Wisconsin Republicans are asking voters to remove the governor’s power to spend federal money unilaterally, a reaction to the billions of dollars that have flowed into the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers free to spend most of the money they like, directing most to small businesses and economic development, angry Republicans who support the Legislature should be supervised.
That’s what will happen in a pair of related constitutional amendments up for approval Voters in the August 13 primary election. The changes would apply to Evers and all future governors and cap federal money going to states without special spending requirements, often in response to disasters or other emergencies.
Democrats and other opponents moved the amendment, calling it a legislative power that would curtail the governor’s ability to quickly respond to natural disasters, economic crises or health emergencies.
If the amendment passes, Wisconsin government “will become even more dysfunctional,” said Julie Keown-Bomar, executive director of the Wisconsin Farmers Union.
“Wisconsinites are sick and tired of riding the partisan crazy train, but it’s imperative that we show up at the polls and vote ‘no’ on these changes because it will only push us further apart,” he said in a statement.
But Republicans and other supporters say it’s a check on the governor’s current power, which they say is too broad.
The changes increase “accountability, efficiency, and transparency,” Republican state Sen. Howard Marklein, a co-sponsor of the initiative, said at a legislative hearing.
The two questions, which were proposed as a single amendment and later split on a vote, passed the GOP-controlled Legislature twice as required by law. Voter approval is required before it is added to the state constitution. The governor has no veto power over constitutional amendments.
Early, in-person absentee voting for August 13 Elections from Tuesday across the country and through August 11. Locations and times for early voting vary.
Wisconsin Republicans are increasingly calling for voters to approve a constitutional amendment as a way to circumvent Evers’ veto. Midway through his second term, Evers has vetoed more bills than any governor in Wisconsin history.
In April, voters approved an amendment to ban the use of private money to hold elections and insist that only election officials can conduct polls. In November, an amendment on the ballot sought to clarify that only US citizens could vote in local elections.
Republicans put this question on the primary ballot of August, the first constitutional amendment has been placed in an election where the turnout is lower than in November.
The effort to curb the governor’s executive power also comes amid a fight between Republicans and Evers over legislative authority. Evers in July won a case in the Wisconsin Supreme Court that challenged the GOP-controlled Legislature’s budget committee’s power over spending on conservation programs.
Wisconsin’s governor was given the authority to decide how to spend federal money by the Legislature in 1931, during the Great Depression, according to a report from the Legislative Reference Bureau.
“Times have changed and entering federal dollars requires a different approach,” Republican Rep. Robert Wittke, who sponsored the amendment, said at the public hearing.
That’s a power that came into question during the Great Recession of 2008, another time when the state got a lot of federal aid.
But calls for change have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic when the federal government gave Wisconsin $5.7 billion between March 2020 and June 2022 in federal coronavirus aid. Only $1.1 billion comes with restrictions on how it can be spent.
Most of the money is used for small business and local government recovery funds, buying emergency health supplies and paying health care providers to offset the costs of the pandemic.
Republicans pushed for more oversight, but Evers vetoed a GOP bill in 2021 that would have required the governor to submit a plan to the Legislature’s budget committee for approval.
Republicans increased pressure for change after the release of a nonpartisan audit in 2022 that found Evers was not transparent about how he decided to direct the money.
One amendment specifies that the Legislature cannot delegate its power to decide how the money is spent. The second prohibits the governor from spending federal money without legislative approval.
If approved, the Legislature can pass rules governing how federal money will be handled. This would give them the ability to change rules based on who is governor or where federal money is going.
For example, the Legislature could allow the governor to spend disaster relief money without approval, but require more money before lawmakers go ahead.
Opposing the measure are voting rights groups, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and many other liberal organizations, including those fighting to overturn the Republican-drawn legislative map, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice.
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s largest business lobbying group, and the Badger Institute, a conservative think tank, were the only groups to register their support in the Legislature.
