Who Should Have Spending Power For Federal Funds?

Wisconsin State Capitol. Photo by Dave Reid.

Recent head-spinning presidential campaign news has kept Wisconsin voters from focusing on two important constitutional changes Republican legislators added to their Aug. 13 primary election ballots.

There has been “relatively little [news] coverage to this admittedly obscure and technical issue, which will likely confuse many voters” next week, the non-partisan Wisconsin Policy Forum said in its summary of the amendments.

“Nevertheless, these questions could have significant consequences for the state in the years to come,” the Forum added.

The basic question the amendments ask: Who should spend future federal funds — governors like Democrat Gov. Tony Evers, who had authority to spend $4.4 billion in federal Covid-relief cash in the last four years, or the 132-member Legislature, which Republicans have controlled for 14 years?

Evers, Democratic legislators and groups like the League of Women Voters want both amendments to be rejected. Republicans and conservative groups want them passed.

Republicans “are trying to pull a fast one,” Evers told WTMJ Radio. “If you think about it, during the pandemic, if we would have waited for them to come into session – they were out of session for 300 days — there are things that had to be done. And that is exactly what would be taken away with these two amendments.”

Thankfully, Democratic legislators say, Evers could quickly spend that $4.4 billion on health care, school aids, Covid tests, child care facilities, local businesses, unemployment insurance and food stamps. Wisconsin reported more than 2 million Covid cases and almost 17,000 deaths.

Republicans and conservative groups say the Legislature now has no way to hold Evers accountable for how he spends federal dollars.

“Traditionally, the legislature has been given the power of the purse,” Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu told WCUB Radio last week. “With this massive amount of federal money, the Legislature has no say on how this money is going to be spent.”

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) adds:

“Voting yes … will prevent the executive branch from unilaterally spending federal dollars towards their preferred projects and provide a necessary check on their power from the state Legislature.”

WILL cites decisions by Evers to spend some of that $4.4 billion on these projects: $14 million on “minor league sports teams, summer camps and movie theaters,” $9.3 million for a “professional soccer stadium in Milwaukee” and continuing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in state government.

The Policy Forum offered an objective summary of the constitutional changes Republicans want made.

“Total federal spending spent by the state nearly doubled between 2019 and 2021, and has continued at approximately $20 billion annually through 2024,” the Forum found.

The Forum said the two changes include “broad language [that] likely will impact far more than just cases of emergency influxes of federal funds that are similar to the pandemic.”

That means the amendments, if adopted, could change the process state government now uses to spend billions of dollars a year it receives in health-care funds, to pay for Universities of Wisconsin research, for highway and other transportation projects and many other programs.

What are the exact changes facing voters?

Question one: Shall the state Constitution be amended “to provide that the Legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?”

Question two: Shall the state Constitution be amended “to prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the Legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?”

Now, the state budget — which the governor and Legislature must finally agree on — includes line-by-line spending limits for specific programs.

If the changes pass, the Forum noted, “The Legislature could create through its rulemaking process a system for approving the allocation of federal funds … without any consultation with the governor.’’

And, requiring the 132-member Legislature to agree on spending federal dollars could be delayed “in the event of a natural disaster or other crisis,” the Forum added. “In an extreme case, delays in allocating federal funds could lead the state to lose them.”

Wisconsin’s Legislature usually meets from January through July in odd-numbered years to pass the budget, and between January and April in even-numbered election years.

Spending emergency federal aid could be delayed when “the Legislature is not in session,” the Policy Forum added.

Steven Walters started covering the Capitol in 1988. Contact him at stevenscotwalters@gmail.com.