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CBS News
18-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Wisconsin's Gov. Evers can lock in 400-year school funding increase using "Vanna White" veto, court says
The Democratic governor of Wisconsin's creative use of his uniquely powerful veto can lock in a school funding increase for 400 years , the state Supreme Court ruled Friday. The 4-3 ruling from the liberal-controlled court affirms the partial veto power of Wisconsin governors, which is the broadest of any state and has been used by both Republicans and Democrats to reshape spending bills passed by the Legislature. Wisconsin is the only state where governors can partially veto spending bills by striking words, numbers and punctuation to create new meaning or spending amounts. In most states, governors can only eliminate or reduce spending amounts. The court's four liberal justices ruled Friday that the state constitution allows the governor to strike digits to create a new year or to remove language to create a longer duration than the one approved by the Legislature. "We are acutely aware that a 400-year modification is both significant and attention-grabbing," Justice Jill Karofsky wrote for the majority. "However, our constitution does not limit the governor's partial veto power based on how much or how little the partial vetoes change policy, even when that change is considerable." Justice Brian Hagedorn, writing for the three-justice conservative minority, said Wisconsin was now in a "fantastical state of affairs" that allows the governor to write new law through the use of his partial veto. "One might scoff at the silliness of it all, but this is no laughing matter," Hagedorn wrote. "The decision today cannot be justified under any reasonable reading of the Wisconsin Constitution." Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican legislative leaders did not immediately return messages seeking reaction. The ruling came in a case against Evers that was supported by the Republican-controlled Legislature. It is one of two lawsuits pending before the court dealing with vetoes by the governor. Republicans this year also introduced a constitutional amendment intended to curb veto powers. Evers's partial veto in 2023 increased how much revenue K-12 public schools can raise per student by $325 a year until 2425. Evers took language that originally applied the $325 increase for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years and instead vetoed the "20" and the hyphen to make the end date 2425, more than four centuries from now. Evers told lawmakers at the time that his partial veto was intended to give school districts increases in funding "in perpetuity." The Legislature, along with the state's largest business lobbying group Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, argued that the court should strike down Evers' partial veto and declare it unconstitutional. They argued that the Evers veto was barred under a 1990 constitutional amendment adopted by voters that removed the ability to strike individual letters to make new words — known as the "Vanna White" veto, named the co-host of the game show Wheel of Fortune who flips letters to reveal word phrases. Finding otherwise would give governors unlimited power to alter numbers in a budget bill, they argued. But Evers countered that the "Vanna White" veto ban applies only to striking individual letters to create new words, not vetoing digits to create new numbers. Evers said that he was simply using the longstanding partial veto process allowed under the law. Wisconsin's partial veto power was created by a 1930 constitutional amendment, but it's been weakened by voters over the years, including in reaction to vetoes made by former Republican and Democratic governors. The Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2020, then controlled by conservatives, undid three of Evers' partial vetoes, but a majority of justices did not issue clear guidance on what was allowed. Reshaping state budgets through the partial veto is a longstanding act of gamesmanship in Wisconsin between the governor and Legislature, as lawmakers try to craft bills in a way that is largely immune from creative vetoes. Republican legislative leaders have said they were waiting for the ruling in this case and another pending case affecting the governor's veto powers before taking up spending bills this session, including the two-year state budget. The other case centers on whether Evers properly used his partial veto power on a bill that detailed the plan for spending on new literacy programs. The Legislature contends that Evers' partial veto was unconstitutional because the bill did not appropriate money. Evers contends the Legislature is trying to control how the executive branch spends money and limit his partial veto power. If the court sides with Evers in that case, it could greatly expand the kinds of bills subject to partial vetoes in the future.
