Work to identify unneeded state assets and sell them to reduce costs. Use the proceeds to pay down state debt.
When we first examined this promise, in September 2017, our rating was Stalled. The pledge really hadn't gotten off the ground.
As we noted then, a state law adopted in 2013 was aimed at using state property sales to reduce state debt, but according to a June 2016 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel news article, it had largely gone unused.
The measure, part of the 2013-'15 state budget, gave Walker broad authority through the state Building Commission to sell property -- including prisons, highways, heating plants and university dormitories -- to pay off state loans.
The debt amounted to $8 billion at the time. The law had only been used in one deal, and that had been in the works before Walker took office. Two properties were sold for a total of $13 million in that deal. But most of the money was pegged for paying off debts on those properties, not for retiring previous state debts.
Walker spokesman Tom Evenson told us there have not been any more sales.
Given that, we rate this Walker pledge as Promise Broken.
Gov. Scott Walker's pledge to pay down state debt by the sale of unneeded state assets hasn't really gotten off the ground.
A state law adopted in 2013 was aimed at using state property sales to reduce state debt, but according to a June 2016 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel news article, it had largely gone unused:
The measure, part of the 2013-'15 state budget, gave Walker broad authority through the state Building Commission to sell property -- including prisons, highways, heating plants and university dormitories -- to pay off state loans. The debt amounted to $8 billion at the time.
The law had only been used in one deal, and that had been in the works before Walker took office. Two properties were sold for a total of $13 million in that deal. But most of the money was pegged for paying off debts on those properties, not for retiring previous state debts.
Walker spokesman Tom Evenson told us there have not been any more sales.
We rate this promise Stalled.