Walker, new Legislature inaugurated today
Wisconsin NewsRepublican Scott Walker will become Wisconsin’s 45th governor today. A new GOP majority in the Legislature will also be sworn in. And Walker plans to put those lawmakers to work immediately on a host of measures aimed at boosting an economy that lost 180,000 jobs in the last two years.
MADISON - Republican Scott Walker will become Wisconsin’s 45th governor today. A new GOP majority in the Legislature will also be sworn in. And Walker plans to put those lawmakers to work immediately on a host of measures aimed at boosting an economy that lost 180,000 jobs in the last two years.
Among other things, Walker wants a new public and private agency to replace the Commerce Department. It would focus solely on achieving Walker’s goal of creating 250,000 jobs in Wisconsin over the next four years. Walker also says he wants to make the state’s bureaucracy create rules that are more in line with the laws passed by the Legislature. So the governor’s office plans to review all rules before they go to lawmakers to be ratified. Democrats call that an unnecessary power grab – especially because it will be Walker’s own lieutenants who will run the agencies.
Wisconsin’s economy is just starting to recover. Recent estimates show that the state’s budget deficit for the next two years is about $300 million less than what was projected earlier. But the shortfall is still around $3 billion. Walker expects to attack it with state spending cuts, finding government waste and making state employees pay for more of their health insurance and retirement.
Walker, who resigned last week as Milwaukee County’s executive, has already kept one of his biggest campaign promises. The controversial Milwaukee-to-Madison high-speed train was scrapped a few weeks ago.
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