Republican’s Proposed Constitutional Amendment “Risky and Full of Unintended Consequences”
“If taken literally, this would prohibit a governor from reversing irresponsible cuts made by a vindictive legislature.”
Madison – Yesterday, on a party line vote, the Republican-controlled State Senate voted to advance a proposed Constitutional Amendment which would prohibit the Governor from using his Constitutionally granted partial veto authority to increase “state expenditures for any purpose.”
“I believe this move by Republicans is short-sighted, risky, and full of unintended consequences,” said Risser. “If taken literally, this would prohibit a governor from reversing irresponsible cuts made by a vindictive legislature.”
Depending on the legal interpretation of “expenditure” this leads to countless hypothetical scenarios of how a vindictive legislature could act, such as: cutting the salary of judges who disagree with the majority party; eliminating funding for legislative staff for the minority party; eliminating staff for the Executive Branch; or even eliminating funding for state agencies. Under this proposed amendment the Governor would no longer have the authority to use his partial veto to reverse these decisions.
The last thing Wisconsin needs is a Constitutional Amendment full of legal landmines and with no clarity on how it will affect the day-to-day functions of government.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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