Now that Evers wields veto pen. GOPs now care about powerful executive.

Oh, so Republicans are now snippy about Governor Evers outwitting them as he signed the state budget last week? And now they want to change the state’s constitution as a result?

The proposal, sponsored by Sen. David Craig, R-Big Bend, and Rep. Mike Kuglitsch, R-New Berlin, would bar the governor from making any vetoes that increase state spending.

Evers used his veto pen to increase K-12 education spending in the budget by about $65 million.

"This unilateral abuse of power taken by the executive branch cannot go unchecked by the Legislature without seriously damaging the separation of powers doctrine in Wisconsin," Craig and Kuglitsch wrote in the resolution's sponsorship memo….

Speaking with reporters Tuesday after a conservative think-tank event in Madison, [former Governor Tommy] Thompson said he supports the potential change.

"I’m not going to criticize a governor for vetoes, but there’s one area I don’t think governors should be able to veto and I think that’s increasing appropriations," Thompson said. "That’s left up to the Legislature."

It’s rich to see Republicans whine about this, and not just because they rushed through a power-grab to try to tie Evers’ hands between Tony’s election in Nov 2018 and him taking office 8 weeks later. It’s also because the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel noted Republicans did nothing when Republican governors pulled similar moves with their veto pen.

One proponent of the amendment — former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson — used partial vetoes to increase spending or bonding authorizations 13 times, including adding $54 million in property tax relief in 1991, despite arguing Tuesday he hadn't ever done so.

Former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle used the practice 16 times — more than any of the four former governors. In one case, Doyle increased funding for schools by $330 million in 2005…

Republican Gov. Scott McCallum increased spending six times and bonding once — including to eliminate a provision that would have required state government to delay an aid payment to schools in order to keep from spending $115 million in that budget.

Gov. Scott Walker, also a Republican, used the measure once to veto a provision that required him to reduce state borrowing for building projects by $250 million.

The 2008 constitutional amendment made the way some of the former governors increased spending or bonding impossible today but Walker and Evers were successful in doing so in 2013 and last week.

Some of those vetoes were merely reversing legislative budget cuts and restoring spending to a base year, so that’s not so bad. But creating new money that is beyond what is already in state law and/or what has passed through the Legislature is questionable.

With that in mind, I looked at the actual budget veto, and it’s confusing looking. (section 1459) here’s what it basically looks like

115.437 (2) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), annually on the 4th Monday of March, the department shall pay to each school district an amount equal to the average of the number of pupils enrolled in the school district in the current and 2 preceding school years multiplied by $75 in the 2013−14 school year, by $150 in the 2014−15 and 2015−16 school years, by $250 in the 2016−17 school year, by $450 in the 2017−18 school year, by $654 in the 2018−19 school year, by $679 in the subsequent school year and by $63 0 in each school year thereafter by $704. The department shall make the payments from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (aq).

Basically it comes down to $679 + $63 =$742 per pupil aid for next year and all years going forward.

Cagey stuff, Tony.

The funny part about this amendment is that I’d be inclined to vote for it as an isolated issue - I don’t like the idea of a governor adding money above and beyond what has been approved by a Legislature at some point. But there is no principle involved with the GOP hacks trying to put this through – just the desire to limit the power of a Dem Governor who added money to public schools.

Which proves yet again that the 21st Century GOP motto is “Our rules don’t apply to us.”