Wis. Assembly to vote on budget earmark bill

MADISON, Wis. — The state Assembly is set to vote on a bill that would bar Wisconsin lawmakers from passing the state budget without a report listing all the earmarks in the spending plan.

The Republican measure calls for the Legislative Fiscal Bureau to prepare a list of all earmarks in each budget and their beneficiaries. Lawmakers couldn’t pass the budget until the fiscal bureau has distributed the report to all legislators and posted it online.

The bill also would ban any conference committees that draft compromise budgets when different parties control the Senate and Assembly from adding earmarks.

The Senate overwhelming approved the bill last week. The Assembly is expected to take it up Tuesday. Passage in that house would send the bill to Gov. Scott Walker for his signature.