Assembly is expected to vote today on the proposed new budget

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The Wisconsin Assembly is expected to vote today on the proposed new state budget, after majority Democrats made some big changes Wednesday.

They modified the new oil profits’ tax, so it comes out to an increase for drivers of 4 cents a gallon.

They dropped the controversial legal liability reform, which could have made businesses and others pay all damages in a civil suit even if they were just 1 percent at fault.

The Democrats also restored $5.4 million in funding for the state Justice Department, which was cut last month by the Joint Finance Committee.

And they dropped a requirement that schools transport pregnant students who live within two miles of their buildings.

The budget still includes more than $2 billion in tax and fee hikes and other measures aimed at fixing a $6.6 billion deficit.

Minority Republicans say they’ll try to strike down many of those proposals today, by offering amendments to the budget once the debate begins.

Once the Assembly passes the budget, it goes to the Senate which can make its own changes that a conference committee would have to resolve later.

Gov. Jim Doyle wanted to stop oil companies from passing on their new tax to drivers.

But Assembly Democrats wanted to avoid an almost-certain lawsuit from the industry by letting them pass up to 4 cents on.

Business groups praised the decision to drop the legal liability reform, saying it would have raised insurance costs and driven jobs away.

The justice department funding was restored after Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen convinced Democratic leaders the cut would have compromised public safety.

He earlier said his agency was being cut more than others, in the wake of previous political spats.

Also, Assembly Democrats dropped $28 million in borrowing for a new nursing facility at UW-Madison.

Critics called that unnecessary pork at a financially troubling time.

Tags: state budget, wisconsin, vote