Wisconsin Supreme Court Overrules Gov. Evers Partial Veto Of Reading Bill
Court rules it was not appropriations bill so Evers couldn't use partial veto.
Child reading. (Pixabay license)
The Department of Public Instruction will not receive $50 million to implement a reading bill passed in 2023, the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday.
The court found the Joint Finance Committee is not improperly withholding funds from DPI.
The court also reversed a lower court’s finding that Gov. Tony Evers was acting within his constitutional authority when he used his partial veto authority last year on the reading bill.
Following the decision, Evers released a statement saying he will “never apologize for fighting for kids and schools.”
Evers urged the Republicans to release the $50 million, which is otherwise scheduled to be returned to the state’s general fund July 1.
“Twelve lawmakers should not be able to obstruct resources that were already approved by the full Legislature and the governor to help get our kids up to speed and ensure they have the skills they need to be successful,” Evers said in a statement. “It is unconscionable that the Wisconsin Supreme Court is allowing the Legislature’s indefinite obstruction to go unchecked.”
In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, called the court’s decision “encouraging.”
“Today’s unanimous Supreme Court opinion is a rebuke of the Governor’s attempt to break apart a bipartisan literacy-funding bill and JFC’s constitutional authority to give supplemental funding to agencies,” the statement said. “While the Governor wanted to play politics with money earmarked for kids’ reading programs, it is encouraging to see the Court put an end to this game. Wisconsin families are the real winners here.”
In July 2023, state lawmakers and Evers passed a sweeping reading bill known as Act 20.
In February 2024, lawmakers passed a separate bill that included $50 million to fund the reading legislation.
The money was to create a new literacy office, hire reading coaches and help schools begin to shift away from what has been known as “balanced literacy” to a “science of reading” approach.
The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee was going to deploy that money. Evers believed it was an appropriations bill, he was able to use his partial veto authority to rework the plan.
That prompted a lawsuit from the Legislature in April 2024, arguing the Department of Public Instruction would spend the $50 million “any way it saw fit.”
Republicans also argued Evers’ use of the partial veto was unconstitutional.
In August 2024, a Dane County judge ruled Evers appropriately used his partial veto authority when he cut parts from the reading bill, but rejected DPI’s request to release the $50 million.
Attorney General Josh Kaul then stepped in to ask the state Supreme Court to bypass the appellate court and rule on the case.
In a unanimous opinion Wednesday written by conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley, the Supreme Court ruled against Evers.
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday the funding bill was not an appropriations bill, therefore the Evers’ partial veto was unconstitutional.
“Although the executive branch may be frustrated by constitutional limits on the governor’s power to veto non-appropriation bills, the judiciary must respect the People’s choice to impose them,” Bradley wrote.
In a statement Wednesday, State Superintendent Jill Underly said even without the $50 million, schools across Wisconsin have embraced the reforms outlined in Act 20.
“Today’s ruling changes none of that,” Underly wrote. “A key part of our compromise was to provide districts with funding to implement new strategies and change practices. States across the nation have seen success using similar models. It is devastating that despite bipartisan agreement on how to proceed, we have been stuck in neutral.”
Wisconsin Supreme Court rules against Gov. Tony Evers in dispute over $50M for DPI reading bill was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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