AP® Government and Politics: United States 1999 Scoring Guidelines These materials were produced by Educational Testing Service (ETS), which develops and administers the examinations of the Advanced Placement. MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday called for the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature to spend $250 million of a state budget surplus on public schools, including $130 million that would go toward lowering property taxes. Sparking a feeding frenzy in the Legislature and among various interest groups that.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s governor plans to propose to President Donald Trump that the state could share some driving records with federal immigration agencies if the administration reverses its move to block state residents from Global Entry and other programs that allow travelers to avoid long border security lines.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he plans to meet with Trump on Thursday; the White House confirmed the meeting. Cuomo said he would only propose giving federal officials access to the state driving records of applicants to traveler programs who undergo a sit-down interview with federal officials and supply documents such as a passport.
The governor’s comments in Wednesday radio interviews come a day after New York officials filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s move to block New York residents from “trusted traveler” programs, including Global Entry.
Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli announced last week that New Yorkers would no longer be allowed to enroll or re-enroll in the traveler programs.
New York’s lawsuit claims the Trump administration’s decision was intended to punish the state for enacting a law that lets immigrants in the country illegally get drivers licenses and bars federal immigration agents from accessing state motor vehicle records.
But Cuccinelli said it was a necessary step because New York’s new law had endangered public safety by making it tougher for immigration and border agents to quickly confirm someone’s identification, check for fugitive warrants or see if a person has a criminal record.
More than a dozen states have passed laws allowing people who are not legal U.S. residents to get driver’s licenses.
Cuomo, a Democrat, called the Trump administration’s move “extortion” and an effort to punish New York for political purposes. Cuomo said that federal officials can access criminal records from the FBI. State driving records can contain lower-level driving violations.
New York’s DMV database now includes people who are in the U.S. illegally but who have driver’s licenses. Cuomo said he believes Trump simply wants access to records on those people, so federal immigration officials can have a “feeding frenzy.” He noted that people who are in the U.S. illegally couldn’t apply for the “trusted traveler” programs anyway because it would be tantamount to turning themselves over to federal agents.
“I will never give them access to the DMV database,” Cuomo said. “And I think that’s what they really want.”
The governor said he’s calling the Trump administration’s “bluff.”
“Because if they don’t accept this, then what they’re admitting is they’re just playing politics,” Cuomo said.
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Wednesday that the president simply wants to keep Americans safe. He said that New York City residents understand the importance of ensuring people have proper identification when they enter the country in light of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the city.
“I hope that Gov. Cuomo can work with the president and come forward with some type of solution that allows the federal government to do its main function, which is to protect all Americans and their families,” Gidley said.
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Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Deb Riechmann contributed to this report from Washington.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday called for the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature to spend $250 million of a state budget surplus on public schools, including $130 million that would go toward lowering property taxes.
The proposal met with immediate opposition from Republican leaders, who want to cut taxes, not spend more on schools.
Last month, new budget projections estimated that the state will collect about $450 million more that previously expected for its general fund by the middle of 2021, sparking a feeding frenzy in the Legislature and among various interest groups that hope to claim some of that surplus.
Various other initiatives that will cost money, including bills meant to help dairy farmers and rural Wisconsin, improve water quality and address homelessness, are among those competing for some of that money. Republicans have also talked about wanting to use some of the money to reduce debt.
Evers, the former state superintendent for education, tried Thursday to make the conversation about schools.
Evers surrounded himself with teachers, school board members, superintendents, Democratic lawmakers and others to unveil the plan. He called a special session for the Legislature to take up his proposal next week before they adjourn the session next month. Republicans plan to meet to vote on bills for just a handful of days before adjourning for the year, leaving precious little time to reach deals that can pass and be signed into law.
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“I look forward to working across the aisle to get this done,” Evers said. ”This is a win-win for all of us in the state of Wisconsin.”
Evers’ plan is unlikely to become law given Republican opposition.
“Every time the state has surplus revenue, Republicans look for ways to return that money to taxpayers. Democrats keep looking for ways to spend your money,” tweeted Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. “Senate Republicans have been focused since late last year on using our surplus for a tax cut for hard-working families, and the governor knows that. I don’t see us budging off that position.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Evers knows Republicans won’t go for the plan.
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“I just met with Governor Evers yesterday and there was no mention of this special session,” Vos tweeted. “The governor may say he wants to work together but it appears he’s only interested in scoring political points.”
Evers touted his plan as both cutting taxes, by spending $130 million in property tax relief through the school aid formula, and increasing funding for schools. Evers wants to spend about $85 million on special education, nearly $23 million on mental health services, $10 million for the most rural schools and $3.6 million on summer reading programs.
“We don’t have to choose between investing in our kids and reducing property taxes — we can do both,” Evers said.
The budget Evers signed last year, that the Republican Legislature passed, increased K-12 school funding by about $565 million over two years. He had proposed a $1.4 billion increase.
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