Politico
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Wisconsin governor can lock in 400-year school funding increase using a veto, court says
The Democratic governor of Wisconsin's creative use of his uniquely powerful veto can lock in a school funding increase for 400 years, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday. The 4-3 ruling from the liberal-controlled court affirms the partial veto power of Wisconsin governors, which is the broadest of any state and has been used by both Republicans and Democrats to reshape spending bills passed by the Legislature. Wisconsin is the only state where governors can partially veto spending bills by striking words, numbers and punctuation to create new meaning or spending amounts. In most states, governors can only eliminate or reduce spending amounts. The court's four liberal justices ruled Friday that the state constitution allows the governor to strike digits to create a new year or to remove language to create a longer duration than the one approved by the Legislature. 'We are acutely aware that a 400-year modification is both significant and attention-grabbing,' Justice Jill Karofsky wrote for the majority. 'However, our constitution does not limit the governor's partial veto power based on how much or how little the partial vetoes change policy, even when that change is considerable.' Justice Brian Hagedorn, writing for the three-justice conservative minority, said Wisconsin was now in a 'fantastical state of affairs' that allows the governor to write new law through the use of his partial veto. 'One might scoff at the silliness of it all, but this is no laughing matter,' Hagedorn wrote. 'The decision today cannot be justified under any reasonable reading of the Wisconsin Constitution.' Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican legislative leaders did not immediately return messages seeking reaction. The ruling came in a case against Evers that was supported by the Republican-controlled Legislature. It is one of two lawsuits pending before the court dealing with vetoes by the governor. Republicans this year also introduced a constitutional amendment intended to curb veto powers. Evers's partial veto in 2023 increased how much revenue K-12 public schools can raise per student by $325 a year until 2425. Evers took language that originally applied the $325 increase for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years and instead vetoed the '20" and the hyphen to make the end date 2425, more than four centuries from now. Evers told lawmakers at the time that his partial veto was intended to give school districts increases in funding 'in perpetuity.' The Legislature, along with the state's largest business lobbying group Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, argued that the court should strike down Evers' partial veto and declare it unconstitutional. They argued that the Evers veto was barred under a 1990 constitutional amendment adopted by voters that removed the ability to strike individual letters to make new words — known as the 'Vanna White' veto, named the co-host of the game show Wheel of Fortune who flips letters to reveal word phrases. Finding otherwise would give governors unlimited power to alter numbers in a budget bill, they argued. But Evers countered that the 'Vanna White' veto ban applies only to striking individual letters to create new words, not vetoing digits to create new numbers. Evers said that he was simply using the longstanding partial veto process allowed under the law. Wisconsin's partial veto power was created by a 1930 constitutional amendment, but it's been weakened by voters over the years, including in reaction to vetoes made by former Republican and Democratic governors. The Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2020, then controlled by conservatives, undid three of Evers' partial vetoes, but a majority of justices did not issue clear guidance on what was allowed. Reshaping state budgets through the partial veto is a longstanding act of gamesmanship in Wisconsin between the governor and Legislature, as lawmakers try to craft bills in a way that is largely immune from creative vetoes. Republican legislative leaders have said they were waiting for the ruling in this case and another pending case affecting the governor's veto powers before taking up spending bills this session, including the two-year state budget. The other case centers on whether Evers properly used his partial veto power on a bill that detailed the plan for spending on new literacy programs. The Legislature contends that Evers' partial veto was unconstitutional because the bill did not appropriate money. Evers contends the Legislature is trying to control how the executive branch spends money and limit his partial veto power. If the court sides with Evers in that case, it could greatly expand the kinds of bills subject to partial vetoes in the future.
USA Today
27-01-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Wisconsin business leaders support tariffs on China, new WMC survey says
Wisconsin business leaders support tariffs on China, new WMC survey says Wisconsin business leaders want tariffs on China but not Mexico and Canada. In response to unfair trade practices, 86% of Wisconsin business leaders support President Donald Trump's plan to impose tariffs on goods imported from China, according to a new poll by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. 'Wisconsin is a manufacturing and agricultural state. We make, grow and process things and we want to sell them around the world. But business leaders are saying that we need our trading partners to play by the rules,' Kurt Bauer, WMC president and CEO said in a statement. Tariff supporters say the import fees, when prudently applied, can shield American industries from unfair foreign competition. However they can make it more expensive for manufacturers to produce goods using raw materials and components from outside the United States. Also, when other countries retaliate with their own trade sanctions, it hurts sales of American products in those markets. The WMC poll showed that 56% of business leaders oppose tariffs on Mexico and Canada, two of Wisconsin's largest trading partners. Still, 73% support Trump's plan to use tariffs as a negotiating tactic to slow illegal immigration into the United States. The semiannual employer survey also showed that 89% of business leaders favor immigration reform which starts with securing the U.S. southern border. Ninety-six percent support increasing the 85,000-person cap on H-1B visas which target foreign workers with specialized skills. 'WMC has been advocating for reforming the guest worker program for some time. Demographic trends show that Wisconsin needs workers now and well beyond mid-century. Foreign workers must be part of the solution or our state will lose jobs and the economic activity that goes with them,' Bauer said. On taxes, 97% of respondents support making the provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) permanent. A new study commissioned by the National Association of Manufacturers says that failing to renew the expiring tax provisions in TCJA will cost Wisconsin 110,000 jobs, $10 million in employee wages, and $19.5 billion in gross domestic product output from the manufacturing sector alone. Manufacturing is Wisconsin's top economic sector, representing nearly $72 billion in GDP annually. Ninety percent of the survey respondents support lowering the U.S. corporate tax rate for manufacturers to 15%.
