say the state's high taxes are driving away college graduates and wealthy retirees who have large investments in the state.
"We have an economy that is chasing people out of here," Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) said. "When you look at total taxes across the country, we're high."
Lazich also said the amendment, if it became law, would allow state and local governments to increase spending by formulas tied to inflation, population increases and new construction.
It wouldn't cut spending by governments at any level, Lazich said.
Rep. Jeff Wood (R-Chippewa Falls), chief Assembly sponsor of the amendment, said it would give voters new rights to pass or approve additional spending.
Rep. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) said the Legislature doesn't have the "backbone" to control spending, making the constitutional amendment necessary.
"When there is a pot of money there, the Legislature spends it," Nass said.
Leaders of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state chamber of commerce, said Wisconsin's per-capita tax ranks fifth highest nationally - a distinction that many argue hurts taxpayers struggling to pay bills and Wisconsin's national reputation.
Mark Gusho, global tax director of The Manitowoc Co., said Wisconsin's high tax structure is a disadvantage when companies such as his try to stay competitive in a world economy.
"Maintaining the great Wisconsin way of life is becoming increasingly difficult due to our high taxes," Gusho told lawmakers. "Wisconsin's high taxes make our goods and services more expensive for our citizens and for customers in the global marketplace."
The Wisconsin Restaurant Association and the National Federation of Independent Businesses also endorsed the amendment.
But David Walsh, president of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, asked that the proposed constitutional amendment be killed.
"Don't do this," said Walsh, adding that it would cripple the public university system "so many residents of this state are so proud of."

FIRST JENSEN IN WI THEN DELAY IN DC -WHO COULD BENEXT

Officials: DeLay Won't Seek Re-Election

WASHINGTON - Former House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay, a Texan touched by a lobbying scandal that ensnared some of his former top aides and cost the Republican his leadership post, won't seek re-election to Congress, officials said Monday.
They said DeLay also is likely to resign his seat and leave Congress by the end of May or mid-June. That would trigger a special election for his replacement.
DeLay was expected to disclose his plans Tuesday at a news conference in Houston, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the congressman had not made that announcement.
Several officials said DeLay, an 11-term congressman, called Texas members of Congress to tell them he is dropping out of his re-election race.
"He'll resign," a former senior DeLay aide said.
In an interview with the Galveston County Daily News in Texas, DeLay said his decision was based partly on troubling internal polling results, including a poll taken after the March Republican primary that showed DeLay beating Democrat Nick Lampson in a close race.
"Even though I thought I could win, it was a little too risky," DeLay said.
DeLay stepped down from his House majority leader post in January as an election-year corruption scandal staggered Republicans and emboldened Democrats looking to reclaim power in the House and Senate.
A former exterminator before his election to Congress in 1984, DeLay was indicted by a Texas grand jury on charges related to laundering campaign funds in a Republican bid to win control of the Texas legislature in the 2002 elections.
He is accused of funneling corporate donations to Republican candidates for the Texas House in violation of state laws. A federal investigation also is pursuing DeLay's ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
DeLay has denied any wrongdoing in both cases.
But DeLay's woes continued to build over the past week.
On Friday, DeLay's former chief of staff pleaded guilty to conspiracy and promised to help with a federal investigation of bribery and lobbying fraud relating to Abramoff.
Tony Rudy admitted conspiring with Abramoff — both while Rudy worked for the Texas congressman and after he left the lawmaker's staff to become a lobbyist himself.
He is the second former DeLay staffer to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the lobbying probe. The plea agreement makes no allegation that DeLay did anything wrong.
Just days before Rudy's plea, Abramoff was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for fraud in connection with a separate case, a casino boat business deal. He was allowed to remain free while helping the congressional corruption investigation in Washington.
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