So what vetoes are WisGOP trying to override?

Some interesting stuff going on at the Assembly floor today.

Three veto overrides planned less than 48 hours in advance AND announced on the same day Republicans rejected an eminently qualified cabinet Secretary?

I'm always ready to fight for what's right, but really these tricks are getting old. https://t.co/g2fDgA2Phn

— Jimmy Anderson (@Rep_Jimmy) November 5, 2019

I would hope that the WisGOPs don’t use this as an opportunity to try to sneak votes through when they think enough Dems are away from the chamber, as their recent power-grab seems to allow them to do. But I’ll leave that concern to the side, reference back to Evers’ original vetoes from 4 months ago, and see what is being acted on.

Here’s veto number 1.

I am partially vetoing this provision because I object to this project not following the normal enumeration process that has been established by the Building Commission. Under this partial veto, the Building Commission may award up to $15,000,000 in general fund supported borrowing for a center. I am directing that this funding be used to support the expansion of the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center by the Department of Health Services and plan to bring such a motion before the Building Commission to move this project forward. This will ensure that the state is able to provide appropriate mental health treatment for youth.

To backtrack, $15 million of the $40 million set aside for construction on juvenile facilities in 2018 was designated for expansion of the Mendota institute on the north side of Madison, but no money has been spent on the project beyond hiring someone to design the expansion. Evers’ veto kept the $15 million the Legislature added in this budget, but traded the WisGOP Legislature’s earmark for a “Regional Crisis Center” in the Chippewa Valley for the Mendota project with this extra money.

So trying to override that veto is a resentment play where GOPs try to claim that Evers is favoring Madison over the Eau Claire/Chippewa Falls area, despite the fact that it is merely accelerating a Mendota project that had already been set aside. If the GOPs override, the money would be sent back to that Northern Wisconsin center.

The second veto that the Assembly GOPs will try to override is one where Evers reduced a supplemental increase in Medicaid rates to physicians and behavioral health providers by $5 million.

Wisconsin is facing a behavioral health provider shortage, and I object to the removal of funding from the Department of Health Services to address this issue while the Legislature retains the funding to potentially use for other purposes. I am directing the department to proceed as soon as is practical with vital rate increases for physicians and behavioral health professionals from its base level resources.

This partial veto is part of larger write-down of the Joint Committee on Finance GPR supplemental appropriation. I am requesting the Department of Administration secretary not to allot these funds.

Basically Evers was saying the rate increase could be done through the Medicaid money the state already receives, and also had a problem with the GOP-run Joint Finance Committee holding up the extra $5 million until they formally voted again to release it. So the GOPs want to override so the state can spend more money (interesting juxtaposition on the spending issue), and it lets the GOPs be the ones to decide when the money goes out vs the Governor.

It’s mainly a turf war and an attempt for WisGOP to tell low-info voters “see, we put in more money for mental health!” without passing Medicaid expansion…which would allow a lot more people to get mental health services at a lower cost to the state.

The other veto involves $500,000 that seems to be designated as a Health Services earmark.

…A qualified treatment trainee program must provide clinically supervised practice for qualified graduate students seeking licensure or certification as a social worker, counselor, marriage and family therapist, or psychologist. The grant recipient must match the grant amount. The grant recipient shall use the awarded funding for clinical supervision, training, and salaries and benefits for trainees and clinical supervisors.

Evers took the $500,000 and allowed it to be used for grants that go toward any kind of treatment. Not a huge deal in the big scheme of things, and given how much money DHS has for treatment and related services, wouldn’t be disruptive either way.

What you see out of these 3 override attempts are more examples of a WisGOP Legislature whose main message to Evers seems to be this.

Their GOP Legislature's leaders are about as decent and adult as Cartman, too. About the same height as well.