Via Up North News:

Governor uses State of the State to call the Legislature into special session, but Republicans want to wait until after Evers wins or loses reelection.

Telling lawmakers “don’t sit here in a white, marble building with state coffers that are full and tell Wisconsinites who are working hard every day that we can’t afford to do more,” Gov. Tony Evers used his State of the State address Tuesday night to call a special session to invest the state’s new budget surplus now rather than wait until next year as Republicans want. 

“That’s baloney,” the governor said. “This is the people’s money. Let’s get it back to them.”

Evers wants to invest a portion of about $3 billion the state is expected to receive above earlier projections. He proposes sending relief directly to households, in the form of $150 tax rebate checks and putting $750 million into children’s education. Republicans who control the Legislature say they prefer to wait and turn the surplus into tax cuts in 2023, hoping a new governor will be replacing Evers who is running for reelection in November.