Removing Milwaukee Sales Tax Referendum: Senate Majority Leader Struggles to Secure Republican Votes

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu has revealed that he currently lacks sufficient support from Republican lawmakers to remove a provision requiring a Milwaukee sales tax referendum increase.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu says he doesn’t have enough Republican votes to kill a Milwaukee sales tax referendum. (Photo: Yahoo Finance)

Removing Milwaukee Sales Tax Referendum

The statement of Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu marks a reversal from his previous indication that the provision to remove Milwaukee sales tax referendum increase would likely be eliminated, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The change in LeMahieu’s stance follows Assembly Speaker Robin Vos‘ warning that removing the Milwaukee sales tax referendum requirement would effectively terminate the bill.

While Governor Tony Evers and Milwaukee officials support the removal of this provision, Vos has firmly opposed any negotiations on the matter.

LeMahieu expressed his personal desire to remove the Milwaukee sales tax referendum requirement but highlighted the challenge of persuading voters to raise taxes on themselves without any upcoming elections.

He confirmed that he did not have the necessary 17 votes within the GOP caucus to pass a bill without the provision. To advance his preferred version of the bill, LeMahieu may seek support from Democratic lawmakers.

However, Republican leaders generally strive to pass bills that enjoy majority support within their own party. LeMahieu intends to meet privately with Evers and Vos to discuss the issue further.

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Removing Milwaukee Sales Tax Referendum Disagreement

Earlier, on May 18, when Vos declared an end to negotiations, LeMahieu stated that Senate Republicans would likely support a provision mandating a vote by Milwaukee governing boards, without specifying whether a unanimous vote would be required.

He expressed disappointment with Vos’ insistence on his version of the bill, which lacked agreement among all parties. Both leaders have remained deadlocked since then, unable to find common ground.

Evers initially proposed allowing Milwaukee County to impose an additional 1% sales tax through a voter-approved Milwaukee sales tax referendum.

However, given the restrictions on local control in the bill, Evers’ spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, acknowledged that a referendum would likely be impractical, aligning with LeMahieu’s approach of requiring local officials’ approval for a sales tax increase.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s spokesman confirmed that the mayor and LeMahieu continue to share the belief in the significance of enabling legislation. Despite objections to certain provisions in the bill, Mayor Johnson aims to secure consensus and emphasizes the importance of preventing a fiscal disaster in the city through legislation rather than a Milwaukee sales tax referendum.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley’s spokesperson expressed confidence that leaders in Madison would construct a deal to address the county’s financial challenges effectively.

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