Wisconsin’s budget could be $1 billion short by 2021

MADISON — Wisconsin’s state budget could be more than $1 billion in the red by 2021, based on the proposal submitted by Gov. Scott Walker that the Legislature is considering.

The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau released an updated analysis of the state budget for the two years after the period covered by Walker’s current budget proposal. It finds that the budget could face a nearly $1.1 billion shortfall for the Legislature to deal with two years from now.

However, those figures do not take into account possible growth in state tax collections or additional expenses.

The new estimate is up from a previous one from Walker’s administration that put the so-called structural deficit at around $740 million.