MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Republican Gov. Scott Walker's administration says new revenue projections show the state will finish the 2011-2013 biennium with a $154.5 million surplus.
The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimated in February the state would finish the two-year period with a $143 million deficit. But Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch wrote in a letter to Walker on Thursday that personal income growth has been stronger than anticipated and the state now expects to collect $265 million more in taxes than the Legislative Fiscal Bureau expected.
The developments are good news for Walker, who faces Democrat Tom Barrett in a June 5 recall election. Democrats are trying to oust Walker from office as payback for proposing a contentious law stripping most public workers of nearly all their union rights.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
| Approve: | 45.9% |
| Disapprove: | 49.6% |
| Spread: | -3.7% |
| Republican: | 39.0% |
| Democrat: | 41.7% |
| Spread: | +2.7% |
| Right Direction: | 31.0% |
| Wrong Track: | 59.6% |
| Spread: | -28.6% |
| Approve: | 14.2% |
| Disapprove: | 76.2% |
| Spread: | -62.0% |
