Walker Might Talk About Plans To Merge Government Agencies In State Of The State

Gov. Scott Walker said he’ll use his State of the State address on Tuesday to talk more about plans to merge state agencies.

There’s a decent chance Walker won’t reveal too much in his State of the State address, with his inauguration speech having come just last week and his budget address just three weeks away. But Walker told reporters that he will talk more about plans he’s been hinting at to combine some state agencies.

“We’re going to talk about some of the mergers and consolidations we’d like to do to make the government here in the state more effective, more efficient, more accountable for the taxpayers of the state,” said Walker.

Democrats are saying Walker needs to use his State of the State address to lay out a plan to help Wisconsin’s middle class and not to bolster his potential presidential campaign. In a conference call with reporters, state Democratic Party chair Mike Tate said Walker should use the speech to focus on building Wisconsin’s economy, on investing in Wisconsin’s public schools and on accepting federal money to expand Medicaid.

Tate said that despite Walker’s pledge during last year’s campaign that he wanted to be Wisconsin’s governor, Walker had already taken “his eye off the ball.”

“Barely a week into his second term, we’ve heard more about Walker’s plans to run for president than his plans to help Wisconsin’s working families,” said Tate.

Walker said he’ll also use the State of the State to talk more about what he wants to do with Common Core and a school accountability bill.