Madison, Wisconsin (AP) – A unanimous supreme court of the Wisconsin presented a victory in the legislature under republican control in a power struggle with the government Governor Tony Evers on Wednesday, reinvening in the vast veto powers of the governor.
The court canceled Partial veto of Evers of a republican bill in a case which has tested both the limits of its veto powers and the capacity of the Legislative Assembly to exert an influence by controlling financing.
The court also judged that the Legislative Assembly can put money for certain state programs in an emergency fund under the control of its budget committee. Evers had argued that such a decision was unconstitutional.
The decision will probably lead to the legislature of the development of the budget and other bills of expenditure in a similar way to bypass the partial vetos of Evers and to have an even more important control over spending.
The decision against Evers comes after the court Earlier this year The partial veto of Evers has confirmed an increase in school financing for 400 years. Last year, the court issued a decision that Reinet in certain powers of the budget committee of the Legislative Assembly, while this decision went in the other direction.
Evers faces the legislature
Evers, during his seventh year as a governor, often clashed with the Legislative Assembly and often used his large veto powers to kill their proposals. Republican legislators have attempted to withdraw control of the governor’s office by placing money to finance certain state programs and agencies in an emergency fund controlled by the legislature budget committee. This gives the legislature a significant influence on this funding and the implementation of certain programs within the executive power.
Evers argued that the Legislative Assembly is trying to limit its partial veto right and illegally control how the executive spends money.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court was shaking with the legislator.
He judged that Evers Wrongly used its partial veto On a bill that detailed the spending plan for new literacy programs designed to improve the reading performance of kindergarten students in the 12th year. The court also took the side of the Legislative Assembly and declared that the Budget Committee could legally put money in an emergency fund to distribute later. This is what he did with the $ 50 million for the literacy program.
Fight for the financing of literacy
In 2023, Evers signed a bill which created an early literacy coaching program within the State Department of Public Instruction. The bill has also created subsidies for schools that adopt approved reading programs to pay to change their programs and train teachers on new practices.
However, the Republicans took the $ 50 million to pay for the new initiative in a separate emergency fund controlled by the Budget Committee of the Legislative Assembly.
Evers argued that the Legislative Assembly did not have the power to retain money and that the court should order that it is released in the education service.
The Supreme Court refused to do so, saying that money had been assigned to the Legislative Assembly and that the Court does not have the power to order it at the Liberation of the Department of Education to finance the literacy program.
Evers exhorted the legislature budget committee to release money.
Republican co -chairs of the Committee said on Wednesday that they were impatiently waiting to publish the money and that they blamed the governor’s veto for the delay in schools.
If no measure is taken by Monday, the $ 50 million will return to the General State Fund.
The legislature has increased the amount of money it puts in the emergency fund which it can release at its discretion, but it remains a low percentage of the total state budget. In the last budget, around $ 230 million was in the fund, about half a percentage point of the entire budget.
Republicans continue to stop the veto
Evers used its partial veto on another bill which created the mechanism to spend the $ 50 million on the new program. He argued that his modifications would simplify the process and give more flexibility to DPI. Evers also eliminated subsidies for private schools of good and charter.
Republican legislators have continued, saying that the governor illegally used his partial right of veto.
The law of the State only grants a partial veto of invoices which spend money. For all other bills, the governor must sign them or oppose their veto in their entirety.
Because the Bill Evers opposed its veto to its veto was a framework for expenses, but did not allocate money, its partial vetos were unconstitutional, said the Supreme Court, in agreement with the Republican legislators.
“The Constitution gives the Governor the power of veto partly partly the bills of credits – not the bills closely linked to the bills of credits,” wrote judge Rebecca Bradley.
Republican legislative leaders have described the decision to “reprimand” Evers.
“While the governor wanted to do politics with the money for children’s reading programs, he is encouraging to see the court ending this game,” said assembly president Robin Vos and the head of the majority of the Senate Devin Lemahieu in a joint statement.
